Group reports Police Officers over Corruption, Bribery, Illegal Roadblocks, Unlawful Arrest and Detention

Rights group has dragged police officers before the police authorities over corruption, bribery, illegal roadblocks, unlawful arrest and detention in Osun State, as Osun Police turned Station to IBEDC office for pre-paid meter users, payment of electricity bill.

A human rights organization, the Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ) had set to drag the Police officers attached to *State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Osun State Police Command*, before the Police authorities in the country over illegal arrest and unlawful detention of a poor woman Community Health Extension Workers (CHEW) working with the State Government.

Meanwhile, *Dugbe Police Station, Osogbo*, under the nose of * State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olawale Olokode has turned the Police Station to *Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBDC)*, where they were *settled and collected the Payment of electricity bill with involvement in distribution of Prepaid meters* among the *Caretaker, Lanlord and Tenant* in Osogbo, the State Capital of the State..

It was reported to the Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ) that one *Woman Police officer attached to Dugbe Police Station*, Osogbo, called *W/Insp. Iyabo, who lawlessly behaved like the then *woman Police officer “Joke” of the same Dugbe Police Station* and one *Corporal Ebenezer David* of Railway Police Station, osogbo on *Monday 11th July, 2016* in the case against one Reverend Oke .O.T, had been calling one *Mr. Lukman that his former Landlord/Caretaker, Mr. Akinsanya/Mr. Omotosho respectively, reported him (Lukman) to their Police Station for non settlement of electricity bill before he left their house in the year 2021 and he(Lukman) should report to *Dugbe Police Station* for Payment of the electricity bill.

CHRSJ decided to *report their incompetence and illegality to the Chairman, Police Service Commission (PSC), Inspector General of Police (IGP), Nigeria Police Affairs Council (NPAC), Minister of Police Affairs and Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission(NHRC)* and other concern authorities.

It alleged the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olawale Olokede, and DCP in charge of SCID of aiding and abetting illegality* across the length and breadth of the State,which lead to the geometrical increase of crime rate in the State as recently experienced in Ile-Ife and Ilesa,where made the Ooni Of Ife, to declare curfew in the source of Yoruba race before the State Government reversed the action.

It was learnt that the Policemen from the SCID stormed the residence of one Mrs.Felicia in the sleepy community of Egbedi in Egbedore Local Government Area of the State by claiming that one person wrote a petition against the woman that she was having Government drugs in her custody, which the poor woman denied vehemently and those officers started beaten her son called Olalekan to a pulp by subjecting him to illegal tortured.

Although, after the Police checks, they saw only Metician and Testing Tube which the woman used for testing of the poor people of the community for any emergency, adding that the woman show receipts of other drugs which she bought from the Pharmaceutical Stores.

But the woman explained to the Police officers that as Head of Community Health Centre in the Community, she used to treat the people of the community on emergency and that was why you met Testing Tube with me but all the explanation went on *deaf ears of these Police officer’s, Kolawole Babalawo and his lawless team with and later whisked the woman away* to their office in Osogbo and *kept her incommunicado since morning till the night of Saturday 29th of January, 2022*.

While the leadership of the CHRSJ intervened in the matter by contacting the Police authorities in the State, including; CP Olokede, and PPRO, Mrs. Yemisi Opalola through their Phone numbers for passionate request to know the Petitioner of the alleged petition, the Police were dribbling leaders of the rights group and also requesting for the unconditional release of the woman on bail by providing reasonable surety that would stand for her and they would come back on Monday for the matter to be charged to Court for adjudication.

But to compound the matter, *the Police went ahead to write the statement for the woman so as to indict her and absolutely denied her to have an access to her legal Practitioner, not to talk of person of her own choice, which is contrary to section(35)* of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.

The Police officers were claiming that the matter would have been settled before they reached their Station in Osogbo, had they been the woman cooperate with them by accepting their request of bringing sum of #250,000 for bail and settlement of the matter once and for all”*.

Speaking on the issue on Thursday, the CHRSJ’s Director of Planning and Mobilization, Comrade Atanda Olaniyan, strongly condemned the illegal arrest and unlawful detention of the woman by the Police as they(Police) *collected the sum of N50,000:00k bribe* on Saturday night of 29th day of January 2022 for bail fee from the family of the innocent woman and another *Fifteen Thousand Naira (N15,000:00k) on Monday Morning of 31st day of January, 2022*.

We had earlier demanded from the Police of the State State Command to charge the matter to Court on Monday or the woman be released unconditionally, the *Officer-in-Charge of this matter, Kolawole Babalawo started to performed the series of *constabulary mentality* of pushing them here and there like a redundant coins in the morning, evening and night to come to the State (SCID), Osogbo since Monday till the time of filling this report by also refused to unveil the alleged fugitive Petitioner and also refused to take matter to Court but turn them to ATM machine where they were collecting between Five Thousand to Ten Thousand Naira (N5,000 to N10,000) from Monday till now after they had earlier collected sum of Sixty Five Thousand Naira (N65,000) at the weekend.

