How My Younger Sister Was Framed, Abused And Jailed In Dubai

He talks about how his younger sister, Sopuruchi, was jailed in the United Arab Emirates for being careless at work when a child she was watching hurt himself while she was in the bathroom.

Chetachi Davidson, a businesswoman from Nigeria, has talked about her sister's problems in the UAE.

He tells BLESSING AFOLABI that his younger sister, Sopuruchi, was jailed in the United Arab Emirates for being careless at work after a child she was watching hurt himself while she was in the bathroom.

Can you narrate what led to your sister’s imprisonment?

On September 15, 2022, I was in Ogun State when I got a call from my cousin that Sopuruchi’s ex-colleague, Joy, called to inform him that my sister was arrested. He told me that Sopuruchi's supervisor, a Sudanese man who had always irritated her, had called the police to arrest her because one of the kids in her care hurt himself in the ear while she was in the bathroom. I have no idea whether the person she instructed to watch over the kids for her didn’t do as told or how the sharp object got into the boy’s hand, though the classes had closed circuit television cameras, which they didn’t play before arresting her.

What do you think is going on?

The case seems like it was set up to look like a cold-blooded murder, but I don't want to say that until it's proven. My sister's boss had sent her several WhatsApp messages in which she said she would annoy her because she hates Nigerians. My sister's phone has all the threatening messages. Sharia law means that people there believe an old person when they say something is true. This same boss fired Joy, ended her contract, and made sure she was sent home.

How long did she take to go to the bathroom?

They said she was in the bathroom for half an hour. How in the world could someone on duty spend 30 minutes in the bathroom when her job is so important? Fine! She got out of the car and tried to check on the child before calling the police to have her arrested right away. Her passport, phone, and emirate ID card were taken, and she was given a one-month jail sentence. We sent some people to the station to check on her, but it didn't help. They all asked her for her passport or ID, but they were the ones who took it away from her. The supervisor told anyone who wasn't a school employee that they couldn't come into the school. Because of this, we couldn't get anyone to go to the school to find out about the case.

She (Sopuruchi's boss) is making everything hard to do. In any normal place, people can go into schools to ask questions. Here, though, it's the other way around (in the UAE school). The police wouldn't let any of my sister's friends see her in person.

How long has it been since your sister went to jail?

On November 14, 2022, I realized that my sister had been in jail for two months and should have been released. Since there was no progress of any sort, I posted on Twitter tagging the Dubai police.

Have the police come?

There was a response that seemed more like a way to fix the damage. A detective was sent to check on her. He told us that she was in the deportation cell for women and that because it was a secret case, he couldn't go see her. I kept asking myself how carelessness at work turned into a classified case. When I found out she was still alive and healthy, I felt a little better. Some of her high schoolmates who were in Dubai went to check on her in jail and discovered that she was fine though they didn’t get to see her in person. I tried to get her a lawyer, but I was told it would take between six and eight months.

What is your family doing to make sure she gets out of prison?

What we want to do is get some money together and raise awareness through the Chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, so that we can pay for Sopuruchi's ticket and book her flight so that the UAE government will give her back to us in Nigeria. I heard that she will be sent back to Nigeria without any of her things and will have to write a statement when she gets there. I don't care, just let them give my sister back to us. She is a citizen who follows the law. She went to Dubai legally and got a job through an agency. She has her pieces of evidence. I just want the (Nigerian) government, through NIDCOM, to get to the UAE government to allow us to buy her return ticket to Nigeria.

How did you try to get in touch with her?

The CID officer helping with the case went to the police on Monday November 21, 2022 to confirm if we could pay for her ticket back to Nigeria but to my utmost surprise, he was told that she was in the Al Ain jail and had been sentenced to six months’ imprisonment. She won't get out of jail until May of next year. At first, she was only going to be in jail for a month. I have no idea why it was given an extra six months. We hope that the news can help. Her boss is lying when he says that my sister had been warned many times and that she took the boy with her to the bathroom and bit his ear. The Nigerian security guard at the school has now been fired, probably to keep the case's details from getting out. The staff members have also been told not to tell anyone anything. Sopuruchi is still in jail right now, but we're still holding out hope.

