To the consternation of civilized Nigerans and the international community, officers of the Nigerian Police Force on Tuesday publicly embarrassed Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu at Magodo over the crisis of right of entitlements to the Magodo Phase II Estate in Lagos. An unidentified Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) had on the visitation of Babajide Sanwo-Olu to the disputed estate after a Supreme Court judgement, resisted the order of the governor to vacate the estate since they carried out their operations without the knowledge of Governor Sanwo-Olu, the Chief Security Officer of Lagos State.
The unidentified Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), leading a deployment of police officers from Abuja, engaged the Lagos State governor in open altercation, resisting the order of the governor and telling him to call their senior officers in Abuja for clearance before they will comply with Sanwo-Olu’s directive to vacate the estate.
The CSP insisted that the police personnel will only depart from the estate on the directive of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and the Inspector General of Police, who he said sent them from Anuja on the assignment, even without the involvement of the Lagos State Police Command.
Curiously, the Abuja police were alleged to have carried out the operations at Magodo in conjunction with armed land grabbers and touts, who reinforced the security operatives.
In the recorded altercations, Governor Sanwo-Olu was heard pleading with the leader of the police squad to contact Abuja to convey his directive as Governor of Lagos State, but the CSP, who gid his identity, ordered the governor to make the call himself.
The conversation went thus: Sanwo-Olu – “Please, can you call your superior in Abuja that you need to deactivate, and you need to leave Lagos now.
“Can you call your superior in Abuja and tell them that the governor is here, and I am the Chief Security Officer, and that you don’t have any business being in my state right now and that I want you to disengage forthwith from here.”
The anonymous CSP – “Thank you very much, sir. Your Excellency, sir, I’m not here on my own order. I am here on the instruction of the Inspector General of Police through the AGF.
“I am too small or too low to call them. Your Excellency, sir, with due respect, sir, you can call them directly, sir so that they can tell us to come.”
Governor Sanwo-Olu then acquainted the CSP that he called the AGF and Minister of Justice before coming to the estate, but the CSP insisted: “It is not my duty to call because I am too low to do that sir.” Malami, according to the governor, had denied that ‘he had no knowledge that the police team was still at the estate.”
In subsequent interactions, Governor Sanwo-Olu asked the CSP how officers were with him in the operations and he said he did not know.
As the governor questioned the CSP that he does not know the number of police officers assigned to him in the operation, the CSP, then said: “I have several of them, sir. I cannot precisely tell you how many we are.
“I know the number of my men here, sir.
“We sought for some other people to join us. But for security purpose, I cannot say this is the figure, sir.”
Governor Sanwo-Olu angrily declared: “It is a very illegal operation.
“They are not from the Lagos State Police Command. They said they are from Abuja, and I don’t know what other interests they have beyond keeping the peace of the country.
“This is not an expectation that I would expect for them because they don’t have any business here at all.
“The case is between the state government, and I am the governor standing in front of you, not with my residents.”
Several officials of Lagos State government who include Attorney-General of Lagos State and Commissioner for Justice, Moyosore Onigbanjo; Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso; accompanied Sanwo-Olu to the estate.
Similar scenario played out in the invasion of the resident of a Supreme Court judge in Abuja, Justice Mary Odili, which on investigation, AGF Malami was linked to the operation. He, however, denied involvement.