Zainab Abiola, one of the widows of the late MKO Abiola, has been remanded in the Suleja Correctional Centre for allegedly ordering a physical assault on her female police orderly, Teju Moses, who refused to do domestic chores for her.
Zainab’s journey to the correctional centre began when she allegedly ordered her housemaid, Rebecca Enechido and a male aide now at large, to beat the police officer attached to her for refusing to do some domestic chores, which she assigned to her.
In a video clip that went viral on Wednesday, the officer was seen in uniform bleeding, seated on the floor and asking to be taken to the hospital for treatment.
Police Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed Zainab’s arrest through a statement last week Thursday.
Zainab is said to be a professor, a lawyer and human rights activist, alongside her housemaid, Rebecca Enechido, through whom the widow allegedly perpetrated the act.
According to the statement, the human rights activist perpetrated the act on September 20, 2022, at her residence in Garki, Abuja, with the help of one Rebecca Enechido and a male suspect currently at large.
Adejobi’s statement said: “The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, psc (+), NPM, FDC, has strongly condemned the grievous assault of a female Police Officer, Inspector Teju Moses, by her principal who is a legal practitioner and human rights activist, Prof. Zainab Duke Abiola and her domestic staff comprising the housemaid, one Rebecca Enechido and a male suspect currently at large.
“Zainab Duke, an Mbaise-born activist, grievously assaulted her orderly in the company of some accomplices on Tuesday, 20th September, 2022, at her residence in Garki, Abuja, due to the refusal of the orderly to breach professional ethics by carrying out menial and domestic chores at her house,” adding that “the police later arraigned Mrs Duke-Abiola and her domestic worker, Rebecca Enechido, before a Magistrate’s Court sitting in Wuse District.”
But on Friday, September 23, 2022, the widow was denied bail while the matter was adjourned till October 5, 2022.
Earlier, Abiola had denied assaulting the officer, saying it was strange that the IGP would forcefully violate “the fundamental rights and liberties of a distinguished law-abiding citizen and proceed to forcefully take her pictures and maliciously publish same in the print and electronic media in this nascent democratic dispensation.”
In a statement issued on her behalf by the Afro-European Lawyers League, she said: “Our attention has been drawn to a fallacious and malicious defamatory publication against our respected Alumnus of the National Institute of Policy and Security Studies, NIPPS, Professor Zainab Duke, Mni, alleging assault on one of her police orderlies.
“We categorically state that this is NOT true and Nothing could be farther from the truth. For the records, our respected revered Professor Zainab has Never assaulted anybody anywhere at any time. It is not in her character.
“The facts are:
- That on the 20th of April 2022, the IGP approved the revalidation and deployment of police orderlies to our leader based on the fact that she is the Chief Legal Consultant to the Nigerian Police and has her office at the Force headquarters, Abuja.
“2. That the police consequently assigned a female police officer who was among the perpetrators of violence against innocent Nigerian Citizens during the ENDSARS imbroglio.
“3. That consequent upon discovery of her orderly’s involvement in police brutality against Nigerians, Professor Zainab rejected the posting of a brutal officer and returned the said orderly back to Force Headquarters to her bosses and told her Bye-Bye on the 19th of September.
“4. That to our surprise, around 10pm, the former orderly returned with a vengeance banging on our gates with some dangerous weapons, including a gun, threatening to kill everybody in the compound and that the police ordely beat up family members of the Professor’s household.
“5. That as can be seen in the video, a crowd soon gathered and there was street brawling crowd fighting and loss of properties.
“6. That it is very strange that the IGP will forcefully, brutally and illegally violate the fundamental rights and liberties of a distinguished law-abiding citizen and proceed to forcefully take her pictures and maliciously publish same in the print and electronic media in this nascent democratic dispensation.”
Calling for the sack of the IGP, the lawyers said: “We hereby call on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately sack the Inspector General of Police and bring him to book to face the consequences of this gross violation of our constitution as Alkali Baba Usman is NOT a fit and proper person to hold the office of IGP.”
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has not responded to the foregoing presentations, even as the MKO Abiola’s widow remains at the Suleja Correctional Centre till the next adjournment date on October 5, 2022.