Farmer petitions IGP over invasion, destruction of property
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Mutiu Adeeyo, 45, a farmer in Iso-Isu, Ede in Osun State, is awaiting response from Inspector General of Police Usman Baba on his petition over the stealing of his N5.5 million by armed policemen who invaded his home at about 11pm on 19 July.
He said the petition also detailed how the police officers violated him, ransacked his wardrobe, and destroyed his property.
“My wife, children, and my brother’s wives and children were all sleeping that night when we heard people kicking the gate. I was traumatised because I know the security situation of the country.
“They scaled the fence when we didn’t open the gate. They went to the main and back doors and started shouting that we should open the doors,” he told The PUNCH.
“When we didn’t answer, they broke the doors open and asked where I was. The women said I wasn’t at home. They started breaking every door to look for me. They didn’t stop despite the women protesting that they were not covered.
“When they noticed the room I was in, they broke in and arrested me at gunpoint. I was handcuffed and taken into their van.
“I had a land dispute with some of the people who accompanied the policemen. But we had settled it and followed what the law says.
“When they were bringing me out, some men went into my wardrobe and took a polythene bag containing N5.5 million.”
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Detained by police, charged to court
Adeeyo said he was taken to Pere police station, Ede and detained till the following day. He was later taken to court where he was alleged to have destroyed the fence of a building on the disputed land in Kajola.
He recounted the court discovered there was a similar case Zone 11 Police Command had filed on his behalf, and adjourned the case and allowed him to leave.
“If the police called to see me, I would have answered them because I didn’t commit any crime.”
Shakirah his wife confirmed the incident. A member of his legal team, Azeez Zakariyau, said it was the second time the police would detain him.
“When the police went to his house the first time, enquiries were ongoing when we filed a petition at the Zone 11 police headquarters in Osogbo,” Zakariyau said.
“They investigated and discovered that he wasn’t at fault. Then the Zone 11 Police Command charged some suspected land grabbers to court for malicious damage.
“They went to arrest him [Adeeyo] again on July 19. Our team has filed a petition against the entry and disappearance of the money.”
The petition dated 29 July was signed by one Alfred Adegoke and addressed to Baba.
Adegoke insisted the police team stole N5.5 million from Adeeyo and demanded Baba investigate the incident.
State Police Public Relations Officer Yemisi Opalola, a Superintendent of Police, said she is not aware of the matter.