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03.10.2021 news ‘Na Where Man Dey Work Hin Dey Chop’ — Lagos DPO Admits to Running Rogue Police Unit

Published 3rd Oct, 2021

By Daniel Ojukwu

Straight-faced and seemingly prepared to serve as judge in the matter that had led six police officers and two journalists to his office, Oluwole Ayodele’s countenance soon changed to offer some laughing, dancing, proverb offerings and admittance to knowledge of the activities of his rogue criminal police division.

Ayodele, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Isheri-Oshun Police Station in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos, was on Saturday afternoon informed of attempts by officers under his watch to extort tricycle operators in the area and harass this reporter and his colleague, David Orji, with jungle justice for allegedly filming them.

This reporter and his colleague had journeyed to Isheri-Ijegun to follow a lead for a story when we observed a female officer stopping tricyles and ordering the riders to park.

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Three arrested riders would later be asked to ride their tricycles with the police in them to the Isheri-Oshun station. Having first questioned the intention of the police as there was no obvious breach of law on the part of the riders, we were satisfied that they were being taken to the station rather than being extorted.

However, we stumbled upon the same group parked some distance away from the station. Our initial suspicion was quickly proved right and I asked my colleague to film the transaction, but before he could do so, the police jumped out of the tricycles and headed in our direction.

One of whose name tag read ‘Oworh Innocent’ grabbed my colleague by the hem of his shirt, while another officer simply identified as ‘Idahosa’ threatened to hit us both with a baton and maim us out there in public as we requested to be taken to their station.

READ ALSO: Police in Ekiti ‘Beat Up’ Journalist For Defending Arrested Student

Idahosa said, “If I like I do jungle justice here, una de wait until we carry una go office wey una de kill our police, you’re very stupid. I go slap you now, your eye glass go fall down, na me you de talk to like that?

While I was recording the conversation, Innocent went for my phone in a bid to kill the evidence.

Upon hearing accounts of the incident by this reporter and the police team led by Innocent, DPO Ayodele chided Innocent for not handling the situation properly, accusing him of escalating the matter beyond dialogue.

It was at this point Ayodele’s face loosened and he leapt to his feet to perform some damage control as he uttered in Pidgin English, “Every dog de chop shit, but na the one wey use shit stain hin mouth, na hin dem go say chop shit, let’s call a spade, a spade.

Proceeding further, he told the two reporters that he had not sent the officers on any assignment, however, “Na where man work, na hin he go chop.” He added: “What you should have done, my brother,” referring to this reporter, “was to have called them to one side if you see that they are doing the wrong thing, and told them that you have seen them o, but they should be careful.

“I am a friend to many journalists, more than 10 senior reporters; they call me, we talk, one of them like that even called me one time when he needed help, and I showed up to help the man. You don’t know where you can meet these people tomorrow, they too, they can meet you in future. Just forgive and forget.”

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In the presence of both reporters, he advised the officers to be mindful of unfamiliar faces like ours, and to pretend to be in active service by dancing while working so they can go viral if filmed like an Abuja policeman caught on camera earlier in the year.

He later informed Orji that the tricycle operators had been let go, however, he continues to hoard a photograph he requested we all take in his office for possible fear of ease of identification.

FIJ also learnt that police from this unit regularly extort drug peddlers and a sex worker living in the area.

Unnumbered residence of drug dealers and sex worker regularly extorted by Isheri-Oshun policemen

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Published 3rd Oct, 2021

By Daniel Ojukwu

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