The Ogun State Police Command has summoned the Divisional Police Officer in Ibafo Police Station, Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of the state, Kazeem Solotan, and a complainant, an Ogun State-based businessman, Busari Adeniji, over an allegation of illegal detention, extortion and threat to life levelled against the DPO by Adeniji.
The state’s Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, disclosed this in a telephone conversation with PUNCH Metro on Sunday.
Confirming the incident, Alamutu said he had invited the complainant and the DPO to his office for further action.
“I am aware of the case. I have invited the complainant and the DPO to my office tomorrow (Monday). You can confirm from the complainant,” Alamutu said.
Adeniji had earlier told our correspondent in an interview on Sunday that an issue started when a yet-to-be-identified female soldier came to patronise his wife but in the process, a disagreement ensued between the duo which another customer interfered by challenging the soldier for slapping his wife. He claimed the said soldier resorted to slapping the said customer leading to a free for all between the trio.
He, however, said when he was informed of the scenario, he went to the Ibafo police station to report the matter but to his surprise, some days later, the police came back to arrest him, his wife and his 10-month-old baby and detained them.
Adeniji narrated further, “On getting to the station, they asked me to write a statement and I did because I was not part of the case. I was taken to the cell, and I asked them to let me make some calls but they declined. They did not give me my phone but was detained with my wife and our 10-month-old baby.
“My baby was released to my mum the following day because she was coughing after spending the night lying on the floor. They released my wife on December 26 after spending three nights and I couldn’t access my phone until the night of December 27 when I was released.
“While in the police custody, I insisted that I should be taken to court, but they denied me from seeing my family, and kept extorting them because they kept telling them I would go to jail. After I was released, I realised that my mother in-law had spent over N300,000 to secure my release as the police said the female soldier’s identity card was missing in our shop and that she would need to go to Abuja for an affidavit to apply for another card.”
He said the case took another turn after he reported to the Ogun police headquarters, Eleweran, when her mother in-law received a call from the DPO who allegedly resorted to threatening her because he reported to a higher authority.
“I went to the state police headquarters in Eleweran on Wednesday, January 3 to report the DPO. Before I got back on Wednesday, the DPO summoned my in-law and he kept threatening them saying he only tried to help me and I’m using it against him.
“He threatened my in-law and told her that the PPRO that I had gone to report to is a junior officer and there was nothing I could achieve, and I was told he said since I’d chosen that route, he would use the army to get at me. Since then, I’ve been living in fear. Now, my mother in-law is also afraid to talk,” Adeniji disclosed.
Meanwhile, efforts to get the reaction of the spokesperson for 81 Division of the Nigerian Army, Olabisi Ayeni, proved abortive as he had yet to respond to calls and messages sent to his line as of the time of filing this report.
