Azeez Folorunso
THE family members of Banjoko Ogidi of Ginti Village, in Igbogbo-Ijede, Ikorodu have sent a Save-Our-Soul (SOS) message to the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba; the new Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa, and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, over the alleged incessant harassments, intimidations, arrests and unlawful detentions of members of Banjoko Ogidi family by uniform armed men from different police formations.
The family members, in a petition signed by the Head of the family/Olotu Ebi, Morufu Metimoju Olowosago alleged that the police officers have consistently been aiding and abetting an alleged notorious and dangerous land grabber named Nofiu Abiodun Kasunmu.
The family lamented that its members have, over the years, been subjected to constant harassment, intimidations, arrests and unlawful detentions by the police for merely protecting its inheritance and all landed assets that duly and legally belong to the Banjoko Ogidi family in Ikorodu from illegal encroachment and possession by the alleged notorious land grabber, Nofiu Kasunmu.
The petition dated 26 April 2023, in paragraph 10, stated that the said notorious land grabber, Nofiu Kasunmu, even dared to use part of the Banjoko Ogidi’s family land as compensation; “As bribe or compensation for aiding and abetting his criminal activities, our family land was freely given to some of the police officers mentioned above to the extent that ASP Oba Marcus and his teammates attached to ‘Area N’, Ijede went as far as erecting a building on our land, the land which was excised to our family by the Lagos State Government and covered by the Lagos State official Gazette No 46. Vol 40 dated 21st June 2007, What an effrontery.”
According to the petition, the incessant harassment, intimidation, arrest and unlawful detention of members of the Banjoko Ogidi family started as far back as March 2020 and has continued to date.
The Banjoko Ogidi family is, therefore, calling on the Inspector-General of Police and the new Lagos State Police Commissioner to call all the aforementioned officers to order, as the case is already before a court of competent jurisdiction for determination.
It also wants the IGP and the state Commissioner of Police to investigate ASP Oba Marcus and his team and be ordered to vacate the family land and sanctioned accordingly if found guilty.
The unedited petition is reproduced below
History of Incessant Harassments, Intimidations, Constant Arrest And Unlawful Detention Of Banjoko Ogidi Family Of Ginti Village Along Igbogbo-Ijede in Ikorodu, Lagos State by Nigeria Police Officers Aiding And Abetting A Notorious And Dangerous Land Grabber In The Name Of Nofiu Abiodun Kasunmu.
(1) On Friday the 4th of March 2020, a Team of Policemen from Zone 2 Lagos led by Inspector Geoffrey (now in AIG office Zone 2) invaded our palace in the company of Nofiu’s Abiodun Kasumu’s thugs, beat and arrested two family members. They were illegally detained overnight. Nofiu Abiodun Kasunmu never showed up to defend his allegations. The IPO who is one of his stooges later claimed that the case file had been transferred to Abuja. Till today, nothing was heard of the investigation.
(2) On Wednesday the 7th of October 2020, Six (6) Policemen from SCIID Panti, led by Supol Alhaji Kasali of D9 Section, invaded our palace accompanied by over 15 Thugs of Nofiu Abiodun Kasumu, on motorbikes. They beat and arrested six (6) members of our family based on a frivolous petition from Nofiu Abiodun Kasunmu on which only one name of those 6 arrested featured.
Despite this fact, ACP Sola Oketunji, who ordered the illegal arrest, insisted that all the six arrested should be locked up in a cell with hardened criminals. They were illegally detained for 26 hours and forced to part with our hard-earned financial resources in the name of bail. The investigation was abandoned without a report to date.
(3) In March 2021, (2) Two police officers from Police Force ‘X Squad’ FCID, Abuja, led by a Woman Police Inspector, Racheal and accompanied by over 15 thugs of Nofiu Abiodun Kasunmu invaded our palace, beat and assaulted our family members and arrested 6 (six) members of the family who were taken to Lagos State Command and locked up overnight to be transported to Abuja by road the following morning. It took the intervention of the AIG Alagbon – Alhaji Dansuki Galadanahi who released them and ordered a police invitation instead. The invitation was honoured.
The investigation was transferred from ‘X SQUAD’ to GI Section, yet the investigation was compromised, the case file was declared missing and the investigation report was suppressed till today. Various visits to Abuja to get justice proved abortive. The officer behind the arrest was CP Amaechi before he retire as AIG recently.
(4) On Wednesday the 30th of March 2022, two (2) Policemen from the Special Enquiry Bureau, Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Abuja, led by Inspector Yomi of Team 8, under CSP Stanley Nwodo, laid a siege near the residence of Banjoko Ogidi’s family head from 5 am to 9 am to effect his arrest when he stepped out for work. It took the intervention of the entire community to resist the arrest. When the confrontation was gradually dragging into a breakdown of law and order, the Policemen retreated and were forced to issue a police invitation instead. The invitation was honoured but like the past arrests, it was purely for extortion and the investigation report is yet to be released to date despite persistent requests from Banjoko Ogidi Family. At a stage, the officer (IPO) refused to pick up our calls again.
(5) Falana and Falana’s Chambers requested the transfer of the case to the Directorate of Public Prosecution under the Hon. Attorney-General of Lagos State. The case was investigated and Nofiu Abiodun Kasunmu was charged to court in Charge No: ID/20676C/2022 – State of Lagos Vs Nofiu Abiodun at Ikeja High Court.
(6) In his usual way of perverting the cause of justice, Nofiu Abiodun Kasunmu again ran to Abuja to meet his stooges to intervene and again aided and abetted by some retired and serving police officers.
(7) Consequent to the 6 above, on Wednesday the 19th of April, a police invitation letter was received by the family, from the General Investigation Section, FCID, The Nigeria Police Force, Abuja for an interview with the CP and/or O/C Team ‘C’ in Room 110 at their Area 10, Garki office, Abuja on Wednesday the 3rd of May 2023
(7) Apart from all the police officers mentioned above, the major backers of Nofiu Abiodun Kasunmu’s illegality are CP Olayinka Balogun (RTD), AIG Amaechi (recently retired), ASP Oba Marcus and team attached to Area N, Ijede and ACP Sola Oketunji of SCIID Panti.
(8) Our various petitions to the former CP of Lagos State, CP Odumosu, on the activities of the police, especially CP Olayinka Balogun (RTD) yielded no result.
(9) Nofiu Abiodun Kasumu and his cohorts were charged to court five times by both Federal and Lagos State Police for criminal offences in charge of Nos. Ikd/E/24/2020; IKD/E/27/2020; and A/47/2021 and all the cases were illegally withdrawn from the court for reasons of “further investigation” and all the cases were suppressed to date.
(10) As a bribe or compensation for aiding and abetting his criminal activities, our family land was freely given to some of the police officers mentioned above to the extent that ASP Oba Marcus and his teammates attached to Area N, Ijede went as far as erecting a building on our land, the land, which was excised to our family by Lagos State Govt and covered by Lagos State official Gazette No 46. Vol 40 dated 21st June 2007, What an effrontery.
(11) We petitioned ASP Oba Marcus and his team (for taking our land as a bribe and built on it) to Force Headquarters, Provost Section, Kam Selem, Lagos. The investigation was again compromised by the top officers backing his criminality. Upon pressure from my family for the report/outcome of the investigation, the AC Provost – ACP Sunny Dangana confessed that his hands are tight and that our family should seek redress from the higher authority.
(12) We are, therefore, calling on the IGP to call all the officers concerned to order, as the case is already before the court of competent authority and ASP Oba Marcus and his team should be investigated and if found guilty, they should be asked to vacate our land and sanctioned accordingly.
Eighteen-Eleven Media