“Order from the above”. This is a common utterance from Nigerian security and government officials especially whenever they are flouting the laws.
For example, yesterday some police men who claimed to be directed by the Chairman Lagos State Taskforce, CSP Shola Jejeloye were found demolishing and excavating building materials from a private resident at Wasimi, Onigbongbo Village, Maryland, Ikeja Area of Lagos State.
When accosted by the owners of the properties, the police men claimed they have ‘orders from the above’ to dismantle the said properties and take them away.
It was a clear crisis of threat, tears, anger and misuse of government machineries
Last Friday 28the October, armed police men from the same Lagos State Taskforce carried out demolition exercise on private residents in the same Maryland.
The police team came with heavy moving earth machinery including tractors and swamp buggy excavators with which they not only destroyed properties belonging to Lagosians but went as far as completely leveling their homes.
Alhaji Hakeem Osuolale, one of the property’s owners in the area, told SECURITY MONITOR that his destroyed properties when quantified is well over N1, 000,000, 000 (One Billion Naira).
‘They did not only demolish my buildings, they came with cutting tools and carted away all the meters and any valuable items met on my land”.
I was not served any legal document to warrant the demolition. I was not invited to justify my ownership of the properties. All I saw was a demolition exercise with just ordinary utterance that they (police men) were acting based an order from the above”.
Osuolale who alleged CSP Jejeloye of illegal movement on his Maryland property in company of a young lady buttresses his ownership of the said landed properties with documents which shown Survey Plan No. OGEK/018/77 dated the 12th day of January 1977, Deed of Conveyance dated the 29th day of March 1978 executed between the accredited representatives the family who originally own the land.
The the legal document is between Ilubamito Branch of Wasimi Family, as seller and Madam Dorcas Aduke Ogunseye, as buyer. Findings reveal this was registered as No. 65A on page 65A in Volume 1694 of the Register of Deeds at the Lagos State Land Registry, Lagos State.
“CSP Shola Jejeloye has a history of uncivilized destruction of properties at the Easton Towers, Wasimi Village, Maryland, Lagos State.
He had earlier on the 12th day of August, 2021 in the company of Idris Salako, the then Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development in Lagos State invaded my property which led to a protest litigation where I’m seeking N3,000,000,000 (Three Billion Naira) damages at the Federal High”
Chief Ganiu Sodiq, the Asoju Oba of Onigbongbo royal dynasty wonders why government will embark on demolition without prior notice.
The monarch lamenst the lost incurred by many residents and the agony associated with their homelessness.
He charges government and security agencies to be lawful and do things according to the dictates of the law.
Eyitayo Abiodun, legal practitioner and counsel to the victim of demolished houses said “ I don’t understand the reason or legal justification of the actions of CSP Shola Jejeloye, when under the guise of carrying out the orders of the Inspector General of Police, led a team of fully armed Police officers, who we understand were instructed to unleash violence on anybody putting up any resistance to the illegal demolition of private properties.
And it is unfortunate that the police which supposed to be a custodian of the law are flouting the law.
The questions we are asking now is whether commissioner of police or the Inspector General of Police, IGP, order CSP Shola Jejeloye to deploy armed Policemen and demolition team to carry out the demolition and if the IGP gave the instruction, on the petition of another private citizen or government agency.
And if the property owner was not entitled to be heard on the Petition in relation to his rights over the land before enforcement is carried out, and if enforcement is to be carried out, can it be done without a Court order?
The legal practitioner who affirmed he will be going to court to seek redress stated that it is imperative to ask if the directives were not given by the IGP, is CSP Shola Jejeloye, now above the law, and not supposed to be called to order for acting in an unprofessional manner which is oppressive to the lives and properties of citizens he is supposed to be protecting as a police officer?
In a petition forwarded to the IGP, Copies of which were sent to the Lagos state Governor, the Lagos state commissioner of Justice and Attorney General of the state, Commissioner of Police, and the Chairman of Lagos Taskforce, Alhaji Osuolale who felt cheated and oppressed over the demolition requests for a full scale investigation into the facts and circumstances of this matter. He also request that the IGP should prevail on CSP Shola Jejeloye to restrain himself from using brutal force against the lives and properties of fellow Citizens entrusted to his care as a Police officer bearing arms for the good of Nigerian society.
All efforts to speak with CSP Jejeloye over the crisis proved unfruitful as he neither pick call nor responded to messages sent to him. It was also said not to be on seat when journalists visited his Oshodi office on Wednesday.
However, Olumuiwa Adejobi, a Chief Superintendent of Police, CSP and Force Police Public Relation Office, FPRO told SECURITY MONITOR that complains about activities of the police men attached to the Lagos Taskforce should be channeled to the Lagos State Government.
…As Commissioner of Police reiterates commitment to ensure safety of lives and property
AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM
SPONSORED: H&H
On January 25, 2025, at about 1900hrs, the Area Commander, Sagamu received a distress call from commuters travelling along Sagamu-Ijebu Ode Expressway of an ongoing armed robbery near Ilishan, Ogun State. Acting swiftly, the Area Commander mobilized a crack team of officers to the scene.
