By Efe Onodjae
A Lagos State Magistrate Court in Lagos has granted bail to the seven security guards, who were arrested and detained by operatives of the FCID, Alagbon, over the death of a man in the Agidingbi area of the state.
This is just as the Estate of the late Lagos businessman, Emmanuel Ashamu Oyedele has condemned the arrest of the workers by policemen from the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Alagbon over a matter that is already before a court of competent jurisdiction and also being investigated by the Lagos State Police Command and the Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan.
The police had on Monday approached the court, presided by Olanrewaju Olatunji, to seek an application for a remand order, pending when the arrested workers would be arraigned in court.
Oladiran Ayodele of the legal department, FCID Annexe, Alagbon, had prayed the court to grant a warrant order to continue to keep the suspects in custody
Adeola Ibrahim, counsel to the arrested workers, however, opposed the bail, noting that the arrest and continued detention of the workers was just an attempt to keep them out of circulation
The arrested workers were arrested last Thursday and hurriedly arraigned in court, but granted bail by the magistrate
The Magistrate, after listening to both parties, refused to grant the remand warrant and admitted the arrested workers on bail, noting that the prosecutor had not shown enough reasons why the suspects should be remanded
The Estate of the late Ashamu Oyedele described the arrest of the seven workers as a hatched plan to forcefully grab a large expanse of land, belonging to the late businessman.
One of the lawyers to the late businessman’s Estate, Adeola Ibrahim, said that the arrest of the seven security men was purely carried out by the police at FCID to pave the way for one of the parties to forcefully take control and possession of the land.
He also stated that the arrest and the subsequent deployment of policemen from FCID, Alagbon to protect one of the parties was a disregard to the order of the Inspector General of Police and the Commissioner of Police on Lagos State, Olohundare Jimoh, who after listening to the two parties ordered that both parties must maintain status quo.
The lawyer said ” From all indications, one of the disputing parties is apparently using the FCID Alagbon ,to forcefully take over the land “
He stressed that “You may recall that on the 18th of June 2025 the police officers from SEB of. FCID Alagbon came and arrested a security guard and two passers around the disputed land
After the arrest, they stationed mock policemen or who were on illegal duty on the land to guide the people ,who have been brought by one of the disputing parties to the land
The AIG Zone 2 and the Commissioner of Police denied deploying the policemen to the scene and in an effort to restore normalcy ,a driver,who was later arrested and still in detention ,while trying to escape from the scene ,in a vehicle ,loaded with arms and ammunition ,crushed one of his colleagues “
Ibrahim also added that ” The key issue for me is that the death was triggered by the arrest of our security guard by operatives of the FCID ,Alagbon
Zone 2 Police Command is already investigating the incident and to make the latest arrest more worrisome is the fact that the Lagos State Criminal Investigations Department,Panti is already investigating a case of culpable murder of the death”
He decided that “All the parties are being interrogated. Everyone found on the land is also being interrogated. We do not understand the bases of the July 3rd storming of the place by operatives of FCID Alagbon, again Alagbon invading the place to carry out the arrest of our security guards .”
He described the arrest as ” A decoy to enable one of the disputing parties on the land to control and take possession. Of the land “
” Immediately after the arrest of our workers, the other party went to site and started massive construction of the land
The police also took over now and are providing cover and security for the other party on the land .
The latest action is against two orders first, the subsisting order of the IGP, which stated that no personnel of the NPF are to be deployed on disputed land or any land matter or be on illegal guard on land-related issues
Also, the CP Lagos State, immediately after the death of the person person gave an order that nobody must do any work on the disputed land until the conclusion of the investigation.
He said the police would not fold their hands to allow a breakdown of law and order
The CP specifically on Monday,June 23, asked all parties to stop any work on that land. He instructed the Area Commander in charge of Area F and the DPO in charge Alausa police station to ensure compliance”
He noted that, “Policemen. From Alagbon came and arrested people who are .merely security guards .The leader of the police team , CSP Taiwo Oyewole till now , has not shown the petition to which the security officers were arrested to either the lawyers or the suspects “
The lawyer averred that: ” It is clear that CSP Taiwo Oyewole of FCID Alagbon is carrying out the bidding of one of the parties in dispute over that land and that is against the statutory responsibility of NPF as determined in the relevant Extant laws .
Her conduct does not demonstrate neutrality in the investigation matter as she appears to be a willing tools in the hands of one of the parties on the matter”
The lawyer also said that, “Already ,we have instituted a case ,which is before the Lagos State High Court “
Source; Vanguard News Nigeria.
