Police has arrested the traditional ruler of Osoroko in the Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State, Chief Olusegun Oyiri, in connection with the killing of a police inspector, Musa Sunday, attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the state police command.
Sunday had been declared missing on November 16, 2016, after his team members responded to a distress call over a clash between two families contending ownership of land in the community.
The 45-year-old’s decomposed body was found in a bushy area around Osoroko sometime in June 2017, while his service AK-47 rifle, was recovered a few weeks earlier.
“His service rifle was found and returned by members of the community. Who found it? Who also found his body?
“The person who brought the rifle was not arrested or questioned. One Aree showed us where his corpse was hurriedly buried, but he is walking freely without being questioned.
“A high chief from the community approached the victim’s family, attempting to settle the case with N2m. Where on earth will this kind of thing happen and the perpetrators will be so bold to come up with a compensation plan?” Sunday’s cousin, Jonathan, had said.
According to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police on Wednesday the baale and three other suspects were complicit in the death after “painstaking efforts” of detectives who carried out investigations in the community.
He said,
“I led detectives to that community and met with elders, appealing to them if they had our inspector in their custody, but they denied. A combined team of SARS with the technical support of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team based in Lagos sustained its investigative activities in respect of that case.
“Four suspects have been arrested. Among them is the Baale of Osoroko village. We want to make it clear that the law does not respect any one, either a traditional ruler or moneybags. The police will use this to send message to criminals pretending to be custodians of our traditional institution.
“In the course of investigation, we also found out that the baale led swearing of oath of secrecy among the people that are involved. Two of his children involved in that act are yet to be produced. We will not sweep the matter under the carpet.”
Five suspects were also arrested on Tuesday on Church Street, Oshodi, for lynching a man accused of attempting to abduct a child. He said the mob was about to set ablaze the deceased when a police team arrived at the scene.
But the baale, who was paraded along with the three others, denied his involvement in the killing of the policeman, saying the incident was brought to his notice by the youth leader of the community.
He said, “I was not the one who killed the policeman. The fight was over a land matter. Some soldiers and Oodua People’s Congress members came to Osoroko to take over some parcels of land.
“That day, I called the youth leader on the telephone to know what was happening in the community and he told me that a policeman had been killed.
“He said some youths and OPC members killed the policeman. I reported the killing to the paramount ruler of my area. I didn’t swear any oath of secrecy with anybody.”
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