COVID-19: Group calls for removal of Lagos DPO, Anyanwu over ‘illegal’ arrest, extortion

OBINNA EZUGWU

Civil rights organisation, Save Lagos Group (SLG) has called for the the removal of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Oko-Oba Police Station, Abule-Egba, Agege area of the state, Mr. Kingsley Anyanwu over alleged illegal arrest and extortion of Lagosians during this Covid-19 lock down.

The group which made the call to the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu in a statement signed by its convener Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman (Revolutionary Alfa), and sent to this correspondent on Tuesday, alleged that policemen attached to the police station have continued to detain two Lagosians against the directive of the IGP since Tuesday 31st of March, 2020.
Giving the name of the two persons detained as Ayodele Olagoke, a student of The Polytechnic, Ibadan and Ayoololuwa Bamise, the group added that the DPO and his men have not allowed them to write any statement for the seven days they have been in custody.
The SLG said a family member of one of the detained, Mr. Olumakinwa Adedotun Babatunde had explained that the boys were arrested when a neighbour sent them on an errand with his car.
The group, quoting Babatunde, said the boys on getting to a bus stop in the area, “met police road block and in an attempt to stop, one female police officer, Inspector Joy, jumped in front of the car and as a result, the car hit her and she fell.
“Immediately, she was taken to the hospital of her choice, Hamkad Hospital located at Olawale Cole street, off Risikatu Majaro Street, U-Turn Bus-Stop, Abule-Egba, being the hospital she used for National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
“After her treatment discharge, the family of the suspects paid 10 percent of the Hospital bill and gave her a sum of N40,000 with food stuff and beverages,” the group said.
Meanwhile, according to the group, the owner of the car has pleaded with an Assistant Commissioner of Police(ACP) Agboola attached to the State Police Headquarters in Ikeja, to prevail on DPO Anyanwu to release the two suspects on bail with the impounded car but to no avail.
The car owner identified as Mr. Tella, according to the group, said he was slapped slapped three times on Sunday March 5 when he tried to approach Anyanwu for having the audacity to “approach the superior officer of the Command on the subject matter.”
The group noted that Mr. Tella said the DPO vowed to put the car on Uber after end of the stay at home order by the Federal Government.
”While the leadership of the Save Lagos Group (SLG) through its Convener, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman, is trying to appeal to DPO Anyanwu, he has shun all appeal, saying that he would not respect any rights of the detained suspects,” the group said.
The SLG alleged that Anyanwu is insisting on the family of the detained paying N200,000 for their release.
Sulaiman said he is calling “immediate removal of Mr. Anyanwu as Divisional Police Officer,” as according to him, “he is not a good ambassador of the police force.”