Dismissed Army Official Brought 2-Month-Old Baby To Detention
Kwara State Police Command has detained an ex-Army official and her baby for alleged involvement in armed robbery and criminal conspiracy.
The state commissioner of police, Kayode Egbetokun, in a statement on Tuesday, said that the suspect, a dismissed soldier, ex-L/Cpl Blessing Egbogwu, is a member of a suspected criminal gang.
However, the police boss said that a social media report by a lawyer to the accused person, where the command was painted in a bad light over the detention of the accused person and her two-month-old baby, was a ploy to get public sympathy.
“The fact of the case is that the dismissed soldier, ex-L/Cpl Blessing Egbogwu, is a suspect in the case of criminal conspiracy and armed robbery in which other arrested suspects have been charged to court and remanded in prison custody.
“On 12/11/19, when ex-L/Cpl Blessing Egbogwu was finally released by the Army for prosecution, she was brought to the command with a two months old baby. Since the offence of armed robbery for which she was being taken to custody is not normally bailable, bail consideration for her was therefore not an option.
“Out of options available, she chose to stay in detention with her baby. The law allows a detained nursing mother to stay in custody with her baby provided the baby is less than 18 months. She was, however, detained in a separate cell away from other detainees and was provided with all necessities for her comfort and the comfort of the baby.
“On 15/11/19 which was the date of adjournment of the case that was already in court, ex- L/Cpl Blessing was taken to court to join other co-accused persons in the case.
“Worthy of note is the fact that the case is being prosecuted by the Ministry of Justice at the High Court and the Police has no power to grant bail in this circumstance.
“It is preposterous for a lawyer, who knows the legal procedures in cases of this nature, to expect the Police to release a suspect whose case is pending at the High Court and to which a motion of bail had already been filed in the High Court by the same lawyer. The lawyer obviously intentionally came out to distort the facts to discredit the Police.
“The Command wishes to use this opportunity to once again reiterate the fact that Kwara State Police command frowns at all acts that bother on illegality and will not spare any of her officers that engage in any unprofessional conduct,” the statement read.