Friday, August 14, 2015

Complainant accuses policeman of conniving with suspect

A lady has petitioned the Lagos State Commissioner of Police (CP), Mr. Fatai Owoseni, demanding for proper investigation, after a policeman allegedly thwarted justice at Adolf Police Post. 

The lady, Mrs. Ifeoma Uba, residing at Peace Estate Ojo, Lagos, said that one Chukwudi Okoro a.k.a Asaba conned her, into releasing her newly acquired Honda Accord car, valued at N1.5 million. The car, marked, GGE 210 DA, was released to Okoro and another man simply called Chuks for the purpose of transportation business.
She said that the men promised they would be paying her N5,000 every day for the usage of the car. 
According to her, after making only a return of N5, 000 on the first day, the two men disappeared with the car. Uba explained that what pained her most was that the incident occurred just a day or two after she acquired the car. 
Uba said: “I know Asaba from where I used to sell food. He comes to my stand almost every day. One day, he said he would bring someone who would use my car to convey a white man to and fro work every day. He said the man would be remitting N5000 daily to us. He persuaded us to accept the offer.
He brought the man called Chuks, and we gave them the car. I never knew this was a way to steal the car. They returned N5, 000 the first day, but on the second day, we didn’t see them or the car.” Uba said that she called Asaba; he picked but told her he travelled to his village. When she got Chuks on the phone, he had another story to tell her. She said: “Chuks told us that armed robbers had snatched the vehicle! We reported the matter at Adolf Police Station. Asaba was arrested after he couldn’t offer any useful information about the car. Moreover, he was the  prime suspect. Nobody knew where Chuks had taken off to.”
 Police however later granted Asaba bail. This action didn’t go down well with Uba. She queried the Station officer’s action, asking why Asaba was given bail. “But the Station Officer boasted that if we refused to collect the money offered by Asaba, he would use his power to frustrate the case,” said Uba.
“It was on this ground we decided to write a petition to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, through the Police Public Relations Office, Ikeja.” 
Part of the petition reads: “I wish to bring to your notice a case I reported of our missing car at Adolf Police Post. But to our surprise, the Station Officer of the station connived with the suspect. He insisted that we should collect the N150, 000 the suspect was offering us for the car and allow the matter to die. When the Station Officer approached us, he offered to give us N150, 000 on behalf of the suspect, Asaba. We said no, that he should transfer the case to the State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba or State Police Command for proper investigations as we have confidence in the Commissioner of Police’s Investigating Team. We later received a text message, sent by Inspector John Bull from Adolf Police Station, telling us that the matter had been charged to court.”
The petitioner alleged that the police officer told them that the case was adjourned in the absence of the couple and a date fixed for adjournment when they didn’t even know that the matter had been taken to court. 
The woman said: “We’re asking that the case be withdrawn from the court and for the CP’s team of investigators to look into the matter as I suspect foul play.” 
The matter was directed to Human Right Resource Center, Lagos State Police Command, Ikeja. The O/C in Charge stated that the policeman at Adolf Police Post followed due process by taking the matter to court. He further assured the woman that the police would get the fleeing Chuks.
 http://newtelegraphonline.com/complainant-accuses-policeman-of-conniving-with-suspect/

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