Family members and friends of detained #EndSARS protester, Eromosele Adene, on Tuesday morning, confronted operatives of the Lagos State Police Command who barred them from accessing the Yaba Magistrates Court where the case of the youth protester is expected to be heard.
The Editor Nigeria observed that journalists and other supporters of the detained person were also prevented from the courtroom as the Police barricaded the street leading into the court with their vehicle.
Speaking with journalists, the security operatives claimed they were trying to prevent a crowd from building up around the court.
We had reported Monday that policemen attached to the State Criminal Investigation Department filed an application seeking to remand Adene for an extra 30 days.
The policemen had last week arrested Eromosele in Ikeja and taken him to the police command headquarters and then transferred him to the Area F Command before detaining him at the SCID, Panti. He was last Monday flown to Abuja and detained for seven days before being brought back to Lagos on Sunday.
However, rather than charge him, the policemen secretly approached a Magistrate, O.A Salau, without the consent of his lawyer and applied for a remand order to detain him for an extra 30 days.
Eromosele’s lawyer, Tunde Jinadu, who was at the SCID, was told by policemen that his client was no longer in custody.
However, Jinadu immediately received word from concerned persons about what the police were up to.
Speaking with The Punch, he said, “We were not served. We were not called that he was being brought to SCID. An ACP told me they didn’t know where he was. This sharp practice of the police needs to stop. They just wanted to shut us out. That was how they flew him to Abuja last week without my knowledge.
“Luckily, some good people informed me that he (Eromosele) had been taken to a magistrate court. Thank God I have a car. I was able to quickly arrive at the court.â€
The lawyer also said the police had refused to grant his client bail despite medical reports that Adene has a liver problem.
The magistrate subsequently fixed the ruling for Tuesday.
