By Adebisi Onanuga
Activist lawyer, Debo Adeleke, has urged the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu, to provide regular police patrol for a licensed miner, Alhaji Ibrahim Ibuoye and residents of Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State against armed robbery and other criminal activities.
Specifically, Adeleke on behalf of his clients, urged the IGP for “a team of police officers from the Federal SARS for a regular patrol against kidnappers, robbers, and hoodlums” and for “officers of the Federal SARS to station in the area for surveillance and maintaining security.”
He said the people of Ado-Odo/Ota are passionately pleading with the Inspector General of Police to save them from hoodlums.
The request was contained in a petition dated March 26, sent through the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), FCIID Annex, Alagbon Close, Ikoyi, Lagos to the IGP Adamu and titled “Request for police protection for our client, Alhaji Ibrahiim Gbenga Ibuoye and his property at his Feru town laterite site, Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State against hoodlums, armed robbers and kidnappers”
Adeleke said the request was necessary in view of the high rate of armed robbery attacks and other forms of crimes currently going on in the area.
He said this is also “important to enable the residents in the area go about their normal businesses without fear or harassment of armed robbers and enable his client, Alhaji Ibuoye, a highly reputed Federal Government licensed miner, continue, without further disruption of his business of excavation on his site within the council area which has become a hide-out and haven for hoodlums, robbers and kidnappers.”
The letter which is a follow-up to the earlier directives by the IGP, further stated that the request was necessitated “by the recent activities of fierce and armed suspects who had illegally utilised Alhaji Ibuoye’s property for hide-out, robbery, kidnapping and all other antisocial activities.”
Adeleke said his client has suffered all sorts of “personal intimidation, monumental fraud and unlawful incarceration based on trump up allegations which were often found out to be false by police as well as courts of competent jurisdiction”.
He listed in the petition some of the series of the persecution and fraud perpetrated against his client and which are currently being investigated by the Economic Financial and Crime Commission (EFCC) and the Inspector General of Police through the office of AIG Alagbon.
Adeleke, said his law firm has equally filed some actions against some of the perpetrators at the Ogun State High Court, Ota division which is yet to be assigned due to global COVID-19 pandemic currently ravaging the universe.
He alleged that the principal suspect in the alleged fraud, simply known as Akanle, has been dropping former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s name as his elder brother to avoid being arrested by the Nigeria Police.
He said the EFCC, due to its zero-tolerance for fraud, has taken up the case which is being handled by a top EFCC operative adding, “right now, the Police Service Commission has equally promised to wade into the matter as soon as Coronavirus pandemic is put under control.”
Stating the benefits of securing the property and continue excavation, Adeleke said it would further guarantee protection of lives and property in the area as well as stopping mayhem and all other antisocial activities of criminals.
