The Lagos State Police Command says it is rounding off
plans to prosecute the Divisonal Police Officer, Ijeshatedo Police Station, CSP
Mohammed Yakubu, who allegedly shot dead a tailor apprentice, Jamiu Ayoade.
The
command stated that investigations into the case would be concluded this week,
adding that Yakubu would be arraigned thereafter.
The
state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, who gave the update on Tuesday,
warned other DPOs in the state to caution their men or be ready to be held
responsible for their official misconducts.
He
also confirmed the story of a police armourer attached to the Ipakodo Police
Station, Sergeant Sunday Odu, who was said to have sold 750 pieces of
ammunition from the division’s armoury and replaced them with pebbles.
Owoseni
spoke during a meeting with senior officers of the command at POWA Secretariat,
Ikeja.
It had been reported that the DPO had around
7.30pm on Sunday, May 7, led some policemen to Wosilatu Daudu Street,
Ijeshatedo, where Ayoade was attending his friend’s birthday party.
The
operatives, who raided the area, shot into the air to disperse the gathering.
Yakubu
reportedly chased Jamiu and other fun seekers into a building and shot him in
the head at a close range. The 23-year-old was said to have bled to death while
he was being taken to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba. One
Akeem also sustained a gunshot injury in the hand.
The
command subsequently detained the DPO and commenced investigations into the
incident.
Owoseni
on Tuesday said Yakubu had violated rules of engagement during the raid on the
area, adding that he would be arraigned upon the completion of administrative
processes on the case.
He
said, “I don’t know what he was thinking that could have made him (the DPO) to
shoot at somebody in the crowd. He would be arraigned in court; no doubt about
that. For any civilian that is killed unjustifiably, my emotion can’t take it.
I feel the pain of the family of that boy. Why should I defend anybody that
kills?
“There
are administrative processes to be followed, which are almost complete.
Probably, it will be completed by the end of this week and the DPO will be
arraigned in court.”
Lamenting
the misconduct of some operatives of the command, the CP asked the DPOs to
curtail the excesses of the cops under them. He said, thenceforth, DPOs would
be held liable for atrocities committed by officials under their supervision.
He
said, “Caution your men. How can you be friends with people when policemen are
on the road brutalising and extorting money from them? I don’t collect returns
from any DPO.
“From
today (Tuesday), for any act of misconduct that happens in your area, you will
be held responsible…if you fail to submit yourself, I will come to arrest the
policeman that commits the offence. You (DPO) and the offender will be paraded
before the press. You will be redeployed and queried.”
He
also urged policemen to be modest in dealing with members of the public and to
follow ethics of the force to the letter.
“Don’t
shout at people. You have to weigh the kind of danger your life is exposed to
before you use weapons. Whenever force is used by a policeman, the incident
should immediately be reported and reviewed by superior officers,” he added.
Owoseni
said the sergeant who sold the ammunition attempted to kill two senior officers
assigned to investigate the crime.
He
said, “He attempted to kill a CSP and a SP that went to check the armoury. Some
ammunition and pebbles were seen in the armoury that is supposed to contain
about 750 pieces of ammunition.”
Source:Punch
Tags
Society