Parents Of Abducted Man Accuse Lagos State Police Commissioner of Complacency

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni has been accused by the parents of a young man abducted while under policy custody of being indifferent to their son’s disappearance.

According to the Punch,

The parents ─ Karimat Adebanbi and Bisiriyu Kabiru ─ alleged that the CP had not acted on a petition dated November 27, the receipt of which was acknowledged by his office.

The family had, through an activist, Prince Akinsemoyin Akpata, petitioned the CP “to critically investigate the DPO and the role he played in this case.”

Adebanbi said the thought of torture that his son would be going through in the hands of his abductors had been giving her sleepless nights and urged the CP to act decisively on the matter.

PUNCH Metro had reported on Tuesday, December 1, that Waidi was arrested during a raid in Ikorodu on Friday, November 21, and was detained at the station.

He was, however, said to have been whisked away from the station’s cell around 1am the following Sunday by three men who wore masks.

His father had gone to the station on the fateful morning to give him food only to be told that he had been released.

The state police command had denied the abduction, saying Waidi had been released on bail without providing the family with details of the surety.

In a follow up report on December 3, lawyers and human rights activists called on the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, and the CP to conduct a full scale investigation into Waidi’s disappearance and bring all the policemen involved to book.

The mother, who spoke with our correspondent on Wednesday, said there was no sign that the police were committed to unraveling Waidi’s whereabouts. She said the station eventually said he was released to one Ibrahim Akala, purportedly living in Igbe, a neighbouring community.

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She said, “The CP is not showing seriousness about the abduction of my son. It is almost two weeks now since we submitted the petition at his office in Ikeja, yet we have not seen any result from him.

“A few days ago, a policeman in the station told us that it was one Ibrahim Akala, who called himself Waidi’s brother, who stood surety for him. But we don’t have anybody that bears such name in our family. Let them show us the person.”

The victim’s father, Bisiriyu, said, “The CP has never invited us for a meeting since the incident happened. We have done all we can, but the police are not helping the situation.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Joe Offor, said he was not aware of the petition.

He said, “I am not aware of the day the petition was taken to the CP’s office; so, I cannot specifically explain what the CP is doing on it. I will meet with the CP later and contact the DPO to know the relationship between the surety and the suspect. I will get back to you.”