Group Raises Alarm Over Alleged Inhumane Activities Of Some Policemen In Osun

—Calls On President Buhari, IGP To Intervene

—Demands Justice For Late Olabomi Allegedly Killed By Policemen In Osogbo

By Segun Ojo, Osogbo

For peaceful co-existence in Osun to continue, a Peace Advocate Group, World Institute for Peace (WIP) has called on President Muhammad Buhari and Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba to quickly intervene in the spate of killings, harassment, extortion, and invasion of privacy by men of the Nigeria police force, Osun State command which have become the daily experiences of the people of the state.

The group accused some police personnels in the state of high-handedness saying if these inhumane activities were not curbed, it might spark protests similar to the violent 2020 EndSars Protest in the state.

Addressing Journalists in Osogbo on Wednesday, Executive Chairman of World Institute for Peace, Ambassador Lamina Kamiludeen Omotoyosi urged the federal government to take swift action towards preventing unnecessary unrest in osun state.

Referencing the atrocity allegedly committed by police in the state, Omotoyoshi called on the IGP to order the Commissioner of police in Osun, Mr Wale Olokode to as a matter of urgency bring the killers of late prince Shaheed Ajibola Olabomi to face justice

He said late Olabomi was gruesomely murdered by yet- to – be arrested police men in the state on july 2021.

He condemned the delay in the arrest and prosecution of the alleged killer police officers

He called on the State Government to direct the Osun state Command to fish out the culprits before they plunged the State and the country into another protest that might be worse than ENDSARS.

“Prince Saheed Ajibola Olabomi was gruesomely murdered by some police officers in the state in July, 2021. It is sad to note that justice has not been seen to have been done on the matter.

” for the gruesome murder of this harmless and innocent citizen. After thorough researches the Institute garnered, it will finally lose trust in the judicial system of this country if Nigeria Police, Osun State Command is allowed to sweep this ugly incident under the carpet and this can cause another protest that would be more dangerous than the ENDSARS.

“It is saddened, worrisome, niggling and nerve-racking that the police has not allowed justice to take its course on the matter by bringing perpetrators to justice.

The officers who were alleged for killing of Prince Saheed Olabomi despite the court order from the Ministry of Justice which stated that the culprits should be presented at the court are yet to produce by the police authority.

“The court had seated twice and the state command of Nigeria Police refused to present the alleged officers to court and it was observed that because the perpetrators of this evil were not punished accordingly some officers are carrying out illegal activities within the state unchecked.

“The Inspector General of Police has in various occasions warned policemen against checking of people’s phones and extorting money from them as such infringe on the fundamental Rights of. citizens.

He said despite IGP’s warnings over checking of phones and laptops by some police officers in the state, the situation had worsen as it had become a regular occurrence along Osogb-Ikirun, Osogbo – Ilesha, Osogbo – Ara junction Ikire – Gbongan, Dagbolu – Ikirun, Old Garage Area, Osogbo, Stadium Oke-Onitea, Osogbo, and Ilesha Garage respectively.

Others areas are Testing Ground, Moro to Ile Ife amongst others as police officers in T-shirt believe to be Mobile men, in jackets who are always fully armed are still engaging in these illegal activities, causing untold hardship on innocent Nigerians.

They called on president Muhammadu Buhari, the Inspector General of Police to call Osun State police Command to order before things get out of hand.

IGP should with immediate effect intervene not only in the killing of Saheed Olabomi, but other harmless citizen who were brutally murdered by some police officers while also checking the excessive force being used by Osun state police Command.

Recently, some officers of a police station in Ile Ife, Osun state forcefully collected N4,000 cash from a lady who reported a case of human trafficking and maltreatment of a girl child after she and members of her family rescued the girl who slept over in a bush for two days.

Those officers still took the lady to the station’s nearby P.O.S business center and asked the lady to transfer N1,000 from her account to the P.O.S claiming that the amount she had to pay for reporting the case should be N5,000 or else, she would be detained if the money was not complete. The lady did as they wanted under duress, he added.

The group now calls for the following actions without delay so as to forestall future reoccurrence of these illegal acts:

“Immediate sack or transfer of Osun State Commissioner of Police before he put the country on the track of another brutal protest.

“Inspector General of Police should ask the Osun state Command of Nigeria Police Force to obey the order of State Ministry of Justice which is to present Adamu Garuba and other police officers who was alleged for gruesomely murdered of Prince Saheed Olabomi in July, 2021.

“President Muhammadu Buhari should with immediate effect ask the Inspector General of Police to intervene not only in the killing of Saheed Olabomi, the harmless citizen who was brutally murdered by some police officers in the state namely, Adamu Garuba, Dupe and others.

“Inspector General of Police should instruct police officers in Osun State to neither check phones of people nor extort them and if caught in action, the officers should be sacked with immediate effect.”