Was there a trial?

In no way. I heard that she was arrested, taken to the station, and jailed for a month without a trial because she was in the bathroom for 30 minutes. Her sentence has now been extended to six months.

Did your family try to get her a lawyer?

We tried to get a lawyer, but we were told that basic human rights aren't respected there. But if we decide to get one, the problem won't be solved for six months or even years, because the legal system is a mess. The best thing for us to do is to beg the police to let us see her and buy her a ticket back to Nigeria.

Have you reached out to NIDCOM?

Someone told me to send an official email instead of a tweet to NIDCOM, which I did. I sent Dabiri-Erewa a direct message, but I haven't heard back yet. I hope to be able to talk to the commission.

You said that the way the Dubai police answered your tweet seemed like "damage control." How did things turn out?

The only thing the Dubai police gave me was the number for the school's human resources office. When we tried to get in touch, we were told that they only did recruiting. Even though we were able to get in touch with the police through HR, they weren't able to do much because the case could only be taken care of by the police headquarters in Dubai because Al Ain doesn't have one. We have sent the school several emails, but they haven't replied.

You also said earlier that her boss sent her messages that were scary. Did your sister ever tell you about it?

No, she didn't. The problem started with a boy who was one of the kids she took care of and really liked my sister. He was often envious when she took care of other kids. At one point, the boy hit other kids because he was angry with them. He didn't listen when my sister tried to warn him. There, kids don't get hit. If they do something wrong, they are told to put their hands up and face the wall. She wasn't able to do much about it. Her boss came to the scene and said she had been careless. Sopuruchi told her to play the video from the CCTV camera. They played it, but only until the boy started picking fights with other kids. Even though Sopuruchi said she wasn't guilty, her boss gave her a question and cut her pay.

Did your sister tell you about this?

She told me about it, and I told her to record the next time it happens on her phone. She wrote it down the next time it happened. Like always, her boss burst in and tried to accuse her, just like the last time. Then she showed them proof that shut them up. They didn't say they were sorry or give back the money that was taken. Sopuruchi kept saying that her boss was out to get in the way of her work. Because of this, I'm pretty sure it was a set-up, but I hope the truth comes out. It hurts that they didn't look into the case before putting her in jail. I called one of the school's official phone lines and asked for information about my sister's case, but they wouldn't give it to me. The staff member I was able to talk to told me to stop sending him messages and that he didn't know anything about the case. I'm pretty sure that she (the boss) has told them to slow down the process. I could only talk to people who worked with my sister and were fired and sent back to Nigeria.

Since then, have you heard from your sister?

No, she hasn't talked to me. No calls, no messages. The UAE government wouldn't let her talk to anyone but her friend, who she sent a voice message to as soon as she was arrested. She had to send him a voice message in Yoruba to tell him she was in jail. The guy, Mr. Kolawole, was the one who sent me a picture of her visa and passport. After she was arrested, her passport, emirate ID, and phone were taken away. No one in the family has heard from her in the last two months. They wouldn't let her talk to any of her family or friends, and the same was true for them. I'm waiting for her to get back to me.

How is your family handling everything?

We are doing our best to stay strong, but I don't know how long we can keep doing that. My mom has high blood pressure, but I have been trying to keep it from her. She's been asking a lot of questions, especially about why my sister doesn't call her or send her the money she's supposed to every month. Because of my mom's health, I had to put her phone in "flight mode." I don't want any information to get to her. We've been keeping an eye on my mom and making sure she gets the care she needs. All I want is for my mom to hear that my sister is already on her way to Nigeria. Even though he is very sad, my dad is doing his best to stay strong. My dad and I spent a lot of money to send Sopuruchi to Dubai, and now we have to deal with this pain.

Source: Punchng