Salami was allegedly killed by land grabbers on April 18, 2023.
The Centre for Human and Socio-economic Rights (CHSR) in collaboration with other civil society groups has raised the alarm over the alleged failure of the police in Ogombo, Eti-Osa, Lekk and Area 'J' Police Command of the Lagos State Command to investigate the gruesome murder of Mr. Sheriff Ishola Salami at Moba town, adjacent Ajiran.
Salami was allegedly killed by land grabbers on April 18, 2023.
The other CSOs include Frontline Socio-economic Research Centre (FSERC), Campaign Against Impunity (CIA), Centre for the Physically Challenged and Peoples Rights (CPCPR), Community Women Initiative (CWI) and Workbond Initiative Network (WIN).
Until his death, Salami was the youth leader of Ojomu community in Ajiran Land.
The civic groups in a statement jointly issued on Friday said that following the murder of Salami, “we have made representations to the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zonal Command Headquarters, Zone II, Onikan, Lagos via a petition to draw the attention to the indifference of the police and apparent lack of commitment to investigate the incident which was duly reported at Ogombo Police Station.
“We are by this advocacy joined by Mrs. Mariam Ishola Salami, the widow of the deceased submitting separate petitions to the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) through the Lagos Office of the agency.
“As civil society groups, we are deeply touched by the pain of the immediate family of the deceased. The police authority in the Lekki axis of Lagos State appears uninterested in investigating the murder which was perpetrated in broad daylight.
“The immediate family members of the deceased are worried and frustrated by the delay that is increasingly assuming a deliberate ploy to shield the perpetrators of the heinous crime from justice.”
The groups noted that Salami, who was described as the breadwinner of the family, left behind his aged mother said to be critically ill, who unfortunately died in her inconsolable state in the last week of October; his wife, Mariam and three young daughters, Sinata (five years), Ayisha (four years), and Arafat (two years).
“We are now convinced that 8 months after the cold-blooded murder of Mr. Sheriff Ishola Salami, the police authority in Lagos State has failed in its statutory duty of investigation in spite of the fact that the incident was duly reported at the Ogombo Police Station, Lekki.
“It is indeed sad that the family members of the deceased have, in the last 8 months, been left to mourn their beloved son, husband and father without any glimmer of hope of getting justice.
“We are therefore by the submissions of these petitions requesting that the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command act without further delay in activating an investigation into the murder.
“We are also requesting that the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the National Human Rights Commission should demand urgent action leading to a thorough investigation into the gruesome murder without further delay.”