Trump up allegation: CHRSJ spits fire over illegal arrest, unlawful detention of its Executive Chairman by Lagos Police

A human rights organization, the Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ) has spitted fire over what it termed as illegal arrest and unlawful detention of its Executive Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman(+2348038591504) over trump up allegation, condemning the unprofessional conduct of the men of Nigeria Police Force (NPF) from State Criminal Investigation Department of Lagos State Police Command, Panti-Yaba, being employed in arresting Comrade Sulaiman penultimate Friday.

The group alleged  that the Police just came to the private residence of its Chairman in Ikorodu axis of the State in the wee hour of Friday as it used to be during the dark days of Military era in the country and as if the Police wanted to arrest a common criminal over a matter he knew nothing about.

CHRSJ, alleged that the Police just banged into his(Sulaiman) private residence without any record of turning down their prior invitation or resist of the Police Warrant of Arrest as required by the law from a civilized institution in a civilized society like ours in respect of their trump up allegation, challenging the Police to make it public if there was any prior invitation to this illegal arrest and unlawful detention of its Chairman.

*Describing the action of the Police from D9 Department of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti-Yaba, Lagos, as unprofessional, disgraceful, illegal, undemocratic, evil, ungodly, anathema, unjust, aberration, unlawful, crude, cruel and unconstitutional because it amounted to the violation of his fundamental human rights as stipulated in the Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.*

Although, the group had concluded arrangement to report the matter to the Police authorities and others in the land for their necessary action on the subject matter, adding that the authorities including; Inspector General of Police(IGP), Chairman, Police Service Commission(PSC), AIG Zone 2 of the Nigeria Police Force(NPF), State Commissioner of Police, National Human Rights Commission(NHRC), Human Rights Watch, International Community and host of others.

This was contained in a signed statement by the CHRSJ’s  Assistant General Secretary (AGS), Pastor Michael Agassi, which copies were made available to newsmen after the emergency meeting of the rights group in Ikeja in the State capital on Sunday, it strongly condemned the gestapo manner of the officers who came to the residence of its Chairman by behaving unprofessionally and as well as throughout the unconstitutional and unlawful two days spent in their illegal custody.

Even, an acclaimed Officer- in- charge O/C /2ic of the D9 Department of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) with unknown acclaimed Senior Police Officer in Mufti,who claimed to  be a friend to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in charge of State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti-Yaba, Lagos, was pointing gun at our Executive Chairman as if he committed a criminal offence against the Police children and this lead to the order by the DCP-SCID for immediate release of our Executive Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman without further delaying on Friday.

But it was unlawfully turned down by the acclaimed O/C / 2ic of the D9 Department of SCID, Panti-Yaba, Lagos and as well vowed that he would ensure our Executive Chairman slept in their custody on Friday and also threatened to arrest the two(2) members of the human rights group (Comrade Alani Olaniyan:-+2348033333451 and Pastor Michael Agassi:-+2349018677671) that came to check our Executive Chairman in their custody on Friday in order to serve as surety for our Executive Chairman but until the swift and professional intervention of a Police Officer, Akeem Saudi with phone number+2348023030064 and two(2) others that calm down the Officers.

Condemning the action of the said Police Officers by violating the ethics of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and supporting this claim with reference to the Criminal Procedure Act in the Case of Udo Ndo v. Queen 15 police officers, who shot and killed an unarmed escaping Prisoner, were convicted of murder for using excessive force”, adding that the Criminal Code CAP “C38″of the Law of Federation in Case of Igbo v. State, Alia Agu v. State and R.V. Okon.

Also,“Justice Niki Tobi (JSC) as then was, made a pronouncement in the case of one Late Solomon Omopariola against Police Officer in Efon-Amuro Police Station, Kogi State, that “appellant had no right to arrest, detain or torture late Solomon Omopariola, not to talk of shoot him to death, there is an evidence that the appellant was drunk at the time he arrested and detained the innocent Citizen. This is very serious and Inspector General of Police (IGP) should do something about it,like my learned brother, the Police are employed to protect the Person not to violate the Citizens rights.” -Justice Niki Tobi on September, 29th and October, 3rd, 2010.”

