Makoko Murder: CCSG threatens legal action against NPF for ‘shielding’ officers

The Coalition of Civil Society Group have issued a 21 days ultimatum for the Nigerian Police Force to bring to book officers under its authority who masterminded an illegal attack on a church; The Act of Apostle Church,Ori-Oke Alala in Makoko community killing two persons and injuring many or risk the a lawsuit.
The group decided to take the legal action considering the fact that over six months after the dastardly act of May 10,2018, the affected officers are yet to be brought to book, but rather shielded not to answer to the crime allegedly committed.
The CCSG indicted the Lagos State Commissioner of Police Mr. Edgar Imohimi of conspiracy in a statement jointly signed by its Coordinator Comrade Alex Omotehinse and the Secretary Comrade Shina Oloremikan, titled ‘Murderous invasion of the Act of the Apostle church Ori-Oke Alala, Ebute Metta Lagos, resulting in death, arson, abuse of power, grievous bodily
harm and wanton destruction of properties worth millions of Naira, by Mr. Jide Bakare, Chairman, Lagos State Task Force on Land Grabbling, Mr. Bayo Balogun, CSP Edobor Aidonogie, SP Oloruntoba, the Officer-in-Charge, Makoko Police Post, Inspector Seun Awolu a.k.a ijaya on Thursday 10th May 2018, and act of conspiracy by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Edgar Imohimi’.

The group while describing the alleged act as ‘ungodly, inhumane and Unlawful conduct by the men of the Nigeria police force Lagos State Command’, stated that the alleged attack on the church has to do with the ownership of the land that housed the Church.

“The truth is that the Act of the Apostle Church came into possession and ownership of land several decades ago without any problem.

“Following the death of the assignor, one Mr. Abolade Olatunji Coker, of blessed memory, his surveyor wanted to laid claim to the land but the Act of the Apostle Church rebutted his claim and the surveyor went to Lagos High Court 1971, and Court of Appeal, then the matter was laid to rest.

“After nine years, surprisingly one Mr Bayo Balogun initiated a fresh suit against the Church, claiming to be working in the interest of the beneficiaries of the Estate of late Mr. Abolade Olatunji Coker on the same matter even without vacating the subsisting judgement that favoured the Act of the Apostle Church and got judgement while the church appealed the
questionable judgement.

“Despite the above narrative of facts Mr Bayo Balogun, who is also known as Pastor have the effrontery to petitioned the Lagos State Task Force on land grabbers, an agency responsible for curbing and preventing the incidence of
land grabbing in the state under the supervision of the Lagos State Ministry of Justices, with misinformation that he is the rightful owner of the land that the church is situated on and that he want the agency to help in evacuating the occupiers i.e the Church community.

“On April 5, 2018, Mr. Jide Bakare and his team went to the the Church compound to circulate and paste Notice of Demolition all over the buildings and church fence and later served a letter of invitation dated April 4, 2018 to members of its board of trustee inviting them to the office of the Lagos State Committee on Land Grabbing.

“In compliance, some representatives of the Church with their lawyer went to the meeting hoping that at least their own side of the story would be heard, but the letter delivered by the church lawyer explaining the genesis of the matter and the fact that the issue is a land dispute still pending at the appellate court was ignored by Mr. Jide Bakare.

The representatives of the church were disappointed when Mr. Jide Bakare openly threatened that they would be flushed out of the land with brute force notwithstanding the matters pending in court. “I have done it before, and I will do it again and bear the consequence” and all their appeals to him were rebuffed.

“On May 10, 2018, Mr Jide Bakare made good of the threat, when most of the residents have gone to work with the callous invasion of the Act of the Apostle Church, Ori-Oke Alala, they went with fleets of police and non police vehicles loaded with fully armed policemen and thugs wearing mask
that cannot be described wielding all sort of firearms and dangerous weapons like axes, cutlasses, gun etc, with some policemen from the anti-kidnapping unit Surulere, identified among them were inspector Christopher Onwuma, inspector Donald Okpanamam, inspector Stanley ihetu,inspector Augustine Eshue, inspector ikpotokin Godday, and inspector David Enhi. Others from Raider/ Anti-robbery section D9 of the SCIID Panti and were led by the OC CSP Edobor Aidonogie, inspector Seun Awolu (a.k.a ijaya) Inspector mayor and about (10) ten other officers that cannot be
clearly identified by their names carrying AK47 riffles. The O/C Makoko Police Post, SP Tobi Oloruntoba was also spotted among them.

“On that said day, the thugs numbering about forty (40) were given the bibs with inscriptions of the Lagos State Task Force on Land Grabber by one Mr Akeem Bamgbose a member of the agency, which they wore on top of their clothes, and the thugs immediately swung to action by demolishing the church fence while Mr Bayo Balogun, Mr. Sikiru Ojifini, Mr. Jide Bakare and Mr Akeem Bamgbose and other policemen were supervising them with one Mr Oluwatobi Olasele.

“While the demolition was on, Mr. Oluwatobi Oladele and Mr Adeoye Adebawo were brutally assaulted and arrested bundled into a waiting Task Force’s Black Maria’ and
Some other residence members of the Church went and approached Mr Akeem Bamgbose to inquire from him the reason for the unwarranted visit and invasion, sighting the residents Inspector Seun Awolu (ijaya) a trigger happy officer opened fire as he shot late Seyi Akintimehin dead immediately while others ran for their lives.

“Seyi’s brother, one Mr Seith Omojuwa rushed towards his brother that just been shot dead with the intention to assist him, the said police officer,
Awolu, again shot Omojuwa on his two legs. At this point the other police officers started shooting sporadically while their thugs moved into the church compound and set the church ablaze but when the fire started raging the thugs moved out and continue destroying most object of worshiping and
sighting that the thugs are out of the church compound.

“The destruction could have been made total if not for intervention of the Men of OPMESA, but before the arrival of the military men untold damages had been done to both lives and properties as the invasion of the act of the Apostle church left behind two dead bodies of Mr Seyi Akintimehin and Mr
Kolawole Iwalokun while many others sustained various degrees of bodily injuries from gun shots by the police officers and properties worth millions of naira looted by the policemen and their thugs.

Among the wounded residents are Mr Olabode Akingbola, Mr Robert, Mr Seith Omojuwa, Mr Abuodun Ashogun, Mr Adebato Samagbeyi, Mr Daniel Ebiwonjumi, Mr Ade Okunomo, Mr Ademola Olaremoye, Mr Tanimola Julius and Mr Tunde Akogun all of whom are still receiving treatment at various hospital leaving their hospital bills to their respective families”.

The coalition stated that despite the assurance from the State’s Commissioner of Police on May 11, 2018, during a meeting with the Church’s representative that all his officers involved shall be brought to book because they embarked on illegal duty, till date, nothing has been done.

The group while lamenting the huge loss and the irreparable damage suffered by the members of the Act Apostle Church as a result of alleged unwarranted invasion, called on the IGP to order the Lagos State Police Commissioner, to release the named officers who took part in the alleged invasion of the church for prosecution, or it will be forced to institute a legal action against the police in general.

“We the Coalition of Civil Society Organizations in Lagos State states here without any fear or favour that after 21days from today, if we did not observe a positive action taken on this matter, we shall not hesitate to on behalf of the harmless and innocent residents of Ori-Oke Alala and the Act of the Apostle Church, take a legal action against the police and the Lagos
state Government for conspiracy to murder”.