Former Big Brother Naija housemate, Tuoyo Ideh, has narrated his experience during the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) raid on Proxy Nightclub, Victoria Island, Lagos, which led to his arrest alongside over 100 others in the early hours of Sunday, October 26.
In a video posted on his Instagram page on Monday, Tuoyo said he had gone to the club as a promoter after helping clients book a table when NDLEA operatives, accompanied by military officers, stormed the venue.
“I had barely sat down for 30 minutes when I just heard, ‘Everybody go down!’” he recounted. “I saw people dressed in black and military personnel. They searched me thoroughly my bag, socks, everything and found nothing.”
Despite being cleared, Tuoyo said he was detained with other guests and taken to the NDLEA office in Ikoyi, where no one was allowed to leave even after being found clean.
He explained that he took to social media to notify the public about his arrest, saying he wanted people to know what was happening.
“I posted that I was arrested by the NDLEA for no just cause because I was not found with anything. After about 30 or 40 minutes, a woman came in, pointed at me, and said, ‘He’s the one.’ Suddenly, about five men rushed at me, slapped and beat me, saying, ‘Na you go post abi?’” he alleged.
Tuoyo claimed the officers forced him outside, ordered him to roll on the ground, and beat him with sticks.
“As I was rolling back and forth, they hit me with sticks, kicked, and slapped me. I was breathing fast; I thought I was going to die. I’ve never been beaten like that in my life,” he said.
According to him, a female officer later intervened to stop the beating but instructed that he be punished with frog jumps despite his injuries. He also displayed bruises on his body, saying he later received hospital treatment.
In his caption accompanying the video, Tuoyo wrote:
“Nigeria finally happened to me. I can’t even stand or lie down properly. The pain the NDLEA officers inflicted on me after beating me like a criminal is not funny. We live in a country where our human rights are taken from us and there’s no freedom of speech.”
As of the time of filing this report, the NDLEA has not issued an official response to Tuoyo’s allegations.
