A retired officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, Akeem Sanyaolu, has raised allegations of harassment and unlawful seizure of his property by officers of the Nigeria Police Force from the Zone 2 headquarters covering Lagos and Ogun states.
Sanyaolu reported that on February 5, 2020, while he was on a trip outside Lagos, his wife informed him that police officers had forcefully entered his premises in Ojuore, Sango Ota. The officers allegedly seized three Ford caravan buses and some important documents from his home, claiming the vehicles were stolen items from Tincan Port.
According to Sanyaolu, the police operation was carried out without a warrant or court order. He stated that he had made several attempts to recover his properties but to no avail. He lodged a complaint with the Inspector General of Police through his solicitor on August 4, 2022, which led to an investigation by the office of the Assistant Inspector General of Police at the Zone 2 Command headquarters in Lagos.
Despite the investigation, Sanyaolu alleged that there was no progress on the matter, and the case file was not given the necessary attention. He further stated that he was embarrassed and humiliated by the utterances of an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Felix, who called him a thief during one of the interactions.
Sanyaolu demanded that ASP Felix retract the alleged defamatory statement against him. The police claimed they were acting on a petition against him but failed to provide a copy of the petition. As of now, the three Ford caravan buses and other seized items remain unreleased four years later.
When contacted, the spokesperson for Zone 2, Ayuba Umma, promised to make findings on the allegations but had not provided any updates at the time of the report.
