Lockdown:Police arrests Nurse returning from work in Delta

….Detained for over three hours, release after LG Chairman intervened

By Shedrack Onitsha,

 

Overzealous Police officers from Sapele Police Station on Tuesday, arrested a health officer (name withheld) who was said to be returning from work at the Okirighwre roundabout, an action clearly in defiance to the directive that health officers should be allowed to go their normal duty.

 

The health worker who reside in Sapele, but works at Oghara, headquarter of Ethiope West Local Government Area, was driven by her younger brother and was returning from Oghara when she was flagged down at the Okirighwre roundabout.

 

A source who craved anonymity told Advocate that “when her vehicle stopped with her brother on the wheel because she can’t drive, the police shouted on her to bring her particulars and after presenting the particulars, she went to the policemen to present her identification card, rather than letting her go, the policemen seized her car key,” all efforts to let the police see reasons with her fell on deaf ears and she was taken to Okirighwre police station.

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Tired of pleading with the policemen, the health worker was said to have put a call through to her superior who contacted the Chairman, Ethiope West Local Government Area, Hon Solomon Golley, who in turn called the Sapele Local Government chairman, Hon Eugene Inoaghan who then reached out to the Sapele Divisional Police Officer, Abubakar Akande, who effected her release but not after she had been detained at the police station for over three hours.

 

Advocate further gathered that unless urgent steps are taken by the State government to check the excesses of the security operatives in the state, routine immunization in the rural areas and at the Primary Health Centers will suffer a setback as the health workers may not be able to get to work following the actions of the security agencies in the state.

 

It was also gathered that on Monday, a husband of another health worker who had gone to drop her wife at Mosogar, because she had an emergency delivery to attend to but could not get a vehicle because of the restriction order was not that lucky as he was also arrested and allegedly granted bail after parting with #20,000 at Sapele Police station.

 

A Nurse who but resides in Sapele but works at Koko, who spoke to Advocate anonymously said: Government don’t know what they are doing, you ask us to go to work, most of us working at Warri North and Ethiope West stays at Sapele.

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Most of us work in the rural areas, as since there is a ban on movement, we can only get to work with the help of our spouses or relations who we have to appeal to take us down, but if Police and other security agencies are going to be arresting them, then, how do they expect us to go to work?

 

The government must address this challenge, if not antenatal care and routine immunization will suffer a setback in Delta because I will not risk going to work and have my husband arrested for taking me to work,” she added.

 

Security men on patrol with the Sapele LG Chairman has continued to arrest Trycicle and Motorcycle riders since the sit at home order by the state government to curb the dreaded Coronavirus (COVID-19) last week Wednesday, an ugly situation was nipped in the mood when soldiers on patrol with the chairman had a clash with a policeman who was on private duty around New road by Ajogodo junction.