In a petition to the Police Service Commission, Dr. Solomon Arase, and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa, a Lagos lawyer, Idowu Orekunrin has implored the Chairman to charge an Assistant Superintendent of Police, Cosmos Ejiofor, alias Tam-Tam for illegal possession of items from his client.
Ejiofor who is attached to D16 of the State Criminal Intelligence and Investigations Department, Panti, Yaba, is said to allegedly collect some items including a car worth N14 million from Ositadinma Vincent Okololeni.
Asides the items collected, Tam-Tam is said to be sleeping with Ositadinma’s wife, an action which should stop according to the petition.
The lawyer, from the chambers of I. O. Lala and Idowu Orekunrin, made the demands in a petition to Arase and the CP.
Orekunrin listed the items allegedly collected from his client to include an unregistered GLK Mercedes Benz 2013 model valued at N14.5 million, a Nokia Lumia 900 phone worth N300,000 and his international passport.
Okololeni also accused Ejiofor of having an affair with his estranged wife, abuse of police powers, demand of N1 million bribe and dereliction of duty.
Orekunrin also alleged that his client was tortured by Ejiofor, who broke Okololeni’s head.
The lawyer opined that the actions of Ejiofor have shown a marked desecration of the sanctity and image of the Nigeria Police Force, perversion of justice, thereby occasioning conduct unbecoming of an officer of the law.
He, therefore, called on the PSC and Commissioner of Police to launch an investigation into the allegations and ensure that justice was done by disciplining and dismissing Ejiofor from service.
The lawyer said: “We are the firm of solicitors and advocates that is retained and acting for Mr. Ositadinma Vincent Okoloneli, and on whose behalf, we have raised this petition.
“It is part of the brief of our client that sometime in the last week of April 2022 he had a dispute with his wife owing to this marital dispute, our client’s wife contacted her boyfriend and concubine in person of ASP Ejiofor of D16 SCID, Panti, Yaba, Lagos State who facilitated the transfer of case against our client from Ikeja Police Station to the SCIID Panti, Yaba on trumped up charges.
“Ejiofor, before charging our client and the client’s brother in the person of Kaosisochukwu Okoloneli to Court, seized and stole our client’s unregistered Mercedes Benz GLK 2013 Model valued at N14,500,000.00, Nokia Lumia 900 N300,000 and Passport. Ejiofor also demanded a bribe of N1,000,000.00 from our client and his brother in order not to be charged and arraigned in court. The failure to accede to this demand resulted in our client and his brother being charged to the court and subsequently remanded at the Nigeria Correctional Center on the 20th of June 2022 and 1st of August 2022 respectively.
“The charge for which our client was charged to court had no bearing or connection to our client’s unregistered Mercedes Benz GLK, Nokia Lumia 900, and Passport and were not listed or cited as exhibits and which are in the personal custody of ASP Ejiofor since then and hitherto. It is our legal and considered opinion that the conduct and misconduct of ASP Ejiofor towards our client is first and foremost abuse of police powers occasioned by his engagement in an amorous and adulterous relationship with a suspect’s wife and using his position as a Police Officer of the law to take advantage of a vulnerable married woman.
“It is our further legal and considered opinion that the forceful seizure by ASP Ejiofor of our client’s unregistered GLK Mercedes Benz 2013 Model, Nokia Lumia 900 Phone, and Passport without documentation is stealing and criminal conversion. We condemn in the strongest terms this criminal and bestial conduct of ASP Ejiofor and call for his sanction under the relevant and extant Police Force Orders and Criminal Laws of Lagos State.
“ASP Ejiofor has turned to a demigod at D16 State SCIID Panti, Yaba, Lagos State with over 18 years attachment to the SCIID Panti, Yaba rising from a Corporal to a Two Star Officer as Assistant Superintendent of Police without any transfer or redeployment to other police formations. This has so emboldened ASP Ejiofor to abuse and violate the Fundamental Human Rights of suspects in his custody or whom he is investigating as depicted in the man-handling and physical abuse of our client while in his custody.
“On behalf of our client, we respectfully urged that an investigation of this situation and despicable and criminal acts of ASP Ejiofor towards our client and his brother be launched, with the aim of bringing ASP Ejiofor to book in the interest in Justice.”
It was gathered that some senior policemen had spoken to Ejiofor to back off the case since it was a marital dispute, which should go to Alternative Dispute Resolution, but he had remained adamant.
It was also heard that when the matter was charged to court by Ejiofor, the Magistrate struck it out, insisting that the matter should not have been brought to the court, but rather the couple should go for Alternative Dispute Resolution.
The spokesman of the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, was contacted on the matter.
However, Hundeyin, a Superintendent of Police, was yet to respond to the allegations against Ejiofor as at press time.
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