Lagos CP petitioned over abduction of two teenagers by Policemen

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, has been petitioned by a Lagos based businessman, Mr. Muktari Ramadan over the adoption of his two teenage children by policemen from State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Lagos.

In the petition written through his lawyer, Mr. Adeyemi Olatunji of Accord Solicitors, father of the abducted children, Muktari Ramadan, urged the Commissioner of Police to intervene so that his innocent children, who ordinarily should be in school are released.

The lawyer averred that the abduction of the children, Abbati Muktari Ramadan and Kabiru Ramadan is contrary to Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Administration in the High Court and Magistrates Courts Law of Lagos State 2011, and it violates the Convention on the Treatment of Children and Women in areas of conflict.

In the petition, Adeyemi also stated how the children were forcefully taken from their home by policemen who claimed to have come from D9 in Panti, they were said to have stormed their house at about 4.30am.

He said the policemen also woke the whole family, including women who were still in various stages of undress, demanding to see his client, Muktari Ramadan, but his wife told them he was not at home after which they grabbed the two boys and left with them at the early hour on the day.

“Our client’s wife immediately put a call through to her husband who requested to speak with the policemen. Mr. Ramadan spoke with one of the policemen who refused to reveal his identity but demanded that our client produce himself at their office by 9am. Our client told him that from where he was he would not be able to get to Panti at 9am but that he would get there around 11am.

“Having believed that he had secured the understanding of officers after the phone call, our client was distraught when his wife told him the men left with the two children without any letter of information or any official document aside the verbal message exchanged.

“Before the incident, our client who is into the business of transportation and equipment leasing, informed us that sometimes in late February 2016 that he was approached by a legal practitioner whom he only knows as Barrister Dele to lease his caterpillar for a demolition job. Our client informed us that he told the lawyer that he would not release his equipment for such job unless there was guarantee that the job was legal and that there would be adequate security for his men and equipment.

“The lawyer assured him there was a court order and that there would be police security with court bailiffs in attendance. True to his word, the next day the lawyer came in a bus with four armed mobile policemen and some court officials. It was only then that our client released his caterpillar with an operator to go and do the job somewhere in Satellite town.

“Our client also informed us that, the operator told him that when they got to the site he could not do the demolition because the owner of the building came out to stop them and the lawyer agreed that they were going to negotiate. The operator left the scene with the caterpillar and our client was paid” the petitioner stated.

He said he was called again two weeks later to come and do demolition and he told them to fulfil the last condition which they met.

Mr. Adeyemi also stated in the petition that: “When they got to the site, there were people around so he could not carry out the demolition again, he was only able to tap a portion of the roof of the house before they all left the scene. To our client’s surprise, somebody informed him that the lawyer had been arrested about a week ago and just two days back, his operator was also arrested. So, our client firmly beliefs the abduction of his children is in connection to the demolition job he carried out”.

Lawyer to the father of abducted children, Mr. Adeyemi further stated in the petition that his client is not afraid and is ready to honour police invitation and to appear at Panti as promised.