*Ask IGP to investigate, punish Police Gender Officer for allegedly dabbling into matter
By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
Twenty three community leaders, including 22 Baales and a Senior Chief in Ona Ara Local Government area of Oyo State have tasked the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba Alkali to investigate and bring to justice, a supposed gender officer identified as ASP Samson for allegedly terrorizing some Baales (village heads) in Ibadan over land matters.
The 23 community leaders alleged that the ASP was fingered in the ongoing unlawful persecution of residents of Akintola Village in Ona Ara and diversionary invitation of chiefs in a matter they know nothing about
In the petition sent to IGP Alkali on Wednesday April 19, 2023, the Council of Baales under the leadership of Baale Yekini Obisesan stressed that the ‘illegal activities’ of the said ASP who was saddled with gender matters, but regrettably, is dabbling into land matters, in contravention to his duty call and the position of the Inspector General and the Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Solomon Arase.
According to the 22 Baales and the Senior Chief, the officer, working in the Gender Unit in the office of the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Area 10, Abuja is allegedly “being used to harass, intimidate and threaten to victimise and threaten influential and innocent people in the society”, adding that ASP Samson, with telephone number 08052531330, also had the effrontery to invite Chief Dotun Sanusi, a Senior Chief in the city who knew nothing about the disputed land to appear in Abuja for alleged threat to life of yet to be identified persons, masquerading as land grabbers on an expanse of land in Akintola Village, Akanran in Ona Ara Local Government Area.
The Baales in the petition titled, “Threat to Life, Unlawful arrest, intimidation and illegal acquisition of 95 acres of land at Akintola village, Akanran, Ona-Ara Local Government of Oyo State”, said a suspected land grabber, trading under Paragon Estate allegedly wanted to grab 250 acres of land in Akanran, with the aid of the Police ASP, and alleged that the atrocities of said ASP alongside one Akinrogun of Ibeju Lekki, Chief Jelili Akande, on a long settled disputed land which an Oyo State High Court had entered judgment into, is already before the Oyo State Government Task Force on Land Matters.
“For even contravening the IGP who was reported to have warned officers on land matters, we (undersigned Baales) demand panel of enquiry to investigate the interest of ASP Samson and other officers in this matter. That this same ASP Samson unlawfully arrested and detained a resident of the area at a police facility in Orita Challenge Ibadan, before the innocent man was forcibly whisked to Abuja the following day and made to write statement under duress. This calls for further investigation and punishment must be served accordingly.”
The petitioner also accused the ASP of allegedly, “Using threats on people including traditional rulers to appear before him or vacate their land when he is not a judge or court of law, also calls to question the integrity of the said officer and we therefore, demand from both the IGP and the PSC Chairman, Solomon Arase to wade in, immediately and ensure thorough investigation of this officer.”
Part of the petition reads, “Since experience has shown that these so-called property developers have been using the police officers to coerce innocent people and lawful land owners to vacate their lands or forfeit same after series of human right abuses, intimidation, harassment including threats to lives, the IGP and the PSC must not allow this matter to be swept under the carpet because an injury to one is an injury to all.
“For the umpteenth time, we are using this medium to officially complain against this unlawful police action in a purely civil matter. Anybody who feels he is the rightful owner of a land needs not resort to self-help by using the police to threaten people but should rather heads to the court to proof his case.”
They alleged further, ” This officer, ASP Samson and his type destroying the image of the Force and going against the instructions of the IGP, should be punished to serve as a deterrent to other officers. The officer boasting that he was above the law and could not be called to question on this civil matter and not gender affair with which he was saddled with, should be probed thoroughly and investigated for justice to be served,’
The Council of Baales thereafter, issued a petition to the Governor of Oyo State; the IGP, the PSC Chairman, Chief Judge of Oyo State; the Commissioner of Police; the Director of DSS; the Chairman, NUJ Oyo State, among others to warn of dire consequences of further harassment of residents on the disputed land or the chiefs in the area.
Describing the ongoing several invitations being extended to residents in the area on the alleged influence of one Chief Jelili Akande, the Akinrogun of Ibeju-Lekki as provocative, the 23 Community leaders stressed, ” After a crucial meeting held on Wednesday, we write to inform your office about threat to life, unlawful arrest, intimidation, harassment and illegal acquisition of 95 acres of land at Akintola Village, Akanran.
“The nefarious activities are allegedly being perpetrated by one Akinrogun of Ibeju-Lekki, Chief Jelili Akande, the chief promoter of Paragon Estate. Akande is perpetrating the act with active connivance of one officer from the Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department (FCIID), Area 10, Abuja, simply identified as ASP Samson, with telephone number 08052531330,” they said.
The petitioners said that the disputed land has been resolved by the Oyo State High Court, sitting in Ibadan, in a suit with number: I/443/2014, and that Justice G.A. Sunmonu had on March 19, 2020 delivered a judgment in favour of Alhaji Rasheed Eniayenfe Ojo, and Good Foundation Social Club, who were the defendants in the case.
New Nigerian recalled that both the IGP and Arase had variously being quoted on the need for the police officers to refrain from dabbling in land matters in order to avoid ridiculing the force and exposing the police authority to unnecessary litigation that may arise therefrom
The police chiefs had warned recently thus, “One of the issues that I have had to tackle is the incidence of people dabbling into land matters. The police do not have the constitutional power to allocate land to anybody; they cannot do that. The only people that have the right to do that is the civil court. So, you people must be able to draw the thin line between what is criminal, what is civil and what is commercial because whenever you dabble into civil and commercial issues, you attract civil litigation to the Nigeria Police Force. And when you do that, you have to take garnishee orders.”
