The Commissioner of Police (CP), Lagos State Command, Owohunwa Olatunji, has set up a five-man committee to investigate the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the Elemoro Division for allegedly attempting to jail two innocent mechanics.
Jimoh made this known in a statement by the command’s spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, in Lagos on Monday.
The CP ordered the probe following a publication in Vanguard newspaper on April 24, titled: “Power in wrong hands: How a Lagos DPO tried to jail 2 innocent mechanics’.
In the publication, a lawyer accused the DPO of unlawfully detaining his mechanics and seizing his car.
The lawyer explained that he had given his car to his mechanics, and during a test drive, officers from the Elemoro Police Division apprehended them, claiming the car was suspected to be stolen.
He added that even after identifying himself as the car owner, the DPO still charged his mechanics to court, accusing them of being in possession of a vehicle ‘reasonably suspected to be stolen’.
The magistrate, after reviewing the evidence, reportedly dismissed the charges immediately and freed the mechanics. However, the DPO allegedly refused to release the car.
According to the lawyer, it took a formal order from the magistrate before his car was finally released 22 days after it was unlawfully seized.
He urged the police authorities to investigate the DPO’s actions, claiming that many innocent people may be behind bars in similar circumstances.
In response, Jimoh said the command had set up a committee headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police from the State Criminal Investigation Department, which includes the Officer-in-Charge of Legal at the Command, to investigate all the allegations and submit findings within a week.
He added that the DPO and other officers involved had been transferred out of the Elemoro Division to allow for a thorough and unhindered investigation.
‘The outcome of the investigation will certainly be made public.
‘We wish to extend an invitation to the lawyer concerned to meet with the committee at his convenience’, he said.
The Commissioner emphasised that the command does not support any form of inhuman treatment or miscarriage of justice.
‘If the officers involved are found wanting in any way, appropriate disciplinary measures will be applied to serve as an effective deterrent to others.
‘We implore members of the public to trust the police and be assured that any wrongdoing proven against an officer will certainly be redressed’, he added.
