Four S’African officers have been taken into custody after being accused of punching a Nigerian into a coma in a joint operation between the South African police and the Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg.
According to information obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate detained the cops on Wednesday at the Boksburg North Police Station.
According to NAN, the complaint about the alleged assault that left the victim unconscious led to the arrest.
Elizabeth Wale-Ayodele, a consular employee, remembered that the incident took place on January 9 in Boksburg.
She said, “Two weeks ago, 9th January, 2023, a Nigerian was assaulted in Boksburg by four policemen. We received this at the consulate and immediately the CG (Consul General), Mr Andrew Idi, was here two weeks ago to pay the victim a visit.
“He (the victim) was assaulted, thoroughly beaten, even when he complained of having kidney issues. He fell into coma and was in coma for nine days.
“So when he came out of coma, the CG was there to visit him and we opened the case with IPID. The consulate has followed up the case up till this moment.
“We are happy to see this happen. We are happy to see that Nigerians are not assaulted and perpetrators go scot free.
“We happy to see justice prevail. We are happy to see that the consulate had worked on this day and night. We are happy to see the result.”
When IPID, the police watchdog, made the arrest, representatives of the consulate were there.
According to information obtained by NAN, the four officers who were detained in connection with the assault on the Nigerian face charges of assault with the purpose to cause great bodily harm and thwarting the administration of justice.
Two further police officers were detained on suspicion of copper theft and thwarting the course of justice.
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NAN was also informed that the six police officers would go on trial on Thursday.
According to reports, the police officers who attacked the Nigerian wanted the victim’s and his friends’ identification documents.
The Spokesperson for IPID, Lizzy Suping, said the victim was arrested and taken to the police station when he could not produce the required documents.
She said he was subsequently assaulted and tortured by the officers at the police station and was taken to the hospital where he was in coma for nine days.
The suspects, she added, would be arraigned at the Boksburg Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
