The Agbela family of Agbela Odo in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State has petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Alkali Baba over the use of some police officers attached to Zone 11, Osogbo and Force CID, Alagbon, Lagos to make unlawful arrest, detention and intimidation of its members: Suleiman Alabi Agbela, Femi Aremu Agbela and Tunde Kokumo Agbela.
The family in a petition signed on its behalf by its solicitor, Barrister Oladipo Olaosebikan accused officers of zone 11, Osogbo and officers under the office of Assistant Inspector General of Police, Force CID, Alagbon, Ikoyi, Lagos State of conspiring with a group of notorious land grabbers led by one Ibrahim Atanda, a.k.a Adeyeri, Mathew Ode, Isaiah Udo, Alarape Lawal, Joseph Kilo and others to forcefully takeover Agbela’s family’s land at Agbela Odo in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Agbela’s family in the petition to the Inspector General of Police states that it is the original owners of the 2.55 hectares of land located at Agbela Odo village, off Omi Adio/ Ido Road, Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State.
It added that the family has been exercising various act of ownership on the said piece of land from time immemorial before the recent illegal encroachment by Ibrahim Atanda, a.k.a Adeyeri, Mathew Ode, Isaiah Udo, Alarape Lawal, Joseph Kilo and their cohorts who are known to be notorious land grabbers in Ibadan.
It further added that the family had instituted a civil suit against the said Ibrahim Atanda a.k.a Adeyeri, Mathew Ode, Isaiah Udo, Alarape Lawal, Joseph Kilo and their cohorts when their trespass on the piece of land became unbearable.
It added that despite the fact that the suit instituted by Agbela family is still pending in court, Ibrahim Atanda a.k.a Adeyeri, Mathew Ode, Isaiah Udo, Alarape Lawal, Joseph Kilo and cohorts still continue to encroach on the land by parading a seemingly forged documents of judgment obtained without any record of its existence in any court of law in Oyo state.
“In addition to the said suit instituted by Agbela’s family to curb the excesses and the nefarious activities of the said Ibrahim Atanda a.k.a Adeyeri, Mathew Ode, Kilo, it wrote a petition to the Commissioner of Police, Oyo State Police Command, calling for investigation into the criminal activities of the said people.”
“While the said petition written to the office of the Commissioner of Police, Oyo State Police command was being treated, parties were invited for interviews and investigation was ongoing at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Iyaganku, Ibadan as the Deputy Commissioner of Police and the officer in-charge of legal department, Oyo State Police Command discovered that the purported judgment being paraded by the said Alarape Lawal could not be confirmed at the Oyo State High Court of Justice through letters written for that purpose from both our clients’ solicitors and the office of the Legal Department, Oyo State Police Command.”
“Interestingly, while the investigation is ongoing at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Iyaganku, Ibadan, the said Ibrahim Atanda a.k.a Adeyeri, Mathew Ode, Isaiah Udo, Alarape Lawal, Joseph Kilo and their cohorts wrote a malicious vexatious and frivolous petition to the office of Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 11, Osogbo, Osun State of Nigeria against Agbela’s inherited properties.
“To our clients’ dismay, none of our clients was invited at the office of the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 11, Osogbo, Osun State of Nigeria. Rather, some hefty men suddenly invaded our clients’ house and whisked them away without leaving any family information on their whereabouts but after thorough investigation, our clients’ family members got to know that those hefty men that whisked away our clients were from the office of the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 11, Osogbo, Osun State. As if that was not enough, the worst and the ugly trends persist when our clients solicitors got to the office of the Assistant Inspector General of Police and the officers in-charge of the matter twisted the major petition and lied against our clients by saying our clients attempted to resist arrest at the point of their Gestapo style of arrest. Our clients were detained for over 24 hours in their custody despite our clients’ solicitor’s plea for their bail which was rebuffed.”
“Our clients’ solicitors also met with the Deputy Commissioner of Police and the officer in-charge of Legal Department, zone 11, Osogbo and sought for the bail of our clients detained but the position of the duo of Deputy Commissioner of Police and the officers in-charge of legal Department Zone Xl, was that our clients should remain in their custody till the following day in order for our clients to learn lesson. Meanwhile our clients’ solicitor was advised to come back the following day for the release of our clients. Unfortunately, while our clients were expecting their release, surprisingly, rather than for them to be released on bail, the Assistant Inspector General of Police and the Deputy Commissioner of Police working under him directed that our clients be charged to court without conducting any investigation over the allegations levelled against them.”
“This bias and unprofessional conduct of the officers’ in-charge of the matter extended to the Chief Magistrate Court, Iyaganku, Ibadan. Even after the court granted bail to our clients, the prosecutor attached to the court disappeared into the thin air in order to frustrate the verification of addresses of our clients’ sureties. It took the intervention of the court for our clients not to be sent to prison without committing any actual crime known to law in Nigeria. And as if that was not enough, these said people after discovering that our clients were granted bail by the court, they further wrote another frivolous petition against our clients on the same allegations to the office of Assistant Inspector General of Police, Force CID, Alagbon, Ikoyi, Lagos State and while our clients were not also invited by the officers at Alagbon, our clients were also arrested in Ibadan and whisked away to Lagos where they were also detained for days before they were later released.”
“While parties were at Alagbon, Force CID, the said Ibrahim Atanda a.k.a Adeyeri, Mathew Ode, Isaiah Udo, Alarape Lawal, Joseph Kilo and their cohorts were busy erecting structures and sign board on our clients land which is the subject of litigation before the court and also which investigation is ongoing.”
” To this end, we are of the humble opinion that the actions and inactions of the said Ibrahim Atanda, a.k.a Adeyeri, Mathew Ode, Isaiah Udo, Alarape Lawal, Joseph Kilo, their cohorts and the Police officers already handling the matter at both the office of the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 11, Osogbo and Force CID, Alagbon constitute unwarranted harassment perceived to be influenced in whatever form and double punishment against our clients over their father’s inherited property.”
“We are also of the opinion that invasion of our clients’ piece of land by the said Adeyeri and his cohorts while the investigation of his frivolous petition is ongoing constitute obstruction of police investigation and self-help.”
The family thereby urge the Inspector General of Police to his good office to wade into the matter by constituting independent minded team with proven character to conduct discreet investigation on this petition and bring the said Ibrahim Atanda, a.k.a Adeyeri, Mathew Ode, Isaiah Udo, Alarape Lawal, Joseph Kilo and their cohorts within the warm embrace of the law as an individual, no matter how highly placed in the society cannot be above the law of the land.
The Agbela family also appeal to the Inspector General of Police to investigate the officers from Zone 11, Osogbo and Force CID, Alagbon who took part in the unlawful arrests, detentions and intimidation of Suleiman Alabi Agbela Femi Aremu Agbela and Tunde Kokumo Agbela.