The Lagos State Government has
intervened in the case of 17-year-old suspect, Aliu Oladeni, who was
detained for eight months by the Igando Police Division.
The PUNCH learnt on Monday that
the Ministry of Justice, working with the victim’s family, was already
preparing a petition to be forwarded to the police authorities to
explain what had become of Aliu.
Our correspondent had reported how Aliu was taken to the Igando station by his family, after a mob thronged their residence.
The mob had arrested a robbery suspect, Sodiq, who reportedly mentioned his name as one of his accomplices in the operation.
Our correspondent reported that the
police took custody of the 17-year-old and allegedly demanded money from
the parents for his bail.
The former Igando Divisional Police
Officer, CSP Benjamin Osuji, was alleged to have collected over N160,
000 from the family through one Mr. Charles, who introduced the family
to him.
It was reported that eight months after,
the Oladeni family had not been told where the teenager was and efforts
by the family to find him had proved abortive.
A lawyer with the Lagos State Public
Advice Centre, Ministry of Justice, who asked not to be named because of
the state civil service rule, said the ministry would pursue the case
to a logical end.
She said, “We are going to write the
police to explain the whereabouts of the boy. We have also asked the
parents to prepare a petition to state their own story first hand, and
then we will do a letter to be addressed to the Commissioner of Police,
Lagos State.
“Ordinarily, he ought to have been
charged to court, but he wasn’t and the police, from what the parents
told us, have turned the victim’s father to a money bag, and have been
extorting money from him.
“From the story they narrated to us,
they took the boy to the station because of the fear that the mob could
return to attack him. And we believe if the boy was really a criminal,
they would have hid him and not go as far as taking him to the station.”
Asked what the state government would do
if the suspect had been killed, Benjamin said it was a decision for the
suspect’s family.
“This is because we have had instances
where the family of the victim will just say they are not interested in
pursuing any legal action because they don’t believe it will amount to
anything,” she said.
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