A civil rights group, the Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ) has dragged a serving Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr. Edino J. Ojali, for allegedly colluding with some land-grabbers in the Badagry area of Lagos State to harass residents of the area.
In statement issued by CHRSJ, signed by Comrade Michael Agassi issued to newsmen in Lagos on Wednesday, the group specifically accused Ojali of intimidating a resident, Mr. Sunday Osunba, over a parcel of land located in Ilogbo Eremi, Badagry Local Government Area, Lagos State.
The statement from CHRSJ is sequel to a petition dated June 16 signed by Agassi to the Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Kayode Egbetokun highlighting the antics of Ojali whom it (CHRSJ) stated was acting on the prompting of a couple, Biodun Sekoto and Bose Sesi Sekoto who have been encroaching on the family land under the care of Osunba who inherited it from his late father.
Specifically, CHRSJ is accusing one Adisa Zuve, who it claim has been acting on the behest of the Sekoto couple to continually harass Osunba who has been trying to secure the land that was bequeathed to him by his late father measuring over hundreds of acres.
According to CHRSJ, Ojali recently invited Osunba to his office located in Onikan area of Lagos on the prompting of the Sekoto couple via WhatsApp number 08089402672 and that the invitation was sent by a police officer who refused to disclose his identity when CHRSJ we called him for fact finding.
The invitation was however turned down on the basis that it (invitation) was purportedly to resolve the dispute owing to the fact that CHRSJ and Osunba are of the view that any kind of dispute relating to land matters can only be resolved by the law court.
“The officer only said our client should come with a good lawyer. Our client however became apprehensive at that point and disclosed his suspicion.
“Our client said the following individuals viz Adisa Zuve, Biodun Sekoto and Bose Sesi Sekoto have been attempting to encroach into his inherited land spanning over hundred acres but that since they have not done so, he needed not bother,” Agassi wrote on behalf of the group.
The group further added that “However, since the invitation had been sent via WhatsApp, Adisa Zuve has been entering the said land and threatening the occupants with looming eviction.”
Commenting further on the development, CHRSJ added that “It is very appalling and disheartening to note that some officers of the Nigerian Police are allowing themselves to be used as instruments of harassment and intimidation, especially when it involves hapless citizens.”
As means of righting the wrongs being carried out by these landgrabbers, CHRSJ urged the IGP to invoke the provisions of Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution as amended to cause a comprehensive investigation into the matter before it further degenerates into violence.
Specifically, CHRSJ demanding answers to six prayers from the IGP with respect to the case as means of guaranteeing the freedom and protection of Osunba whom it stated have been living in constant fear owing to the activities of the police and the landgrabbers.
“In the light of Section 32(2) of the Police Act 2020 and Section 8(2) of The Administrative of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and various court pronouncements, the officers should be reminded that land matters are purely civil in perspective.
“The officers should be instructed to advise whoever brought such matter to them to seek redress in the appropriate quarters; which is, a court of competent jurisdiction.
“The officers should be instructed to advise the Adisa Zuve to stop committing trespass by entering our client’s land and threatening the occupants with eviction.
“The officers should be made to understand that adjudication in civil matters is primarily the responsibility of the court and our client should be allowed to prove ownership in court.
“The officers should be made to know that since the Police cannot usurp the powers of the court, and there is no established dispute, no investigation is necessary to have warranted the invitation.
“That the officers should steer clear of the matter since it is civil in nature and the fundamental human rights of our client should be respected,” Agassi stated in the petition on behalf of CHRSJ.
“It’s in pursuance of the aims and objectives earlier stated that made us file this Petition to your reputable and respectful offices to intervene in this matter, as we absolutely rely and believe that your offices intervention is imperative and inevitable at this material time for the peace, sanity and stable mental health of our client who is a fellow citizen of the federal republic of Nigeria.
“In View of this, we count on the powerful capabilities of your good offices to expedite the necessary actions within the ambit of the law and give our client the necessary reprieve as soon as possible.”
