I Lost My Pregnancy In SARS Detention, Victim Tells Lagos Panel Of Inquiry

A female victim of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) abuse, Mrs. Ndubuisi Obiechina, has said she lost her pregnancy of two and a half months when she was arrested and detained for 22 days by men of the SARS in Ikeja, Lagos State. Obiechina, on Saturday told retired Justice Doris Okuwobi Judicial panel of Inquiry sitting in Lagos that she was arrested for no known offence, brutalised and prevented from registering for antenatal care.

She said, “I was arrested for no known offence. They didn’t consider my condition. I was pregnant, yet I was denied food. I was not allowed to eat or drink. I was also prevented from going for antenatal care”. “They were so cruel and disregarded my doctor’s instruction that I should not stress myself since my pregnancy was in the early stage. They said I should give birth to the child in detention. As a result of the stress I went through, I eventually lost the baby”.

“When my husband came around to check me, he was arrested and detained in their cell too. “The trauma was unbearable. Having spent three weeks in detention, they told us to bail ourselves. They collected N250, 000 and N150, 000 respectively from me and my husband. “When I was released from detention, I went to the hospital and was told that the baby had died and they had to take it out of my womb.”

Obiechina told the panel that the court awarded N2 million damages against the Lagos police command but they didn’t adhere to the ruling as she is yet to be paid the sum. Chairman of the panel, retired Justice Okuwobi admitted the judgment which was delivered in 2017 and 2020 as exhibits and adjourned until November 3 for further hearing.