By Marry BASSEY, Assistant Investigator Editor, Lagos.
THE February 23, 2019 Presidential and National Assembly elections held nationwide especially, in Lagos State, the acclaimed center of excellence may have come and gone, but not without leaving on its trail blood and sorrow in Aguda area of Surulere and Ago Palaceway in Okota respectively. Whereas, in Aguda thugs suspected to be working for the ruling All Progressives Congress APC simply stormed a polling unit and disrupted the peaceful exercise with the Police rising up to the challenge by arresting 6 suspects, the scenario in Ago Palaceway could best be described as bizarre. The local Police under a Chief Superintendent named Oyin Frances Adamu were simply helpless or feigned to be. Midway into an exercise hitherto described as peaceful was truncated by over 50 persons suspected to by members of the outlawed Oodua Peoples Congress OPC who stormed the Igbo populated community with motor bikes in flagrant defiance to ‘no movement order’ of the federal government. These persons did not only saunter into the community like lords of the manor preventing eligible voters from voting their conscience, but grabbed ballot boxes, emptied the ballot papers onto the ground and set them ablaze undisturbed; all to the consternation of the electorate. At units 016, 017 023 and 038 the Police Sergeants posted to the polling booths were no less window dressing. They merely feigned helplessness. However, CrimeWorld discrete investigation revealed that the night preceding election day, there was a nocturnal meeting of an unnamed APC leader in the community and the headship of the Ago Palaceway Police station where the party stalwart briefed the Police on the directives of the national leader of the party who was a former governor of the state, on the need to deliver the community to his party. After the meeting, an unspecified amount of money was said to have change hands following which the Divisional Police officer alleged gave the nod to the unpatriotic agreement advising however, to be ‘brisk’ in their actions. But while the streets urchins were at their disruptive activities, a distress was sent to the DPO who it was gathered was already ‘overwhelmed’ by the presence of the badboys at a polling unit which she monitoring down century road while aggrieved voters resorted to self help. When she finally arrived the crisis scene, much damage had been done adding that she only added salt upon injury by firing canisters of tear gas to disperse the crowd and hurried left the scene. However, the situation was brought to calm by the arrival of the Area Commander, ACP Olasoji Akinbayo who was called by a resident adding that it was he who with his team, chased after the rampaging thugs and impounded 10 motor-bikes popularly called Okada used by the thugs and made a few arrest. The ACP was said to have ordered the Divisional Crime Officer DCO of the Division, SP Olatunji to remain at the crisis scene while the aggrieved voters were chanting “we must vote, we must vote, OPC cannot deny us our rights.” But sources said immediately the Area Commander left, SP Olatunji who was expressly asked to remain on the scene also disappeared into thin air; fueling speculation that they all were pre-informed of what was happening. Perhaps what shellshock the electorate in the evolving scenarios was the summary release of one of the suspects earlier arrested by the Area Commander allegedly on the order of the DPO and he was back to the scene with one Ademola Adeleke who reportedly led the thugs. It was learnt that at this point, the people decided to mobilize and attack the thugs following which Demola as he was popularly called was brought down while stones were hauled at him. He was fatally wounded. First, the Area Commander who made a quick detour from a polling unit on Avenue rushed down to the scene to ensure that Demola was secured from the jaws of death. He was then rushed to a nearby hospital for first aid medical treatment during which the sum of N350,000 cash (in one thousand notes) was found on him; he was later transferred to the SCIID together with his money where he was referred to a teaching hospital for intensive medical attention under the watchful eyes of Police detectives. At polling unit 038 on Canal estate where one peter, a barber was shot dead by the rampaging thugs at the glare of hapless electorate also blamed the Police their nonchalant attitude. The aggrieved multitude which surged towards the visiting CP Muazu Zubair and his AIG David Folawunyo to register their grievances chanted, “So una dey, Police dey this state when you people left only one unarmed Sergeant here so that the thugs can disrupt the exercise undisturbed? Look at that window, it was the bullets of the thugs that shattered it and while one of us, Peter was running away for his life he was hacked down. We know the man that brought the thugs here, his name if Onimama, he is the Cele chairman of NURTW. They cannot cow us the Igbos here, we will retaliate Peter’s death.” It took the duo of the Police chiefs hell of time to calm frayed nerves before leaving for Ago Palace, the major scene of crime even though, the same SP Tunji had earlier tried without success to dissuade his senior officers and the newsmen on their entourage from coming to the scene; for whatever reason of his.
*Demola recuperating in his hospital bed (inset) while he was hauled down by angry mob after disrupting the voting exercise…
One of the aggrieved residents who condemned the action of Ago Police who identified himself as Calistus Nnaji said he was yet to witness an unbiased partisanship from a federal institution like the Police in his 56 years on earth. “It is shocking, what I saw last Saturday was like a Nollywood movie, no pretences. The Police simply showed they had been compromised. Although, It’s a known fact that the Police in Ago hobnob with these OPC guys, they share drinks together but it shouldn’t have been to this extent. We are talking about elections here that would shape the nation’s future and some people who have the privilege of wearing national uniforms are behaving as if nothing is at stake. I have lived here in Ago for the past 25 years and there was never a period that what we saw on Saturday during the Presidential and NASS elections happened. On the eve of the elections, we heard there was a meeting at the Century Hotel and the DPO was on ground; even though I cannot confirm that but the fact that the thugs could not be dealt with decisively points to the fact that they had reached a compromise on what they planned to do on election day. But one thing is clear; when Dr. Fredrick Faseun was alive nothing of such happened, because that was a detribalized Yoruba man. Our people say when the lion is dead, even the fox could afford to pull its tail; this is exactly what we witnessed on Saturday. My appeal to the Police high authority is to overhaul its formations; change partisan officers because from what we saw last Saturday, Ago does not have a national Police,” He said. Another resident who identified herself as Mrs. Grace Osinachi said she had to run for her life when she spotted the suspected OPC thugs on a convoy of Okada heading towards the polling units she was to cast her vote. “My take is that the Police cannot totally say they are not aware that these boys would come and disrupt the exercise. This is an almost Igbo community and we heard that the new OPC leader is pro-APC. But if the Ago Police claim they are unaware, how come the thugs in such large numbers had the guts to ride on Okada on a day the federal government said there would be no movement until after the elections. There is nothing money cannot do. You wey be journalist, you nor see bullion vans for Jagaban house for Bourdillon on the eve of election? Nor be mouth you go hear wetin them won take the money do o”
But a middle-aged man who identified himself as Prince Oshibote who claims to be the successor to the late founder and national leader of OPC Dr Fredrick Fasheun maintained that those who wreak havoc on the election day were not members of the OPC. “Quote me; those boys are not members of OPC. The OPC is a social cultural organization and therefore, cannot be involved in partisan politics. Yesterday (Friday), I was with the COMPOL where we had a meeting and I gave him my words that my boys would not be involved in elections monitoring. Yes, we are helping with the security of the area in conjunction with the Police but that they were involved in criminal disruption of the exercise is a big lie. When I was alerted on the crisis, I raced down from my house and I met my boys all intact; so how come people are saying it is OPC thugs. I repeat, the thugs who disrupted the exercise are not OPC members.”
However, Prince Oshibote could not say who Demola is to him or his organization but simply retorted, “Quote me, the thugs are not OPC members.”
Copyright CrimeWorld: All rights reserved. It is an offense to either broadcast, reproduce, rewrite, publish and redistribute this material partly or wholly without the express permission from Frontpage CrimeWorld Publishers Nigeria Limited, Publishers of CrimeWorld Magazines and weekly newspapers.