Ogun vigilantes accuse police of brutality, illegal detention

Five members of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, have accused some police officers in the state of brutality, illegal arrest and prolonged detention.

The allegations were contained in a petition dated May 20, 2026, and addressed to the Complaint Response Unit of the Nigeria Police Force by the Civil Rights Advocates of Nigeria on behalf of the VGN members led by one Shina Samuel.

The petition accused the policemen (name withheld) of misconduct, extortion, torture and filing frivolous charges against the VGN members.

According to the petition signed by Michael Ogiribo, the incident began on January 31, 2026, after members of the Rapid Response Squad of the VGN allegedly intercepted a suspected Indian hemp dealer identified as Sodiq and handed him over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in Ijebu-Ode.

The petition alleged that the Obalende Division of the police became displeased because the suspect was not handed over to them.

It further alleged that police officers later invaded the VGN office on February 2, destroyed doors, confiscated office property and arrested six members of the group.

The petition claimed that the arrested members were detained for days before being transferred to the SWAT Base in Abeokuta, where they were allegedly tortured and detained for three weeks without trial.

The lawyers further claimed that Samuel was arrested when he went to seek bail for the detained members.

The petition also alleged that one of the detainees, Michael Monday, suffered partial deafness after being slapped repeatedly during interrogation.

“Blood was gushing out from his right ear and he has been unable to hear perfectly since then till date,” the petition stated.

The petition further accused the officers of extorting N200,000 from the landlord of the building housing the VGN office before later refunding the money through the Police Public Relations Officer of the Ogun State Command.

The lawyers argued that the refund amounted to an admission that extortion occurred.

The petition also alleged that the officers seized an operational vehicle valued at N10m, seven locally made firearms and uniforms belonging to the VGN members.

According to the petitioners, the VGN members were later arraigned before a Chief Magistrate Court in Igbeba, Ijebu-Ode, after spending about three weeks in detention.

The lawyers also accused the police of rearresting the defendants on May 13, 2026, outside the court premises after a hearing and detaining them again for six days before obtaining another remand order against them.

The petition claimed that the officers threatened to implicate the VGN members in robbery and kidnapping cases because petitions had been written against them.

The lawyers urged the CRU to investigate the officers and sanction anyone found culpable.

“It is imperative to state further that our clients are deemed innocent of any offences to warrant their incessant arrest, detention, humiliation, torture and intimidation,” the petition added.

Efforts to get comments from the Ogun State Police Command were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.

Calls to the spokesman for the command, Oluseyi Babaseyi, were not answered, while he had yet to respond to the message sent to him.

Also, when contacted, the Force spokesman, Anthony Placid, requested a copy of the petition to confirm whether work had started on it. He had yet to do so after receiving it.