Lagos State Police Command has reacted to reports that Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, locked down Brooks Estate in Magodo, Isheri, on New Year’s Day.
In a statement on Sunday, Public Relations Officer, Adekunle Ajisebutu, said the purveyors were out to blackmail the CP “for personal reasons”.
The spokesman said Odumosu, recently promoted to the rank of Assistant Inspector-General of Police, visited the estate for an event.
Ajisebutu noted that he was accompanied by armed security details, driven in his official car bearing an official number plate and a pennant.
The police recalled Odumosu was denied access by “overzealous private security guards” despite proper introduction and reason for the visit.
The PRO said appeals to allow him to go in to meet a colleague at a function where a security matter was to be discussed fell on deaf ears
“When it became obvious that the security men were going overboard, the CP after about 30 minutes humiliation, ordered the arrest of four of the security men, leaving one.
“However, in order not to make the Estate porous, the Commissioner of Police immediately posted armed policemen at the gate to support the security man left behind.
“A few minutes later, a female resident, later identified as Adebola Fatiregun, who didn’t witness the incident, stormed the gate in anger, inciting other residents.”
Adebola was arrested for inciting violence and conduct likely to cause a breach of peace. She and others were taken to the Isheri Police Division where they made statements.
The statement said all were subsequently released following the intervention of notable individuals and that at no time did Odumosu shut the estate.
The police maintained it was residents, in solidarity with the arrested security men, that closed the gate, creating a temporary gridlock.
The security agency reminded Nigerians that the constitution provides for freedom of movement and empowers the police to enter any public place at any time
