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Funmi Iyanda
Lagos, Nigeria
Funmi Iyanda is a multi award-winning producer and broadcast journalist. She is the CEO of Ignite Media and Executive Director of Creation Television
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Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Conversation with Lagos police commissioner

Funmi is away for a few days. Here is her interview with the Lagos State Police Commissioner, Muhammed Abubakar.


14 comments:

Atutupoyoyo said...

Good to see that the commisioner found the time to distance the NPF from these allegations.

It seems to me that someting was lost in the interpretation of this directive. Those who were charged to implement it adopted an asheju mentality and started arresting women who did not fall under the original profile. Either that or the NPF are feeling the backlash and are retracting like hell.

In any event, women you have heard o! If any policeman harasses you, take down their name and number. It is your constitutional right.

Anonymous said...

Take down name and number and do what with it please? I'm just tired of the issues we face in this country and I'm particularly bitter about the police force. On the one hand, i feel sorry for them because i do believe if they were better trained and paid, they wouldn't have time for this petty nonsense but on the other hand, they make very difficult for that feeling of empathy to last more than a few seconds once you encounter them.

Only this morning, one of my staff was late for work because policemen had stopped her in her area saying they were doing 'general searching' and anyone who looked 'different' would be searched (the poor girl has got dreads). After searching high and low and not finding anything, they demanded the receipt of her camera!!!! The impudent girl had to ask the policeman if he had the receipt for his phone!!! I mean, what kind of jungle is this? It took her calling her brother in law who in turn called one of their 'ogas' before they let her go. I just despair!

Anonymous said...

What do u expect the Police boss to say? He will never take responsibility for his boys actions of arresting indecently dressed ladies and men.

Anonymous said...

On the redeemed church of the story, I was in the last convention, and ladies with trousers were not chased out as reported by some media houses. Adewale

Unknown said...

Well Now we know we have a voice we can just give, he said write the names down and the spot, so lets start with that then we don't stop we will continue until someone listen, trust all we need to do is fight and pray and i know for a fact tighs will work out.
By the way did u guys notice police comissioner was wearing a Chanel J12 watch at least we know he is getting paid right... lol

Toni Payne said...

aww what happend to the rest of the interview naaw...I am loving what you have done. kudos!.. "people who hibernate with criminals".. tsk tsk.. then they should be going after a lot of their own.. You should have backed him into a corner, because some report I read said and I quote

"Our correspondent gathered that the clampdown on the indecently dressed girls and commercial sex workers by the Police was as a result of the order made by the new Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Muhammed Abubakar"

so someones nose ought to be growing longer, like where did this law come from then if not from you mr oga police. So are they going to refund the people arrested who made bail their 20k..

One question, I thot naija had a human rights group, or maybe not.

Anonymous said...

bollocks!pure nonsense...take down d name and report to who!go to a police station and report to an equally stupid and carzy officer...who will probaby arrest you,insult you and tear you report in front of you abi!or i sud report to the IG himslef...how do i get to see him,wont the letter pass thru some jnr officers b4 it gets to him...wont they kill the story!about cases of them damn police men killiing innocent pple,bus drivers cos of N20 wat happened to them ..Nothing about Odunola Hannah that was killed by police men!about the young boy going to church with hi sister and was shot'accidentally' in d head by a police man???he lost his sight and the last time i saw an article on it in d papers the police hadnt compensated him,about the girl who was shot from a bridge by a trigger happy police man!i can go on and on!what did they do about it!and yet i am suppose to think they will do something about police men harrasing women!
1st of all the crime acticities in lagos is soaring and it need a direct approach to be handled...and then u decide to approach it by investigating the women and brothels hoarding criminals---very funny!they will never cease to amuse me in that country...We will surely pray that God forgives the leaders!cos if he decides to unleash his wrath..it wont be funny!i get so angry thikning about it!

Anonymous said...

i didnt finsh my last comment above jare!i agree with bisola if these police men were better trained and paid well the problems wont be that bad!(see tafa balogun-former IG embezzling so many billions) and then you expect police men not to collect bribe and act irrationally...they need to train police men well,good pay,cater to their needs...i mean they just get a bunch of illiterate pple and give them uniform and guns!how shameful

naijacutie said...

News like this makes ppl abroad not want to come back to their own country. I refuse to believe that any neccesary actions would be taken when these police officers are reported.

The first time i visted nigeria was a couple of years ago, we were harrased by some police officers on our way from the airport, we were asked to open our boxes in the middle of a major road!!!

Needless to say we haven't been back since then but we are going back this xmas for my sister's wedding, we pray things so more smoothly this time.

FO said...

Nigerians are a tough lot to please - especially those who have been subjected to police stupidity/brutality... then again, haven't we all at some point!

There were tonnes of conflicting reports one could hardly tell which was true and which wasn't. It's good you got him to clear the air. At least those who were convinced he was trying to implement the shariah law in lagos can be rest assured.

Anonymous said...

Please read Simon Kolawole's column on Sunday's Thisday. These officers are still arresting women.

Funmi Iyanda said...

@all, apologies for the silence as you may have read in my new post, l had new kinds of problems. That last statement sums up my life here as l seem to be moving from one battle to the other even whilst the lat is unfinished. l conducted that interview as l do all with my hands and legs figuratively tired. By NTA statutes and NBC regulations you cannot "harass" public officials during an interview and since OBJ did not sign the freedom of information act into law you cannot access information easily either. So my sistren and brethren, we circle round them and use indirect salvos to feret information or the truth. Believe me l can do hard talk style interviews unflinching. That said, l do not believe the denials either but l am willing to keep testing the system so l urge that we send in those complaints and FOLLOW THEM UP!!! In the time since l did the post and interview and sent in the complaints and petitions to the press, the police and lagos state government, all that portions of the press did with it is turn it into a parody to discuss the merit and demerits of indecent dressing with an attempt to drag me into such puerile conversations. That we have such conversations at all given out real problems is inbecilic to say the least. My friend Tayo ran into armed robbers last week at 11am, 300 metres from a police checkpoint busy checking cars for rear mirrors and "pariculars". l can only do so much.

Anonymous said...

funmi in all of this pls be careful too ...some pple may not like it as u are exposing them and fighting for all of us!the LORD be wit you girl...we love you

Anonymous said...

As an educated and professional business woman in the Uk spanning over 15 years, I was livid to read about the arrests of so-called indecently dressed females in Lagos. I live in Victoria Island and intend to return so but I can promise you this news is no inspiration to come home soon.