By ARUGA JOE OMOKARO, Lagos

One of the newly promoted Commissioners of Police (CP), Waheed Ayilara, who until his promotion last week, was Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in charge of State Criminal and Investigation Department (SCID) Panti, Yaba, Lagos seems to be in murky waters.

It was learnt that there are petitions from families in Lagos sent to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), to the Police Service Commission (PSC), to the Minister of Police Affairs and to the National Security Adviser (NSA) to the President alleging CP Ayilara of complicity and official corruption by providing armed policemen to a man, the families claim encroached into their land. The man Babalola Fajobi is alleged to be forcefully claiming their land at Ibeju-Lekki.

It was learnt that one Emmanuel Usman, Managing Director of Kwawel Nigeria Limited, was contracted by the families of Eletu Odibo and Oluwo as well as Saula- lmam family at lbeju-Lekki, an outskirt of Lagos State in 2018, to reclaim and develop their land.

The land which is said to be 600 acres was a thick forest, with a condition of getting plots of land on each acre developed by Kwawel.

Kwawel was said to had commenced clearing and sand-filling of the land in 2019.

After remarkable development had taken place, and the once swamp forest had taken good attractive shape, one Babalola Fajobi, owner of Bafaj company, was said to had surfaced claiming ownership of the land and that Kwawel should vacate the already developed land.

Kwawel was said to have alerted the families that contracted the land to him for development.

The families were said to have cautioned Bafaj to keep off from the land.

But that Bafaj went to place a Caveat Emptor in the Punch newspaper of August 17, 2020, warning intruders to keep off the land, as the land had been sold to him.

In a swift reaction to the Punch publication, the family through their legal counsel, Adegboyega Erinle Esq, wrote to Bafaj in a letter dated October 28, 2020, countering the PUNCH publication and, for Bafaj to desist from claiming ownership of the land.

Investigations reveal that Bafag had erroneously bought part of the land from a different family, and had sold part of it to some buyers.

However, he later discovered that, the land he Bafaj bought belongs to Eleu, Oluwo and Saula-Imam families.

The Eletu families were said to have invited Bafaj to ratify the land he bought wrongly. The original families were said to have advised Bafaj to go with all documents with which he sold the land, so as to ratify real proof of ownership both to Bafaj and to those who bought from him. But that as at the time of filing this report, Bafaj was yet to see the families with documents of those who bought the land from him for ratification.

But Fajobi in a telephone discussion with this paper last week explained that he had met with the family and has paid N10 million to the families to ratify his documents and those he sold land to.

But counsel to the family, Adegboyega last Sunday that the N10m was for the families to grand Bafaj audience.

Still laying claim to the developed property by Kwawel, Bafaj was said to have invaded the land on 9^th October last year 2023, with armed policemen allegedly from Lagos State Police Command and thugs to harass and assaulted Kwawel workers on duty.

Kwawel was said to had promptly wrote a petition through his solicitor, to Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) of Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Alagbon Close, lkoyi, Lagos, accusing Bafaj of intimidating and assaulting his workers, also disrupting work on the land.

It was further gathered that Fajobi was invited by the FCID, but he ignored the invitation, and rather rushed to Force Headquarters (FHQ) Abuja, where he felt he could get justice with a petition against Kwawel.

“Unfortunately, the matter turned against him,” Usman said.

Kwawel was said to had also promptly wrote to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) through his counsel, Matthew Burkaa & Co (SAN), accusing Bafag of using armed policemen from State CID Panti Lagos, to intimidate and assault his workers as well as destroying his equipment.

He told this newspaper that his equipment destroyed worth over N300 million.

Kwawel letters were dated 9^th and 22^nd Nov 2023. Subsequently, Principal Staff Officer (PSO) to the IGP, CP Johnson Adenola, acting on IGP’s directive, was said to have referred Kwawel’s petition to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in charge of IGP Monitoring Unit, with a letter dated 23^rd November 2023.

The DCP Adamu Eleman was said to have met with the Kwawel Director, Usman, Bafaj Director, Babalola and the land families of Eletu Odibo, Oluwo family and Saula on November 27^th 2023, at FHQ Abuja.

A peaceful resolution was said to have been reached and the DC IGP M.U was said to have advised Bafaj to go to court or resolve with Eletu Odibo, Oluwo and Saula Immam families, and not to go to the site to halt or harass Kwawel’s workers.

But Bafaj, we learnt, ignored the truce reached at FHQ, and still invaded the land with armed thugs early this year, 2024.

Kwawel was said to have promptly alerted Force Hq Abuja, and Babalola was arrested and whisked to Abuja but was released after some days in detention.

Our investigations further revealed that Eletu Odibo, Oluwo and Saula-lmmam families have consequently petitioned the Minister of Police Affairs and the Chairman, Police Service Commission (PSC) as well as the National Security Adviser (NSA) with letters dated 27^th December, 2023 and January 8^th, 2024, respectively, accusing former DC State CID Panti, Lagos, CP Waheed Ayilara, of official corruption using his office to illegally support Bafaj with armed policemen to cause mayhem on their land.

When contacted on phone on Monday, January 29, there was network problem, and CP Ayilara could not be heard very well. However, an SMS was sent to him to explain his role, but no response from him as at the time of filing this report. Similarly, Spokesman of Lagos State Police Command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, could not pick our calls; he also failed to respond to our SMS on the allegation against the former DC SCID.

Spokesman of PSC, Ikechukwu Ani, said in response to our SMS that he was not aware of any petition against CP Ayilara. Efforts to get Police Minister failed. Similarly, NSA, AIG Nuhu Ribadu (Rtd), could not respond to our SMS on the matter as at the time of filing this report. (Adapted from a report by The SUPREME)

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