Police chief dies in Canada hospital

Tunde Shobulo

The Commissioner of Police, in charge of Ikeja Police College, Lagos State, Mr. Tunde Shobulo, on Friday, died in a hospital in Canada, after a protracted illness.

Police sources said that the police chief, who had been sick for over a year now, was diabetic. The diabetes affected his legs to the extent that he couldn’t walk.

Policemen, who recently concluded their promotional courses at the Ikeja Police College, said that Shobulo was so sickly that he had to move his office from upstairs to downstairs. He had however adamantly refused to quit coming to the office even as his health worsens.

It was gathered that he could hardly walk unaided within his office and outside of it.

Another source said that he used to frequent overseas for treatment.

A policeman said: “Even when he addressed officers who were on promotional courses at the College on parade ground, he used to sit on a chair. Someone used to support and lead him to his chair. He couldn’t even walk to his car unaided.”

Before Shobulo was promoted to the rank of the Commissioner of Police, he was the Deputy Commissioner of Police(DCP), in charge of operation in Lagos State Police Command. He was the number two officer in the command, after the then Commissioner of Police, Prince Umar Manko, now Assistant Inspector General of Police.

Shobulo’s health deteriorated after Manko was promoted to AIG, to head Zone 2, Onikan,  Lagos and a search for his replacement started.

Police sources close to Shobulo, said that the then Inspector General of Police(IGP), Mr Suleiman Abba, had repeatedly sent signals to Shobulo, posting him out of Lagos Command, but Shobulo had always ran to his godfathers, one of them, the Oba of Lagos, to recede the transfer.

When Manko left Lagos Command, Shobulo allegedly almost emptied his bank accounts, spending millions of naira, to ensure that he was picked as the new CP, Lagos. He was also alleged to have paid heavily in Abuja and also some traditional rulers both in Lagos and outside Lagos.

He was already being saluted as the new CP, when names of senior police officers and their postings were released.

Rather than Shobulo’s name to appear in Lagos as the new CP, it was Mr. Kayode Aderanti’s name that appeared.

Shobulo allegedly collapsed in his office in the command and was rushed to hospital by some of his aids.

Since the incident, the man’s health had continued to plummet.

It took him months before he reported to the Ikeja Police College. And when he eventually did report to duty, his health continued to trouble him.

He was survived by two wives and children. Shobulo is from Ogun State. Shobulo finished his secondary school in the United States, Providence learning center in Providence Rhoda Island. He did his High school diploma, then Bristol Community College where he did Associate in law enforcement in Massachutte, also in United State, then to North America Institute of Political Science where he did a diploma course He attended Roger Williams University in Bristol Rhode Island where he did his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and Administration and went further to do his MBA in Public service with concentration in Public Law.

He worked in the United State Prisons, for few years, Rhode Island, department of corrections. He entered as a correction officer and later became a senior correction officer. When he returned to Nigeria, he did his NYSC with the police. He assisted in reorganizing the police detective training school then at Alagbon, from there he joined the police and went for training in Jos and was later posted back to Lagos.

He was once the DPO Alausa, Commander Mopol 20, the first Commander RRS , Commander Operation Sweep Police section, Area Commander Orlu in Imo State, Area Commander Ondo and Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Administration in Force Headquarters before he became the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations.