Yesterday, the Lagos State Police Command presented four suspects before the Ejigbo Magistrate Court on charges of illegal assembly and drug abuse. SP Benjamin Hundeyin, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, revealed this in a statement, citing persistent complaints from Harmony Estate, Aboru, Lagos residents regarding the activities of certain young men.
Hundeyin explained that the complainants reported the individuals gathering around the estate entrance during morning and night hours, engaging in activities such as gambling, selling, and smoking hard drugs. Other allegations included harassment, obstruction of residents’ free movement, and extortion of passers-by. In response to these complaints, operatives from Area P, Alagbado, conducted extensive surveillance and subsequently, on Thursday, February 29, 2024, at approximately 0800 hours, carried out an operation to apprehend the troublemakers.
“A total of eight suspects were arrested with substances, suspected to be hard drugs, resulting in the blockage of road by other miscreants who demanded the release of their cohorts before the Police could leave the vicinity.
“The miscreants equally assaulted the officers, who, however, called for and received reinforcement, enabling them to successfully move the suspects and exhibits to the station,” the statement said.
Hundeyin added that four out of the eight arrested persons were subsequently freed after proven innocent from further investigations at the station.
“The remaining four persons, Afolabi Joshua ‘m’ aged 24, Isaiah Omogbolahan ‘m’ aged 25, Oluwadamilare Kayode ‘m’ aged 38 and Friday Anamaliu ‘m’ aged 40, were arraigned on March 1, 2024 at Ejigbo Magistrate Court and remanded by the court in prison custody till March 25, 2024,” the statement added.
He debunked the news making the rounds that the suspects were arrested for playing Ludo game as entirely false, noting that the narrative was brought up by some of the miscreants who managed to escape to divert attention from the real issues.
The statement also vowed that the Lagos States Police Command will not succumb to social media blackmail but continue to uphold its mandate to maintain law and order, and protect the lives and property of Lagosians.
