Lawyers Accuse Lagos Monarch Of Detaining, Assaulting Clients Over Protest Against Oworonshoki Demolition

The traditional ruler of Oworonshoki community in the Kosofe local government of Lagos State, Oba Babatunde Saliu has been accused of using his private policemen and thugs to arrest and torture residents who protested against the demolition of houses in the community.

A press statement released on Wednesday by the Public Interest Law Bureau accused the monarch of detaining and torturing some residents of Oworonshoki namely Lawal Akande Jamiu, Mrs Ajanlekoko, Leke Oluwalogbon, Shepherd Kuuton Batlomeu, and a woman identified as Iya Alagbo, after they protested at the state house of assembly.

The statement added that the traditional ruler detained and tortured the residents in order to intimidate them to back off from their request to the state government to investigate and suspend the demolition of houses in the community.

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Public Interest Law Bureau wrote to the Acting Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun to immediately dispatch a special intervention squad to the community to arrest the monarch.

The statement reads: “We act on behalf of Lawal Akande Jamiu, Mrs  Ajanlekoko, Leke Oluwalogbon, Shepherd Kuuton Batlomeu, Iya Alagbo, ("our clients") and on their behalf and instructions, we write to demand that the Inspector General of Police dispatch a Special Intervention Squad to the Oworonshoki City to apprehend and arrest Oba Mohammed Babatunde Saliu, the Oloworo of Oworonshoki, who "arrested" our clients with his "Private Police" after they returned from their trip to the Lagos State House of Assembly, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos State for their leading roles in the struggle against the demolition of their homes.”

The statement continued: “The Lagos State House of Assembly in their finding discovered that the Oloworo of Oworonshoki is the main culprit responsible for sponsorship of threats to life, attack to rights to moveable and immoveable property, demolition of their residences, arson and widespread violence with the exchange of gunfire in the community which has led to the breakdown of law and order in the city.

“The said Oloworo was summoned for the next sitting of the Public Hearing which came up yesterday, 5th September, 2023. Our clients as leaders of different parts of Oworonshoki Community were there alongside their fellow residents in large numbers.

“However, due to the parliamentary business of screening Commissioner-Nominees by the Lagos State House of Assembly, our clients were informed that the Public Hearing could not go on.

“No sooner had our clients got to the community than the Oloworo dispatched his "Private Police" made up of thugs led by Silifa Iya Agan, Baba Sala, Olowo Eyin, and other rag-tag "officers" of the Oloworo's local 'private police", called in Yoruba language "Madanwo" (which in English means ‘Don't try it’) which he utilised for the purpose of land grabbing majorly.

“Our clients were beaten black and blue at the Palace of the Oloworo before being taken to Oworonshoki Police Station. We must put on record the civil approach of DPO Alonge of the station, who upon hearing the facts of our clients' case, ordered their release forthwith.

“It will be recalled that the Public Interest Bureau of our firm has made a public outcry in respect of the criminal activities of the Oloworo with an appeal to the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command to arrest him forthwith.”

The group further raised questions on why the state lawmakers had been reluctant to probe the traditional ruler despite evidence indicating he was guilty of the allegation raised against him by residents of the community. 

The statement continued: “The events of the last 24 hours are forcing us to ask the following questions: Is the Oloworo, despite being indicted heavily by the Panel of Inquiry of the Lagos State House of enjoying immunity from the strong arms of the law as well as "cover" from the Lagos State Government based on his claims that he has served under as Special Assistant on the Waterfront to the incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu when he was Governor of Lagos State?

“Did the Lagos State House of Assembly deliberately elect not to take the appearance of the Oloworo before its sitting of yesterday, 5th September as a means of further shielding him from investigation and prosecution based on the Oloworo's claims that he has contested general elections twice, once to be elected as a Member of House of Assembly and as Chairman of Local Government before finally being given the post of Deputy  Chairman of Kosofe Local Government Area, which was the office he was serving before last year before Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu crowned him as Oloworo of Oworonshoki land, hence his above the law?

“Is the representation of our clients to us that the Oloworo is conniving with the landowning families in Oworonshoki ,  Fowotade and Owosheni families to take their landed properties they purchased years ago from the same landowning families forcefully using his influence as an Oloworo and as the former SA to the Waterfront and that heconnived with the Lagos State Task Force to forcefully eject people out of the land not becoming truer by the day?

“We have no choice than to call on the esteemed Office of the Inspector General of Police as it has become clear as  noonday that the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command as well as the DPO Oworonshoki has become either helpless or compromised at the face of this rampaging beast that it is out with his "Private Police" (which is a flagrant violation of the Police Act) to cause a breakdown of law and order in Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria and the entire federation as a whole, if not brought to book.”

When SaharaReporters contacted the monarch, he denied the allegations.

He said, “It is not true. Nobody abducted anybody. Those people are some of the people whose houses have not even been demolished as I heard. Because the community came to me yesterday and said that they (the people allegedly abducted) were the ones causing chaos in the community, so they went to meet them so that they (the community) could hand them over to the police to do the needful.

“But somebody else called me yesterday so I called the DPO that they should not arrest them, that they should leave them but he should caution them.

“When people want to protest, there are many better ways to protest. You don't protest to soil that person's name, even if you are not happy with a particular situation. You are supposed to go to your monarch and ask him to help you fix whatever situation and not call your monarch names.”