Operatives of the Special Anti-Cult Unit of the Anambra State Police Command have been accused of breaking into a private hostel housing students of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, in a bid to arrest suspected fraudsters in Ifite, in the Awka South Local Government Area of the state.
According to reports, the heavily armed policemen stormed the hostel at about 4 am on Sunday and beat up the unclad female student. Some other students were also said to have been brutalized when they denied knowing any fraudster.
A source who spoke to newsmen said the lodge is located outside the school and when the students first heard bangs on the gate, they thought it was a robbery attack and raised an alarm. They were however surprised to see that the invaders were policemen as they wore jackets with the inscription of SPAC
“The students said the policemen started harassing them and said they were looking for Yahoo boys.
Narrating her ordeal, the female student who was beaten while naked said some of the policemen entered her room and threatened her to name the boys in the hostel doing Yahoo Yahoo (Internet fraud), and when she couldn't name any, she has beaten.
She posted a video of the injuries she sustained from the attack and her door that was forcefully broken by the police to gain access.
The police reportedly confiscated the students' phones, laptops, and televisions and arrested some of them.
In a statement, the Public Relations Officer of the Student Union Government, UNIZIK, Ikechukwu Dikeojo, described the policemen's actions as unprofessional.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Ikenganyia Anthony, said an investigation had commenced into the case, adding that Dikeojo had been informed to bring the victims to the command headquarters.
