Rivers family accuses police of torturing, illegally arresting son
The family of a man, Isaac Bristol Alagbariya, have accused men of the Rivers State Police Command of illegally arresting and torturing their son after breaking into his hotel room along Ada George on the outskirts of Port Harcourt.
The family, at a news briefing in Port Harcourt, on Tuesday, alleged that their son, Isaack Alagbariya, was arrested by the police at the Osmosis Hotel, along the Ada George area of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state after they forced themselves into his room.
Isaac’s elder brother, Asime, described the torture and arrest as unlawful and demanded his immediate and unconditional release.
He stated, “On August 5, 2024, men of the Nigeria Police Force clad in mufty arrived at Osmosis Hotel on Ada George Road, and broke into the hotel room of our son and brother, Mr Isaac Bristol Alagbariya, arrested and took him away to an undisclosed location.
“Family members didn’t get wind of the incident until the following day, because the hotel manager was an alleged police informant working closely with them.”
He also accused the police and the hotel manager of carting away his brother’s personal belongings even as he chided a first-generation bank, (names withheld), for illegally releasing his younger brother’s bank details to the police without his consent.
He averred, “The Nigeria Police Force anti-kidnapping unit in connivance with the hotel manager took away the personal diary of Isaac Bristol Alagbariya, containing the reference phrase, email password and log-in detail of his cryptocurrency account, containing well over $27,200 USDTs, which is approximately N43m.
“We are disappointed at the bank for allegedly illegally releasing a photograph of Isaac Bristol Alagbariya, through his BVN with the said bank in their haste to tie him to the PIDOM X account.”
However, PUNCH Metro investigation revealed that banks do not need to release any customer’s BVN as anti-fraud and anti-money laundering agencies have access to every Nigerian’s BVN.
It was gathered that “apart from security agencies having access to customer’s BVN, every financial institution in the country can also access any individual’s BVN.
“So, it is absolutely wrong to accuse any bank of releasing a customer’s BVN details.”
It was further gathered that under extant financial regulations, “it is a criminal offence for any financial institution not to cooperate with security agencies when the need arises.”
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, told our correspondent that the state command had nothing to do with the alleged arrest of the suspect.
She said it was carried out by the Force’s Anti-Fraud Unit from Abuja, adding, “It was the Anti-Fraud Unit from Abuja that carried out the operation. So, I will advise that you contact the Force Public Relations Officer.”