Upon arrival, officers discovered that a group of unidentified gunmen had set up a roadblock using an articulated truck, indiscriminately opening fire on unarmed passengers, causing widespread panic. In the ensuing chaos, three commuters – Bolaji Bilesanmi ‘m’, 65yrs Olasunkanmi Idowu ‘m’ 50yrs, and Mohammed Salisu ‘m’ (age unknown) were abducted into the forest from two vehicles (1) Honda Pilot (Registration No. Lagos EKY113GZ) and (2) Honda Accord Car (Registration No. Lagos KJA13QFA).
SWIFT POLICE INTERVENTION
The Commissioner of Police, CP. Lanre Ogunlowo, PhD. directed a covert operation led by the Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit. On January 29, 2025, at about 0400hrs, operatives located the kidnappers’ hideout, and upon sighting the police squad, the gang engaged the officers in a fierce gun battle. In the exchange, five (5) kidnappers were fatally injured while others escaped with gunshot wounds.
RECOVERED ITEMS
The following items were recovered from the scene: • One AK-47 rifle • Ten rounds of 5.6mm calibre ammunition • ₦5.2 million (suspected to be proceeds of crime) • Three mobile phones
The three (3) kidnapped victims regained their freedom unhurt. Efforts are ongoing to arrest injured members of the syndicate. The Commissioner of Police strongly warns against criminal activities, particularly among young individuals seeking financial gain through high-profile crimes.
He reiterates the Command’s unwavering commitment to an aggressive crackdown on criminals preying on innocent citizens in Ogun state.
So-Safe Corps Apprehends Ex-Convict with Human Skull in Ogun
AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM
SPONSORED BY: H&H
The Ogun State Community, Social Orientation, and Safety Corps (So-Safe Corps) has apprehended a middle-aged man at a tomb in Kere, Obada-Oko, Abeokuta, Ogun State, while he was allegedly attempting to exhume a human skull.
This was disclosed in a press statement issued by the Commander of So-Safe Corps, Commander (Dr.) Soji Ganzallo, through the office of the Director of Information and Public Relations of the Corps, Assistant Commander Moruf Yusuf.
According to the statement, at about 2:35 a.m. on January 21, 2025, officers of the So-Safe Corps on routine patrol observed suspicious activity on a parcel of land behind a church. The suspect, identified as 54-year-old Adelani Oriyomi, was spotted trying to hide. Once the coast seemed clear, he resumed digging the tomb to allegedly retrieve a human skull. However, the officers returned to the scene, apprehending him before he could escape.
Ganzallo revealed that the suspect, a resident of Kere, Obada-Oko in Ewekoro Local Government Area, confessed to the crime during interrogation. Oriyomi admitted that on January 18, 2025, he had exhumed a skull from a tomb on a plot of land behind his residence. He confessed that he was now attempting to retrieve another skull to complete the number required for a money ritual preparation known as Osole. Oriyomi further disclosed that he had hidden the first skull in his room.
The suspect also confessed to being a seasoned offender, having sold nearly ten skulls in the past. He revealed that previous arrests for similar offenses committed at Ado-Odo led to two years of imprisonment and a further six years and nine months at the Oba Correctional Center following another conviction in Obada-Oko.
Commander Ganzallo confirmed that the suspect and the recovered exhibit—a fully dried human skull—have been handed over to the Nigeria Police Force, Obada Divisional Headquarters, for further investigation and possible prosecution.
In his remarks, Ganzallo urged community leaders to thoroughly screen tenants and visitors to prevent harboring undesirable individuals. He emphasized that such vigilance could ensure 70% of home security, with the remaining 30% relying on alertness to external threats.
SANWO-OLU COMMISERATES WITH JIGAWA GOVERNOR, VICTIMS FAMILIES OVER FUEL EXPLOSION TRAGEDY
AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM
SPONSORED BY: H&H
The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families of those who died in the unfortunate fire incident in Majiya town, in the Taura Local Government Area of Jigawa State, following the explosion of a petrol-laden tanker.
Sanwo-Olu
The Governor also sent a note of sympathy to his colleague, Governor Umar Namadi, friends and associates of the victims, as well as the people and Government of Jigawa State.
Governor Sanwo-Olu said the unfortunate incident has left yet another scar in the minds of millions of Nigerians, adding that no nation or people could afford to experience this kind of tragedy without its effect on the social and psychological wellbeing of the people.
Sanwo-Olu, in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Gboyega Akosile, offered prayers for the victims and their families, Governor Umar Namadi, and the citizens of Jigawa over the tragic loss of their fellow residents.
He said, “It is with heavy heart that I have read and followed the development of the disaster that happened yesterday in Majiya town, in the Taura Local Government Area of Jigawa State, following the explosion of a petrol-laden tanker that claimed over 153 persons.
“Certainly, this unfortunate incident is beyond what we can reasonably imagine, going by what I have seen in the media. The devastating effects can only be imagined.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with my brother, Governor Umar Namadi, the Government and the people of Jigawa State over this very sad incident.
“I pray for the repose of the deceased and ask that the Almighty Allah grant the families of the victims the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.”