Stating that, even, after the instruction of the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the SCID, Panti-Yaba, Lagos to the Officer-in-Charge of the D9 Department, to release our Executive Chairman on Friday unconditionally to a surety, the said O/C refused to act as directed by DCP-SCID and his Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) by requesting from our Executive Chairman to bring Grade level 16,14, and later brought it down to Grade level 10 Officer before he would be granting freedom after keeping our Executive Chairman incommunicado for almost forty- eight (48) hours, adding that the Team leader(popularly called”Pastor”) in charge of the matter, latter came on Saturday evening of 27th day of April, 2024 to release our Executive Chairman on bail by requesting for sum of N450,000 for bail fund and our Executive Chairman was able to give him sum of Two Thousand Naira(N2,000) zero Kobo for his bail.

While commending the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adegoke Fayoade+2348033521772 for his prompt intervention on the illegal arrest and unlawful detention of our Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman+2348038591504, who has been described as inimitable human rights and pro-democracy activist and a man of himself who never hesitate to speak the truth to the power that be, calling on the Lagos State Police boss and other higher authorities in the Force to set up the Special Investigation Panel(SIP) to investigate the subject matter as the human rights body did not believe in the half baked investigation of the D9 Department of SCID, Panti-Yaba, Lagos because the group wants the matter to be charged to Court after the thorough, unbiased and credible investigation from the Special Investigation Panel(SIP) to be set up by the Police authority in the State.

Alleging that the O/C in charge of D9 Department of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), the Investigation Police Officer(IPO) Luku, one Officer Tijani and other Officers conduct on the subject matter were short of expected train Police Officers that supposed to carry their investigation on any issue without fear or favour by not being the tool in the hand of dick and harry Complainant but reversed was the case in this wise as the aformentioned Police Officers were being controlled by the alleged money collected from their acclaimed Complainant, one Ayodeji Ebenezer Akinlade to do the hatchet job in this regard.

Narrating the incident for the purpose of the clarity and understanding of the public, Pastor Agassi disclosed that the acclaimed Police Complainant, Ayodeji Ebenezer Akinlade, allegedly claimed to deposit sum of One million,Two Hundred and Fifty Eight Thousand in the GTB account of our Executive Chairman’s wife on Saturday 27th day of January, 2024 around 7.35 pm with the same bank alert and she was wondering who could send such amount to his account at that hour but not quite long to the time of wondering, the said money was removed without giving bank alert from our Executive Chairman’s wife account.

To her surprise, a person with phone number:-(+2348039003900/Joseph:-+2348051471628), who claimed to be working with the GTB called on the early morning of Sunday 28th day of January, 2024, apologizing to our Executive Chairman’s wife for entering her account domiciled with GTB without her consent to remove the money erroneously paid into her account on the night of Saturday 27th day of January, 2024 but few days later, the Police acclaimed Complainant, Ayodeji Ebenezer Akinlade just emerged from nowhere, alleging the wife of our Chairman of withdrawing the money erroneously paid into her account on the fateful Saturday night of 27th day of January, 2024 and later said he has reported the matter to the D9 Department of SCID, Panti-Yaba, Lagos which lead to the illegal arrest and unlawful detention of our Executive Chairman who was not the holder of the said account.

But to the surprise of all and sundry, the aformentioned Police Officers attached to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), just jumped into the conclusion that our Executive Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman and his wife withdrew the said money from the account of his wife between the night of 27th and early morning of 28th day of January, 2024 by spending the money and this narration were the believe of the officers of D9 Department of SCID, Panti-Yaba, Lagos, made them to arrest Our Executive Chairman in a gestapo manner without prior any invitation and warrant of arrest to that effect.

