• Family accuses IGP monitoring unit of attempts to pervert justice
Joy Anyim
Family of the late Murtala Jimoh Ado, a prince of Abule-Ado kingdom in the Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos, who was attacked and murdered by hoodlums have accused the police of an attempt to pervert justice.
The deceased’s brother, Alhaji Sulaiman Surajuden who spoke for the family alleged that the case, which was first reported at the Trade Fair Police Division, and later transferred to the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Yaba, has suddenly been transferred to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Monitoring Unit, Force Headquarters Annex in Obalende, Lagos.
The development, Surajuden said, was not known to the family, until they visited the SCIID for an update on the matter and to inquire about when the 14 arrested suspects would be charged to court. The police team handling the matter had told the family representative who had gone to SCIID that the IGP Monitoring Unit had come with an official letter, ordering the transfer of the matter, case file and suspects to the unit.
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While still wondering why the police authority would transfer the matter to the IGP Unit when the SCIID was in a better position to handle it, the 14 suspects arrested for alleged involvement in the murder were found to have been set free.
Speaking to The Nigerian Xpress on the twist, Surajuden who is the Aro of Ado kingdom said: “We went to Panti about two weeks ago and while we were inquiring about the matter, the Investigating Police officer told us that they had received an official letter instructing them to hand over the matter to the IGP monitoring unit.
“We find this uncomfortable because the investigation is yet to be completed by the police, but some facilitators had to move the case to the Force Headquarters Annex. We are still battling with this development because justice is about to be compromised. This is not good for our country and I want the IGP to be aware of the abnormal act of his officers. We also found out that Honourable Idris Fakeye and Alhaji Shina Teslim (also known as Okanlomo), spearheaded the transfer and release of the suspects.
“The duo lives in the community, we never suspected it indicted them, but with their action, we now know their intent. The funny aspect is the fact that Inspector Abideen Sanni even escorted the suspects back to the community and now we are living in fear. They have been boasting of being untouchable. Even the king of the community has moved out of the palace. He has gone into hiding for fear of these thugs. We know justice is expensive in Nigeria and we the deceased’s family are ready to go any length to get this right.”
It was also gathered that the IGP monitoring unit had also written to the family, requesting the presence of Sulaiman Surajuden, Jelili Ado, Kenedy Mukoko, Ayodele Ado, Bolaji Ado, Ademola Awuga and Yusuf Ado, to discuss the matter better, an invitation the family said they ignored, because all were pointing at an attempt to sweep justice under the carpet.
Contacted for comments, Inspector Sanni denied any attempt by the unit to deny the family of their anticipated justice. Sanni said the unit is reputable for investigating high profile cases.
Sanni said, “You know I am not in a position to talk on this matter. The case was called for the transfer of the matter from SCIID. One thing is sure, we do a discreet investigation here. We have a particular murder case we had been on since 2015 and we just got the actual killer recently. So in this case, nobody is sweeping anything under the carpet. We have called and even served the family a letter of invitation but they are yet to honour it.
“We heard the family even went to Abuja, but they were asked to return to the unit, that we will do a thorough job. What we are after is to get the actual killer of the late Chief Murtala Ado.”
When asked if the 14 suspects were still in police custody, Sanni immediately ended the call. Several calls were put across to him subsequently, but he has refused to respond. A text message was also sent to him, but he is yet to respond to the message as at the time of filing in this report.
Recall that The Nigerian Xpress had reported that 44-year-old prince Ado was attacked by some hoodlums with guns, cutlasses and bottles at the family office on September 27.
Ado who lived at Ijegun with his family was having a meeting with Lawal Akeem, the said leader of the hoodlums in Abule-Ado community when Akeem’s boys stormed the Ado family office.
The father of three, who held the traditional title of ‘Akogun of Ado’, suffered serious wounds from the attack. He was rushed to a private hospital in Satellite Town, where he passed on two days after.
Investigations into the cause of the circumstances that had warranted a peace meeting revealed that earlier that Friday, a slum in the Abule-Ado area, with makeshift houses and shops, caught fire, at 9 a.m. While the residents scampered for safety, the hoodlums in the community took advantage of the situation to rob the distressed residents.
Members of the Ado Royal family, who had gone to sympathise with residents witnessed massive looting by the hoodlums. Rilwan and Tobi, both members of the Ado family, cautioned a hoodlum, who had allegedly stolen a television set, insisting he returns it.
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Obviously angered by the directive, the hoodlums had threatened to deal with the duo, the news of which later reached the Ado family.
To avert any form of crisis, Prince Ado, who was alerted to the threat of an attack invited the leader of the hoodlums, Lawal Akeem for a peace talk.
Akeem allegedly got to the family office about 9.00 p.m. that Friday for the talk with Prince Ado and other representatives of the Ado family.
It was shortly after Akeem’s arrival that the hoodlums stormed the Ado family office with dangerous arms. Prince Ado ran into one of the offices to take cover but was trailed by the hoodlums. Several other members of the family were also injured in the attack.