Babalawo emphatically hanged on the fact that the State Commissioner of Police, Olawale Olokede and Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of State Criminal Investigation Department(SCID) aware of all the money being collected from the victim and her family.

Comrade Olaniyan maintained that *dragging the matter to Magistrate Court, would expose the fugitive Petitioner of the Police on the subject matter and exposed when the Police turned to NAFDAC, NDLEA and Ministry of Health*, adding that the Centre had provided the team of Lawyers to defend the woman in Court since Monday till this moment, but the so Called Police Officers from Osogbo State (SCID), under the control of the “Mr. CP” Olawale Olokede and his (DCP) refused to charge the matter to Court, and their agents continue to give one excuse and the other with continuation of extorting the innocent woman and her family members.

Instead of Police to arrange the victim/ innocent woman in Court to allow the court of the competent jurisdiction to pronounce otherwise in accordance with the constitutional provisions, Police still wanted to make an unlawful, purported/kangaroo arrangement of Press briefing to snap the picture of the innocent Community workers with another drugs and other hospital materials to blackmail the woman before the public with frivolous allegation of committing the offence, alleging of threatening of the innocent woman if she refused to give them money as the police officers requested from her.

According to *CHRSJ*, “It promised to establish *section(35) sub-section(6)* against the lawless/professional emeritus of bribe collector Police Officers attached to Osun State Criminal Investigation Department(SCID) and their boss in all ramifications, no matter the level of their rookie counterfeiter of lies and blabber mouths of pathological and blatant lies of these corrupt police officers and their departments, who are planing their fake press briefing to destroy the image and blackmailing the innocent woman(Mrs. Felicia) or any other victims in the State, the Centre will Continue to expose and counterpoise their offices nonsensical constabulary mentality with all legal means available to us, as they (Police) always going beyond their mecuantancy,

It described the action of the said Police officers as *horrific, barbaric, illegal, unlawful, unconstitutional,unwarranted, lawlessness, anathema, undemocratic, satanic, abomination, nonchalant, aberration, undemocratic and crime against God and humanity*.

CHRSJ further alleged that this has been the habitual characters of the Police officers in Osun State Command since assumption of office of current Police Commissioner in the State, Mr. Olawalee Olokede by always claiming that Mr. Olokede were in the known of all their actions, either legal or illegal, as their always pay the return every week to the CP’s Office like formal Oyo, Ogun and River States Commissioners of Police(CPs)respectively; *Baba Adisa Bolanta(Rtd), Hammed Illiaz (Rtd)* and *Ibu John Ibu (Rtd)*.

This was unconnected with the allegations against the *CP Olokede of aiding and abetting the internet fraudsters*, popularly known as *Yahoo boys*, which the *law of karma and natural justice visited him* recently that lead to the sudden burnt of his private residence in Ogun State.

As the cat is now out of the basket on their(Police) discrepancies with poncaturious competitious nacornic nacunal, the group is now set all locomotive legal machinery on motion to request for the *”outright dismissal”* of these aforementioned lawless Police officers without any further delay, in order to serve as a deterrent to any corrupt officers in the Nigeria Police Force(NPF) and other law enforcement agencies, who have the same idiosyncratic tendency of sarcasm implied rebuking in their hearts and olfactory lobe with nerve, even if *”Fiat Justitiae Ruat Caelum”*.

Olaniyan declared that the *current Osun CP Olokede*, was too downgraded to be putting in charge of the State like Osun to be man, instead of the States like *Borno, Yobe, Zamfara, Adamawa, Benue* and others, where he would be able to praticalize his knowledge of policing the country and bring positive results of relegating the *Boko-Haram, Herdsmen, Bandits* and other groups that put security challenges to those areas, to background within the shortest periods of time of assuming officein Osun State.

It further alleged that the rate of crimes have been on the rise since *former Commissioner of Police, Adeoye Olafimihan left office in the State, if not for the intervention and emergency of *Amotekun Corps*, led by its Pioneer Director General (DG) and now Field Commander *(Comrade Combatant (Chief) Amitolu Shittu)*, the security situation of Osun State would have been damaged beyond the repair, due to the incompetency, lackadaisical attitude and corrupt practices level of the Police Officers in the State.

He then prayed to God Almighty to give *former CP Olafimihan Adeoye long life in sound health to enjoy the fruits of his labour on earth* and the then State former *PPRO*; Mrs. *Folashade Odoro*, who still in active service into her fathersland by saying *”Namaste, Namascara and Namascram”*.