Even, after the explanation of our Executive Chairman as contained in his written statement with the Police, those Officers in charge of the matter including O/C D9 Department of SCID, Panti-Yaba, Lagos, his IPO, Team leader and others, failed to carry out independent investigation to unravel, unveil, reveal and expose who took the said money from the account of our Executive Chairman’s wife GTB account between the night of Saturday 27th and Sunday morning of 28th, January, 2024 by independently obtained the Statement of Account from the Bank authority but instead of the so called Police investigators of SCID on the subject matter to extend the investigation to the aformentioned GTB Bank officials as explained by their acclaimed Complainant, Ayodeji Ebenezer Akinlade, the Police Officers just closed their eyes from GTB and its officials by shielding them from the investigation and this is the reason why, the human rights body (CHRSJ) did not have any iota of confidence in the investigation of the D9 Department of SCID, Panti-Yaba, Lagos, on the subject matter.

Further explained that the ugly experience of our Executive Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman in the hand of the said Police officers made us believe that the illegal arrest and unlawful detention were beyond this unfounded allegation of wrong payment to his wife Bank account because Comrade Sulaiman was illegally subjected to torture and unlawfully brutalized at the Police custody before the intervention of the Lagos State Police boss and his Deputy in charge of State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti-Yaba Lagos.

Arguing that, it is a report made mala fide and he will be equally liable for the action by the Police on irrespective of whether he actively instigated them or not, since he had no business involving the Police in a purely civil matter in the first place. Such conduct which portrays disregard of the law and is aimed at using the coercive powers of the State to punishing a contracting party in a purely civil matters ought to be mulcted in exemplary damages. See Okafor & Anor v.AIG Police Zone 2, Onikan, Lagos &Ors (2019) LPELR-46505.

The statement further alleged that the IPO Luku, Officer Musa and one Officer Tijani of the same D9 Department, have encouraged their acclaimed Complainant (Ayodeji Ebenezer Akinlade) to employ the service of thugs, hoodlums and hooligans with Soldiers to attack the private residence of our Executive Chairman (Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman+2348038591504) so as to forcefully collecting the said money from the hand of our Executive Chairman and his wife, still believing that the said money was still in the hand of our Executive Chairman and his wife with their half baked investigation and if anything happens to our Executive Chairman and any member of his household now, we have known where to trace it to now.

The statement also alleged that while CHRSJ’s Executive Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman was still in the custody of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti-Yaba, Lagos, the acclaimed Police Complainant, Ayodeji Ebenezer Akinlade and his family members were threatening the wife of our Executive Chairman through this phone number:-+2349035920617 on Saturday 26th day of April, 20024 at about 5: 35 pm, cursing them as if they were the Bank that took his alleged money.

“Our observation suspected that the acclaimed Police Complainant, Ayodeji Ebenezer Akinlade is a Yahoo guy who has been sending huge amount of money to different peoples’ account for later recovery. But it seems some Police Officers and Bank officials are working with the guy in recovery process of those money sent to different peoples’ accounts back through fiat using state agents like Police and soldiers. We are using this medium to call on the Police authority to investigate the activities of this guy by extending an investigation into his financial transactions in the last one year to unravel unveil, reveal and expose his hiding atrocities’, the statement noted.

The human rights body urged the Police boss in the State not to take his Officers advise to their so-called Complainant, Ayodeji Ebenezer Akinlade, with levity hand by ensure security and protection of life and property of our Executive Chairman and members of his family, saying that they would do the needful within the ambit of the law and democracy to seek redress on the subject matter at the appropriate time in order to ensure that justice takes its due course.

For further enquiry;

Contact the Lagos State Police authority on the subject matter

(1).  *Lagos State Police Commissioner, Mr. Adegoke Fayoade:-+2348033521772

(2). *Lagos State Police PRO, Mr. Ben Hundeyin:-+2347062606717