Policemen attached to the Ogombo Police Station, Lagos State, took N20,000 as bail to release Deborah Oloye, a former accountant at Somewhere Lounge on Friday afternoon.
FIJ learnt that the officers had initially demanded N300,000 before the accountant’s family negotiated the amount.
Deborah told FIJ that two policemen arrested her at the lounge around 9:26 pm on Thursday and took her to the station, where she spent the night until the next day. She was released at about 3:30 pm on Friday.
“I was held behind the counter, handcuffed with a lady,” she disclosed.
FIJ understands that Reuben Oshioriamhe, the general manager of the lounge, was the one who ordered the arrest. When FIJ contacted him on Saturday, he said, “The woman absconded from work, and there was a pending case of theft in which she was a suspect. That was why I called the police. I know they discharged her less than 24 hours later.”
While sharing her account of the events that led to the arrest, Oloye said she was arrested because of an industrial iron she had reported missing on July 5 and for absconding from work.
“When I noticed the iron was missing, I called the Human Resource (HR) officer on July 5, and the HR officer made mention of it in the group,” Oloye told FIJ.
The Lagos resident insisted that she never took the item, though she admitted she might have erred by not formally resigning.
“I stopped going to work on August 12, and honestly, it was because of how toxic the workplace was. I joined them in December 2024 as an accountant,” she said.
“I didn’t officially tell them I wasn’t working anymore because I was still in possession of the office phone and my office key. I didn’t go to work at all on August 13 too, because on waking up that day, my phone had ink on its screen, so I went to fix it.”
On Thursday she went to the lounge in the evening to return the office property in her possession.
“While all of this was going on, the Operational Manager came in, asked why I wasn’t at work and if I was not working anymore. Then and there, I told him I wasn’t working anymore and that I came back to return the office property,” Oloye recounted.
“He said okay and left. While I was leaving the premises, he came to tell me that the GM was calling me. I got to the office and he (the GM) asked me where was I coming from. I told him I went out. He asked me about a report, and I told him I was not working again that I only came to return their property that was with me.
“The next thing he asked was if I was planning to escape amid the missing iron he was investigating. I told him no and that if he needed me for the investigation, I would definitely show up. Then he said I was lying, that I’m with the iron and I would provide it.”
Oloye said an argument ensued, and the general manager called the Ogombo Police Station and two policemen were sent to pick her up.
On the police extortion that happened before the lady was let go on Friday, Oloye’s younger brother told FIJ that the policemen had initially asked for N300,000.
The brother, who asked not to be named, accompanied their mother to the station to secure his sister’s release. He said they met his sister at the office of the supervising officer (SO).
“We did not meet the complainant in the office. It was just my sister and some officers. My sister was trying to explain what happened. While waiting, the complainant showed up and wrote his statement,” Oloye’s brother said.
“The only thing I heard was that a pressing iron got missing. After the guy wrote his statement, they were asking some questions, but they were not even really talking about the iron. They were just talking about not sharing company love and that she had a beef with someone. I was pissed off because there was so much noise at some point. I went out but returned after the noise had reduced a bit.”
The brother said the policemen then revealed that her sister would still be in custody until Tuesday.
“My mum asked why they would do that when they had not even confirmed that she’s the one responsible for the missing iron. Then they said we should go and bring N300,000,” he narrated.
“My mum was like how much is the iron that even got missing? Eventually, we paid N20,000, which I sent to an account number I believe belongs to a PoS agent. The officer who gave me the account number even asked if I added charges. He said I should have added N400 extra, and the other officers there laughed when he said that. I heard him call someone to confirm the payment,” he said.
FIJ gathered that besides the N20,000 the police collected for Oloye’s release, she was instructed to report back at the station on Tuesday.
When FIJ called DSP Mogaji, a member of the Lagos State Police Command Complaint Response Unit, on Monday, he said he would contact Ogombo’s Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and provide feedback.
He later provided the phone number of CSP Amori Fatai, the DPO of Ogombo Police Division. When FIJ dialled the number, an automated response stated, “The number you are trying to call is not available at the moment. Please, try again later.” FIJ called the phone number six times but got no response.
After several unsuccessful attempts to reach CSP Fatai, the journalist also sent messages via WhatsApp and SMS, but no response had been received at press time.
𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗔𝘀 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽!
