The Edo State Police Command says it has arrested a pastor and one other for alleged dehumanization and brutalization of a 90-year-old, Adishetu Atairu, the Chief Imam of Ofukpo-Ekperi community in Etsako Central Local Government of Edo state and six others.
It was reports that the Public Relations Officer of the Command, SP Chidi Nwabuzor confirmed the arrest of the suspects to newsmen in Benin City on Thursday.
According to him, “the incident is confirmed, the police are aware of it. The Pastor and one other person have been arrested and they are in police custody. The suspects have been charged to court.”
It was gathered that the alleged dehumanization and brutalization of the victims were contained in a video footage that has gone viral on WhatsApp and Facebook.
The video, featuring a crowd at night, was alleged to have been led by a man simply identified as Pastor Sharp-Sharp.
In one of the viral videos, a young man was seen brutalizing an old woman in her 90s, identified as Adishetu Atairu and an elderly man, said to be the Imam of the community, Musa Shaibu and six others.
Also in the video, the elderly woman with a walking stick was dragged to the middle of the crowd with a young man yelling at her to sit down.
In the video, it was also seen when the old woman sat on a chair, and Pastor Sharp-Sharp was heard commanding her to sit on the floor, even as another young man was kicking her legs, leaving her crumbling to the ground.
The Chief Imam of the community, was, however, seen in another video sitting on the bare ground with a young man removing his cap.
It was also gathered that the same treatment was meted out to a Hijab wearing young women whom the Pastor accused of killing one Eshe and his wife through diabolical means.
Speaking on the incident, a resident of the community, Abu Buhari, who said the incident happened on July 5, 2024, added that the 90-year-old Adishetu Atairu, who is his step mother and others were dehumanized and assaulted by the Pastor and his accomplices.
Buhari said the incident was reported to the police who asked them to submit a petition.
He said after the petition, the pastor was arrested by the Police Area Command Office in Agenebode, Etsako East local government on July 17.
He, however, called on the police and other relevant government agencies to intervene to avert communal and religious crises in the state and bring the perpetrators to justice.
He stated that his step mother and other victims who were beaten and dehumanized were still in pain.
On its part, the Edo Muslims for Equity and Good Governance, (EMEGG), commended the Nigeria Police force and other security operatives for wading into the matter before it escalated.
The group coordinator, Sirajudeen Muhammad, who assured Muslims in Edo State and other parts of the world that justice for those humiliated will not be compromised, added that the pastor and two others have been charged to court.
“We were at the court today and we will always be present at the court”, he stated.
He said the case has been adjourned to August 7, 2024, for hearing.
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