Whilst returning from a church vigil, actress and television host Michelle Dede was allegedly harassed by policemen who grabbed her and pushed her in the highbrow Lekki Phase 1 neighbourhood where she resides.
Sharing her lengthy story on Instagram, Dede says she and a female Taxify driver in whose car she rode were abused and called ‘prostitutes’ when she refused them to search her handbag.
‘…I was pushed aggressively in the chest by one of the officers who wanted to search my bag and specifically my wallet. I got out of the car when they said they wanted to check the car. They did not check the car and said they wanted to check my bag instead.’
She went on to describe how she was pushed so hard that she stumbled and fell on the other officer. ‘I’m sure worse would have happened. The officers walked away only when they heard a male voice on the speaker of my phone. Aggressive behaviour by armed policemen is unacceptable, especially when no one has threatened or physically touched the policeman!’
Only last week, rapper Ruggedman and a police spokesperson got into a war of words over a case of police brutality.
In December, R&B act Praiz was also detained by police after a similar ‘stop and search’ incident with the driver of the car he was in.