May 23, 2022

…Seven suspects now in custody

The Lagos state police command has debunked reports claiming a cover-up by the Police in the unfortunate lynching of David Imoh on May 12, 2022.

According to the command in a statement on Monday by its Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin “attention of the Lagos State Police Command has been drawn to a write-up making the rounds on social media by a faceless DSS officer”.

“The Command wishes to debunk this write-up as nothing but a cunningly-crafted work of fiction ill-intended by some unpatriotic persons and war mongers to cause disaffection, and possibly ethnic war, amongst Nigerians.”

Hundeyin also confirmed that the Divisional Police Officer, Maroko Division arrived at the active crime scene, promptly arrested four suspects and rescued the other two persons under attack.

“The numerous observers of the arrests, some of whom made videos, can attest to this.

“It is therefore ridiculous, frivolous and laughable that the suspects were allegedly paid a miserly One Hundred Thousand Naira each to admit and take the fall for murder.

He added that further investigation by the State Criminal Investigation Department led to the arrest of two other suspects.

“All six suspects were paraded before the press by the Commissioner of Police, in the state, CP Abiodun Alabi on May 20, 2022.

A seventh suspect, Usman Abubakar, aged 22 (not the mastermind), who literally poured petrol on the victim, was eventually arrested the next day.

This brings the total number of arrested suspects to seven.

Furthermore, not only has the State Director of DSS in Lagos State confirmed to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police that the alleged officer was unknown to them, he equally confirmed that the DSS neither arrested nor handed over any suspect to the police.

CP Alabi therefore urges Nigerians to disregard the write-up as a mischievous attempt by fifth columnists to cause trouble within the country.