Lagos House of Assembly Exonerate Police, Oba Elegushi from Allegation of Murder

Following a petition brought by indigenes of Otodo-Gbame community in Eti-Osa local government area of Lagos state, against the Nigerian Police and Oba of Ikate land, Oba Sahed Ademola Elegushi, the Lagos State House of Assembly has exonerated the duo of any complicity in the incessant killing, unlawful detention, harassment and continue intimidation of people in the community.

The lawmakers who constituted a committee to look into the allegation in its resolution dated January 20, 2017 and signed by the acting Clerk of the House, A. A. Sanni, condemned the petition after investigation as a deliberate ploy to maligned those named in it.

According to the resolution, “the said land called Otodo-Gbame is historically called Ebute-Ikate which is part of Ikate land that belongs to Elegushi family and not the petitioners. More so, the petitioners who inhabited Otodo-Gbame are (mostly from Egun tribe of Cotonou and Togo) squatting in the area without the consent or permission from the Elegushi family.”

The lawmakers further directed all land owners along the coastal areas of the state to take possession of their land and report any emergence of shanties and squatters around their land to forestall encroachment.

Furthermore, the House asked the governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, to direct appropriate ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to take necessary steps to enforce compliance in respect of the setback policy on development throughout the state.

Also, the Police and other law enforcement agencies were asked to “urgently distinguish between what operates as temporary fishing camps to permanent live-in-shanties so as to prevent the illegal structures from developing into problems for the state.”

Members of the Otodo-Gbame community had in a petition to the Speaker of the House, Lagos State House of Assembly, dated November 14, 2016 and titled: “Appeal to stop the incessant killing (murder), Police unlawful detention, harassment, and continue intimidation on our people, and sporadic shooting therein by men and officers of the Nigerian Police Force(Jakande Division), accused the police, one Mrs. Adebayo, Segun Abdullahi Elegushi, Anofi Olanrewaju and Oba Sahed Ademola Elegushi, of complicity in the crisis bedeviling the environ but, the House absolved all of them after conducting an independent investigation into the matter.