THE Nigerian medical student who was arrested for allegedly trying to force a police officer to perform oral sex on him denied the accusation and claimed the allegations were fabricated.
Ghukmelie Ezeal, 30, said it’s not possible for him to do that to a police officer since half of his body is already paralyzed.
He said he suffered a stroke 10 days before the alleged incident, which happened inside the rest room of a shopping mall in Cebu City.
At noon yesterday, personnel of the Mabolo Police Station brought Ezeal to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) after his blood pressure shot up, fearing he would suffer another stroke.
In an interview at the hospital, the medical student said his classmates can verify his illness since majority of them pooled their funds for his medication after he ran out of money.
He said he has been unable to move his left arm after the stroke.
Here’s what happened, student says
This was confirmed by four of his Nigerian classmates who accompanied him when he was brought to VSMMC for treatment.
Chike Bosah, one of his classmates, said that when they arrived in the hospital, Ezeal’s blood pressure was 160 over 100. It went down to 120 over 80 after he was given medication.
On the alleged incident last Feb. 22, Ezeal said he had to wait for his turn before he could use the toilet.
When it was finally his turn, a man came in and was in a hurry to use the toilet. He said the man, who turned out to be a police officer, was angry and couldn’t wait for his turn. Ezeal said the police official didn’t want him to finish urinating.
“I was not able to immediately zip my pants because I was half-paralyzed and I can hardly move my (left) hand. I could not also explain to him my situation because my mouth swelled because of the stroke I suffered,” Ezeal said.
But as he was trying to explain the situation, the police officer allegedly pushed him and forced him to get out of the toilet.
Ezeal said that other people who were in the rest room thought it was only a misunderstanding.
He said he was surprised when a police officer arrested him and allegedly fabricated a story to justify his arrest. He said the policeman knew he was paralyzed and can hardly move.
“You can see my situation. I cannot walk alone. The police should put me in the hospital so I can survive and not in jail,” Ezeal said.
Sun.Star Cebu tried calling the involved police official yesterday but he could not be reached for comment.
After the interview, a team of policemen headed by a certain PO2 Dagalia helped bring Ezeal inside the police car and brought him to the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office for the filing of complaints against him.
Ezeal said he plans to seek help from government agencies that may be able to assist him because he cannot afford to hire a lawyer. He is facing complaints for direct assault, grave oral defamation and unjust vexation.
In a separate interview, Leo Villarino, officer-in-charge of the Commission on Human Rights 7, said they will investigate once Ezeal files a complaint.