A Lagos-based lawyer, Olayinka Sanni, has condemned the arrest and continued detention of Hon Saheed Mosadoluwa, popularly known as Ibile, by men of the Special Tactical Squad in Abuja.
The Special Tactical Squad (STS) had claimed that the businessman, who is the CEO of Harmony Gardens, was arrested following a petition from an unnamed person.
The businessman was arrested last Wednesday at his home in the Ibeju Lekki area of Lagos State by heavily armed policemen who laid siege on him.
The lawyer called on DIG Garuba Sanni to order the immediate release of the Lagos businessman and also ensure a proper investigation into the allegations against him.
Sanni particularly objected to the “commando style” arrest of his client without proper invitation from the police.
The lawyer said, “Some policemen on Saturday, in a commando style, invaded his house in the Ibeju Lekki area of the state and abducted him.”
“He was taken to Area F in Ikeja, and when we inquired about his offense, the policemen claimed that there was a petition against him.”
The lawyer also added that “The person who wrote the petition was one of those who ganged up against him over his acquisition of a large parcel of land in Ibeju Lekki.”
“Why didn’t they invite him formally if anybody had written a petition against him? They laid siege on him for days before abducting him.”
The lawyer also said, “After the officer in charge of STS listened to him and the petitioner’s lawyer, he discovered that the matter was a pure land issue, and he granted him (Ibile) bail after three days in detention.
“It was surprising that he was on his way home when he received a call that DIG Sanni would want to see him for another interview, and he has been detained again since then.”
Sanni stated that “One of the policemen who came to arrest him in Lagos mistakenly chatted with me on Tuesday night on how they urgently need to ensure that Hon Mosadoluwa is incarcerated for a long period of time.”
“They are now looking for anybody who has any issue with him to use as an excuse to continue to keep him in detention.”
The lawyer stated that “All the allegations against him have been treated by the police at different formations and even FCID, and they are in court already,” the lawyer said.
“The particular person who wrote the present petition against him has been investigated and found culpable by the police for forging documents with which he claimed ownership of the disputed land.”
The lawyer called on the IGP to prevail on the DIG to release the Lagos businessman and set up an independent team to investigate the petition against Hon. Mosadoluwa.
