After being charged with assaulting her orderly Inspector Teju Moses, Professor Zainab Duke Abiola was remanded in the Suleja Custodial Center by a Magistrate’s Court in Wuse, Abuja.
She and domestic helper Rebecca Enechido were both arraigned on Friday, one day following their arrest.
They were charged with criminal conspiracy, causing criminal harm without justification, attempting to commit culpable homicide, and intentionally insulting someone in order to violate trust by the Chief Magistrate Court in Zone 6.
After a video of her injured police orderly went viral on Thursday, September 22, 2022; the police detained both women.
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The cop can be seen in the footage sitting on the ground, bleeding, and requesting to be taken to the hospital for treatment.
She was charged with trying to commit culpable homicide and breach of trust by the police.
Both women were refused bail at the arraignment, and the magistrate subsequently ordered their custody at the Suleja Custodial Center.
The judge adjourned the case until October 5, 2022.
The Force Public Relations Officer CSP Muyiwa Adejobi announced the arrest of both ladies and added that police were still looking for a male assistant of the professor who was allegedly responsible for the attack.
Part of the statement read, “The IGP strongly condemned the grievous assault of a female Police Officer, Inspector Teju Moses, by her principal, a lawyer and human rights activist, Prof. Zainab Duke Abiola, and her domestic staff, which included the housemaid, one Rebecca Enechido, and a male suspect who is still at large.”
Professor Abiola, a lawyer and human rights advocate, has denied assaulting the police in the meantime.
The Afro-European Lawyers League asserted on her behalf that the accusations against her were false in a statement.
The Afro-European Lawyers League statement read, “Our attention has been drawn to a fallacious malicious defamatory publication against our respected Alumnus of the National Institute of Policy and Security Studies, NIPPS, Professor Zainab Duke Mni alleging assault on one of her police Orderlies. We categorically state that this is NOT true and Nothing could be further from the truth. For the records, our respected revered Professor Zainab has Never assaulted anybody anywhere at any time. It is not in her character.
“The facts are: 1. That on the 20th of April 2022 the IGP approved the revalidation and deployment of police Orderlies to our leader based on the fact that she is the Chief Legal Consultant to the Nigerian Police and has her office at the Force headquarters, Abuja.
“2. That the police consequently assigned a female police officer who was among the perpetrators of Violence against innocent Nigerian Citizens during the ENDSARS imbroglio.
“3. That consequent upon discovery of her Orderly’s involvement in police brutality against Nigerians that Professor Zainab rejected the posting of a brutal officer and returned the said Orderly back to Force Headquarters to her bosses and told her Bye bye on the 19th of September.
“4. That to our surprise around 10 pm the former Orderly returned with a Vengeance banging on our gates with some dangerous weapons including a gun threatening to kill everybody in the compound and that the police Orderly beat up family members in the Professor’s household.
“5. That as can be seen in the video a crowd soon gathered and there was street brawling crowd fighting and loss of properties.
“6. That it is very strange that the IGP will forcefully, brutally and illegally violate the fundamental Rights and liberties of a distinguished law-abiding citizen and proceed to forcefully take her pictures and maliciously publish same in the print and electronic media in this nascent democratic dispensation.”
