An upcoming Nigerian actress, Obikoya Funke, has lamented how she was wrongly arrested by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, Ogun State Command for participating in #JusticeForMohbad rally in September and thereafter charged for felony.
Recall that following the death of the singer Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, popularly known as MohBad, there have been controversies and protests in demand of justice for him as his death was believed to have been orchestrated.
Narrating her ordeal, Funke said, “I saw my friend’s post about “Justice for Mohbad” and I joined my friend and we went to the location at Ijabu Ode by Ibadan Garage.
“I was sitting by the roadside with my friends. Some people were walking but we decided to sit by the roadside, and around 3:30pm, the police came and started dragging all of us.
“Two police officers dragged me inside their car. Some ran away but I did not run because I did not do anything. They took us to the station and put us in the cell. I slept on bare tiles.
“My friend reached out to my family and the next day, they (police) took me to court. They charged me for a lot of things that I don’t know about. They said I joined Eiye Confraternity.
“I’m just an upcoming actress and a model trying to pave the way for myself. They have spoiled my career. They arrested me wrongly and accused me wrongly. They took me to prison and said that my bail was N500,000.”
She said she was bailed on Monday and that her case had been adjourned till November.
“But I saw hell inside the cell and prison. I didn’t commit any crime. They accused me wrongly. I had to eat the prison beans and sweep the yard, wash the toilet and had to kneel and greet about 25 people in a day.
“I slept on the mat, washed seniors’ clothes. They turned me to a prisoner in my 20s.”
One of the counts preferred against Funke and other people arrested alongside her read, “That you Wasiu Tunji ‘M’, Akinyemi Boluwatife ‘M’, Ogunkoya Abiodun ‘M’, Adebanjo Okiki ‘M’, Eriogun Rasheed ‘M’, Obikoya Funke ‘F’, Olabanji Tosin ‘F’, Hamzat Sulamon ‘M’ on the 21/9/2023 at about 3:30pm at Ibadan Garage roundabout Ijebu Ode in the Ijebu Ode magisterial district did conspire among yourselves to commit felony to wit conduct likely to cause breach of peace and unlawful assembly and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 516 of the criminal code, laws of Ogun State of Nigeria 2006.
“Count 2 read, “That you Wasiu Tunji ‘M’, Akinyemi Boluwatife ‘M’, Ogunkoya Abiodun ‘M’, Adebanjo Okiki ‘M’, Eriogun Rasheed ‘M’, Obikoya Funke ‘F’, Olabanji Tosin ‘F’, Hamzat Sulamon ‘M’ on the same date time and place in the aforementioned magisterial district did Assemble yourselves at Ibadan Garage roundabout Ijebu Ode and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 70 of the criminal code, laws of Ogun State of Nigeria 2006.”