As Nigerians continue to raise eyebrows and question the arrest and detention of human rights activist, Olamide Thomas, Force Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ACP Muyiwa Adejobi has justified the actions of the police.
Thomas, a nurse and rights advocate was arrested last week Friday in Lagos on allegations of cybercrimes and taken to Abuja, where she has been in detention without trial despite complaints of ill-health.
According to the police, she was arrested over comments she made on social media against President Bola Tinubu and his family.
She was also said to have insulted the Inspector General of Police, Sunday Egbetokun and Adejobi, which warranted her arrest.
In a live video posted on Facebook on October 20, Thomas had allegedly made remarks cursing the President, Egbetokun ahd Adejobi.
She had live-streamed the video on the fourth year anniversary of the Lekki toll-gate massacre of Nigerian youths during the #EndSARS protest of 2020 where she said she and other protesters were brutalised by police officers during the memorial procession.
In the video, Thomas had accused police officers of harassment, claiming that they had been bullying and threatening her. She was also said to have rained curses on Tinubu and his family, Egbetokun and Adejobi, expressing deep grievances, invoking divine power and issuing severe condemnations and predicting tragedy against them.
Reports have it that the female activist was arrested in a gestapo style in a dawn raid at her home in Shomolu, Lagos, and subsequently flown to Abuja where she was handed over to the cybercrime unit of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), and later transfered to the Nigeria Police Force Cyber-Crime Centre (NCCC).
According to her lawyers, Thomas who suffers from asthma and peptic ulcer, had been bleeding since Monday but despite her condition, the police have refused to provide her medical care until she slumped on Thursday.
But while civil rights groups have lampooned the police on the arbitrary arrest and detention of Thomas, Adejobi, while making the clarification in a post on X on Friday, said her arrest is in order.
“Raining direct curses on someone online is cyberbullying,
not expression of freedom or criticism,” the FPRO wrote.
“And cyberbullying, which is even different from defamation, is a criminal offence and punishable. Be guided,” he added.