11 Most Likely Things Anyone May Encounter At Police Stations

CHUKA UBAH

There is this popularly saying that the “police is your friend”. Indeed the police were supposed to be the friends of the public and equally be seen to discharge their lawful duties in friendly manners.

However, any suspect in our clime may likely encounter ugly, messy and embarrassing situations at the various police stations in every part of the country owing to poor welfare, lack of proper personnel orientation and supposed hangover of years of military dictatorship.

Findings showed that the following may most likely be the experience of any individual in the hands of the police in the course of the discharge of their duties rightly or wrongly:

1. Any person can be arrested on the way, labeled a suspect and taken to the police station where the real mess may start.
2. The person will likely be detained briefly over the counter where he will be asked to remove his belt, phones, money etc and recorded as exhibits.
3. The person may not be allowed to contact his relations or a lawyer and will be compelled to write a statement to indict the person before he will be allowed to contact the relation.
4. The person may be provided with the options of going to court en route to prison or settling with the IPO and be released.
5. The police may decide to turn the matter to a case of armed robbery if such a person proved stubborn and may be charged to court for armed robbery and remanded in prison for DPP advice which may last for several months.
6. If there was an incident of robbery in the area, automatically such a person arrested will be labeled an armed robber until proven otherwise before he will be released.
7. When any relation visits a suspect at the police station, he or she is liable to provide disinfectant, soap, detergent, broom etc before the relation will be allowed to see the suspect.
8. The suspect may not likely bath no matter the number of days he was detained before the matter was moved to court or he was released.
9. The suspect will be responsible to clean the cell and carry excreta while he lasted in the cell as the police do not have such budget to employ workers to do such jobs.
10. It is almost a norm for mosquitoes, rats, cockroaches to live big in police stations because they are so many; the suspect will be tired of killing them and allow them to feast on the body.
11. The suspect’s body may likely change; may develop body odour and get infested with skin diseases or sickness which may land such a person in the hospital or even death as the case may be.

Therefore, it is advisable to be cautious of what you do, your movement and the company you keep. You need to bear the aforementioned in mind and endeavour to stay out of crime and equally pray that you do not fall victim of sudden arrest that land you in any of the stations.