The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Danisko Hotel, based in Aviale, Edo State, Daniel Abu Shaibu, has been accused of using the police to detain two young men after a dispute over a N4,700 meal they say they neither ordered nor ate.
The hotel boss reportedly went on to demand N7.2 million in damages, accusing the pair of cyberbullying.
The detainees, Usman Abdul Mumin and his friend, Mohammed Fahaas, have allegedly spent about two weeks in police custody and are facing a cyberbullying charge after Mumin posted a short video of the incident.
A brother to Mumin told SaharaReporters on Sunday that the detained victims are being held under the anti-kidnapping department and are expected back in court on Monday, August 31, adding that a court order had directed that they remain in police custody pending the next hearing.
The family source said Mumin and his friend were arrested after a disagreement at the hotel escalated.
“The CEO of Danisko Hotel, Aviale, around Auchi, arrested him and his friend because of a video he posted. They have been in detention for two weeks now, and are being charged with cyberbullying and awaiting court trial tomorrow morning,” Mumin’s brother said.
“I learnt that there was an order from the court to keep them in the police cell since last week till tomorrow morning, when they appear again in court.
“They are in detention under the anti-kidnapping department. The CEO of Danisko Hotel said he will only let the case go if he (Mumin) pays him N7.2 million in damages.”
Meanwhile, the family source said Mumin’s ordeal began when he, his brother, and two of his friends visited Danisko Hotel after going to a hospital where they went to see someone.
In a video obtained by SaharaReporters on Sunday, Mumin gave a detailed account of the incident, saying the disagreement started after he asked a female bar attendant whether food was available at the hotel.
“We went to Danisko Hotel, Aviale, Edo North; four of us – me, my brother, and two of my friends. When we reached there, one of my friends went inside to see his friend. My brother and the other friend went and sat at the bar,” he said.
“Based on the fact that my friend was the one who took us there, he said we should order anything we wanted. Before he said that, I had already ordered V-smartic; then the other guys went inside and ordered what they wanted to drink.
“I was inside my car while they went inside the bar. While one of my friends was still inside the hotel with his friend, I was already hungry while sitting inside the car, because we had gone to the hospital to see someone, and it was when we were coming back from the hospital that we entered the hotel.”
Mumin said he subsequently called his friend and informed him that he was hungry and wanted to leave, but went into the bar to meet his brother and another friend while waiting.
“Inside the bar, I asked the female attendant there whether they had food. She said yes. I asked her what kind of food they had, and she said she was not the one in charge of the kitchen, and that she would call the person in charge of the kitchen,” Mumin said.
“She went to the kitchen and came back, and told me that the person said she couldn’t come because she was busy.
“She then said that the person in the kitchen told her that there was no Semovita but that they had pounded yam. I asked her how much the pounded yam was, and she said N4,700.”
Mumin said he declined the food because his friend had indicated they would not stay long at the hotel and he had food waiting at home.
“But because my friend had told me that we wouldn’t stay long at the hotel, I told the lady to wait,” he said.
He said he later returned to his vehicle and waited for his friend, who eventually came outside and went to the bar to settle the bill for the drinks purchased by the other two men.
According to Mumin, as they attempted to leave, the female bar attendant rushed to his car and demanded payment for the food.
“The lady came to my car and said I should pay for the food. I reminded her that I didn’t ask her to prepare the food,” he said.
“After all, when I asked for the food, you said you didn’t have Semovita but pounded yam, which you told me the price was N4,700, and I said no need. I don’t need the food.”
He said the disagreement escalated after the hotel allegedly locked its gate, preventing them from leaving.
“I asked why they were locking us inside, saying that was illegal detention despite things worth over N30,000 we bought,” Mumin said.
Mumin alleged that the situation became increasingly tense after a hotel security officer allegedly brought out a gun.
“The lady was shouting and lying. Meanwhile, I didn’t even see the food we were arguing about,” he said.
“But as the argument continued to waste my time, I brought out a Quran from my car and asked her to swear by the Quran if she knew she was saying the truth, and I would swear with the Quran too; then I would pay her the money.
“She said she was not a Muslim, that she was a Christian. I said, okay, bring your Bible and swear with it. I would also swear with the Bible and still swear with my Quran.
“But instead of doing that, the hotel manager was violently shouting, insisting that the lady must not swear. Suddenly, the hotel security guard went inside, brought a gun, and came to us.”
Mumin said he eventually paid the N4,700 demanded for the food despite maintaining that he had neither ordered nor eaten it.
He said, “I told the lady to bring their POS, which she did, and I paid the money without asking for the food because I was not interested in it.”
However, he alleged that the gate remained locked even after he made the payment.
“After paying them the money, I started my car to go; they still locked the gate. Note that when I noticed that the issue was becoming violent, I recorded the short video I posted,” he said.
He said the video was stopped after the female hotel manager allegedly hit his phone and grabbed his clothes.
Mumin said the hotel security officer called the police to the scene, noting that the police officer who came to the hotel initially found no basis for the hotel’s action and their illegal detention at the hotel.
“The police officer said there was no problem there. The police officer asked them why they were detaining us after we paid for food we didn’t eat,” Mumin said.
According to him, the situation changed after the hotel officials demanded that he delete the video of the incident he recorded, but he refused.
“They said I must delete the video on my phone. I asked why I should delete the video on my phone, which is my evidence,” he said.
Mumin further alleged that the hotel manager made several accusations against him after police arrived.
“Because when the police officer came, the female manager made all sorts of false allegations against me. She said I was shaking the gate and that I was boasting and threatening to kill them,” he alleged.
“She said they would take the matter to court. That was when I told her to remember that I have the video of everything that happened. That was when she calmed down.”
He also alleged that the police officer asked him to delete the video. However, he noted that he had already forwarded it to his brother.
“I had already sent the video to my brother because I can’t delete this kind of evidence because if I delete the video, they will come out and claim that we used cultists to attack and beat them,” he said.
Mumin claimed the incident was being manipulated to portray him and his companions as cultists, amid Edo State’s campaign against cultism.
“A lot is happening in Edo State, and because they know that the Edo State government has frowned on cultism and that anybody who engages in cultism is in a serious problem, they want to manipulate the issue and put us in trouble.”
Danisko Hotel’s CEO had not responded to requests for comment as at the time of filing this report.
SaharaReporters contacted Barrister Patrick Wilson, counsel to the hotel’s CEO, seeking his client’s response, but the lawyer had not replied to a WhatsApp message or answered a phone call as at the time of filing.
(SaharaReporters)