I AM NO BADOO SPONSOR,SAYS ARRESTED MAGODO LANDLORD

•'I've been released'

•Police: he's in hospital

Does Alhaji Alaka Abayomi who was arrested by the police on Monday have anything to do with the notorious Badoo gang?

This was the poser yesterday as Abayomi and the police traded words over his arrest.

He told The Nation yesterday that he had been released, but the police alleged that he was still in custody.

Abayomi, a landlord in the highbrow Magodo, said he was not a sponsor of Badoo.

According to Dr Paul Umoh, officer-in-charge of the Inspector-General of Police' (IGP) Special Tactical Squad (STS), Abayomi is being prepared for "surgery for enlarged testis".

Abayomi was arrested by STS and paraded before reporters who were taken round a shrine in Agbowa, near Ikorodu, described as the largest in the area.

Umoh, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), described Abayomi as a suspect, adding that he denied being a Badoo sponsor.

He said: "The man admitted he was a traditionalist and that he worships at the shrine. But he denied being a Badoo sponsor. He is not here now because he is not well and has been moved to the hospital."

But an enraged Abayomi, who spoke with The Nation on telephone, threatened to sue the police and media houses that labelled him aBadoo sponsor.

Abayomi said: "For some months now, a recording that mentioned my name, those of the Ikorodu monarch, Ibeshe monarch, a man called Be Happy and others have been circulating online under the allegation that we are Badoo sponsors. No one ever came to challenge me or asked about it until last week when I was invited to police station.

"Before they took me to the station, they searched my house and they found nothing incriminating. They took me to police station. I was not allowed to write any statement. I was released.

"Then, three days ago, they came around 11pm and I asked them what happened? They said they wanted to see me in their station. After that, they went to De King Hotel, Ikorodu and asked for the owner. They said they wanted to see the owner, he was not around and so, they arrested the manager.

"From there, they went to the hotel owner's house and his family said he was not around. They went to the palace of Oba Ibeshe to arrest the monarch. He lambasted them and asked why they would come to his palace at that ungodly hour to arrest him? He asked them why they didn't invite him and refused to follow them.

"They also went to other places to make other arrests. All those they were hunting were people whose names were on the tape circulating online.

"We got to the police station around 2am. I told them I wanted to write my statement but they didn't allow me. The following day, they took me to a shrine. I know the shrine. I usually go there to seek spiritual assistance to boost my business. I am not the owner. It is owned by one Baba Oluwo. He died seven years ago.

"Those graves were dug by the late Baba Oluwo while he was alive for his burial. I asked the policemen to open the grave whether they would find any incriminating thing there but they didn't. Why did they refuse to open it?

"Shortly after, I saw the leader of the policemen speaking with journalists. I asked that I should be allowed to speak on camera but they denied me. They didn't allow me speak with the journalists and they didn't allow me to write a statement.

"It is a known fact that police have been arresting innocent people since Badoo issue came up. They have been collecting money from them. Ikorodu people are even tired of them because they didn't go after the mainBadoo suspects but are busy arresting innocent people and extorting money from them.

"The actions of those policemen could best be described as criminal and murderous. In fact, they are not supposed to be in the Nigeria Police Force at all.  There is proof. Those policemen have been coming to Ikorodu to extort and assault people since the issue of Badoo came up. Unfortunately, the people they are arresting are nothing but innocent people. Since this issue came up, people have been going to attack my house and where I do my business.

"The police confirmed that this person is a suspected kidnapper. Why don't they allow me to write statement?  Why don't they allow me to grant interview?

"I will sue the Inspector-General of Police, Commissioner of Police and all the media houses that called me Badoo sponsor. The media ought to have investigated the allegation before publishing anything. I told the police that the actions they took will back fire, they started panicking. As a matter of fact, I'm seriously upset because the journalists did not interview me. I was angry that they didn't allow me to be interviewed. Even those journalists didn't insist on interviewing me. What manner of hatchet job was that? Why would that happen?"

But, Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni appealed for caution, warning those fuelling violence to desist from doing so.

The command, he said, would prosecute anyone involved in acts of impunity.

He said: "We know that the killings are painful but we would not tolerate acts of impunity or jingle justice. We have warned traditional rulers and their subjects to desist from taking laws into their hands. No one should kill anyone whether he/she is Badoosuspect or not. Anyone who does that would be treated like a murderer.

"The command is committed towards ensuring safety of lives and properties in Ikorodu. We cannot get to the root of these killings if any suspect that is caught is served mob justice. It goes to mean that those meting out jungle justice do not want the truth to be known. They want to kill those caught so that they will not confess what they know to security agencies. We will not tolerate such acts anymore."

A source, who asked not to be named, said Abayomi's initial invitation followed intelligence received by the police, Department of State Services (DSS) and the military. The information allegedly named him and some prominent persons as Badoosponsors.

Abayomi, The Nation gathered, denied the allegation then and was released. But he was rearrested after the killing of Rotimi Adejare, his wife and two kids on Sunday.

It was learnt that Abayomi, an independent oil marketer, owns a gas station at Ikorodu where he is also building a hotel.

Contacted on Abayomi's release, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Operations, Imohimi Edgal, said: "I have called the STS officer. They are the ones in charge of the case. He said it cannot be the man because he was still in their custody and that he was being prepared for surgery. He said the man has enlarged testis and was taken to the hospital."

Also yesterday, a senior policeman told The Nation that forensic experts have been deployed in the shrine to examine the graves, adding that their findings would determine the next line of action.

He said: "The question anyone should ask is why the Badoo members haven't killed any Ikorodu indigene since they started this madness? Why is it that only non-indigenes are being attacked? How come Baale still sell land to people in isolated bushes surrounded by water, despite knowing the security challenges in the areas?

Frowning at how his colleagues handled the operation, a senior officer wondered why they labelled the suspect a Badoo sponsor without evidence.

He said: "I am yet to understand that operation.  It was a badly done job. First, why was the man tagged Badoo suspect without evidence? We all know how sensitive the issue of Badoo is and how people have been taking laws into their hands on anyone accused of being Badoo.

"People have been attacking that man's house and businesses since morning. They have been threatening to bring them down, when the police cannot even prove his links withBadoo. How sure are you that those even accusing the man of being Badoo are not the main Badoo who are trying to frustrate police investigation? There is need for us to be sure before making such weighty accusations."