The PUNCH was told that personal effects of the officials, who were on an official assignment, were also seized by the policemen.

The Assistant Director, Public Affairs Unit, LASBCA, Gbadeyanka Bello, said the team was acting on instructions of the general manager of the agency after several reports of illegal and non-conforming constructions were reported in the area.

He said, “According to the team leader, who was visibly shaken by the attack, trouble started when they noticed work ongoing on a construction site that had been previously sealed off by the agency after they had visited several other properties in the area.

“They approached the workmen on the site and asked for documents required by law for construction. Rather than produce the documents, some mobile policemen dressed in black Mopol T-shirts pounced on them, forced them into the compound and held them hostage for several hours.”

Bello claimed that one of the policemen, identified as Joseph, shot continuously into the air, forcing passersby to scamper for safety.

He further alleged that the officers shot on the grounds around the government workers to scare them as they sat on the floor.

A lawyer in the vicinity was reported to have intervened, while the officials were released though their phones were seized.

The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Idris Salako, said such acts would not be tolerated.

He noted that LASBCA’s zero tolerance for illegal construction in the state would continue up until full compliance was achieved.

The General Manager of the agency, Biola Kosegbe, while condemning the alleged action of the policemen, wondered why they resorted to obstructing official assignment and harassing the officials.

She noted that the government workers were in uniform and drove a branded official vehicle to the area.

Kosegbe said the matter had been reported to the police and both the owner and developer of the property and the policemen would be prosecuted for infringing on the rights of the officials.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, said he was not aware of the incident and promised to respond after making enquiries.

He had yet to do so as of press time.

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 PUNCH Metro learnt that the incident occurred around 2am on Monday when residents of the area descended on the deceased and beat him until he became unconscious.

A source told our correspondent that a mobile phone got missing on the premises of the hotel and the deceased was suspected to have stolen it, but he protested his innocence to no avail.

The source added that the crowd that gathered did not believe him and started beating him with the aim of recovering the phone, but he was said to have maintained his innocence.

In the process, Ezra was said to have slumped and lost consciousness, while the missing phone was later found by a corps member, who returned it.

Another source and a neighbour to the deceased, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stated that Ezra sustained fractures on his left arm and right leg as well as injuries to his face.

He added that the deceased was stripped and abandoned in a hut on the hotel premises until the security guard, who was to relieve him, saw him in that state and quickly alerted their security outsourcing firm.

The neighbour said, “The security company sent its supervisor, who came to the place and when he saw Ezra’s condition, he informed his grandmother and she called me.

“We went to the Yelwa Divisional Police Station and made a report, but the police personnel said we should go and bring him.

“We went and conveyed him to the station in a tricycle and from there, we rushed him to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital around 2pm and medical officials pronounced him dead around 3.15pm.

“What surprised us was how they dumped him in that place for several hours without anyone taking him to the hospital until his colleague came.

“He sustained fractures in some parts of his body. It was while the doctor was trying to pass the drip to him that we noticed that he had stopped breathing.”

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PUNCH Metro gathered that the siblings were assisting their mother, who was cooking in the kitchen, when trouble started between Victoria and him.

It was learnt that the mother cautioned Victoria against cohabitating with men since she had a home, but an argument ensued between them and Victoria allegedly disrespected her in the process.

Chima, who was angered by what Victoria did to their mother, reportedly grabbed a keg filled with petrol, hit his sister with it and the content spilled on her and their mother.

This was followed by an explosion and the mother and sister were burnt in the process.

In a bid to rescue them, PUNCH Metro gathered that neighbours rushed them to a nearby hospital in Okokomaiko, from where Victoria, who sustained severe burns, was referred to the General Hospital in Igando. However, Victoria died due to the severity of the burns, but the mother survived.

PUNCH Metro gathered that after Chima realised what he had done, he attempted to flee from the scene of the incident, but he was apprehended by youths in the community, who heard the distress call of the victims, just as smoke was coming out from their kitchen.

The neighbours reportedly extinguished the fire and handed over Chima to the police.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, confirmed Chima’s arrest, adding that during interrogation, he confessed to setting his sister ablaze for disrespecting their mother.

The PPRO said, “According to the suspect, he set his elder sister ablaze, because she disrespected their mother. The mother was cooking when the brother threw a keg of petrol at the sister and an explosion occurred. The mother also suffered burns, but she is fine, while the sister could not make it.

“The brother has been arrested and the case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Panti, Yaba, for discrete investigation. He will soon be charged. Investigation is ongoing.”

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The policeman and his partner were said to have been caught in the act and were taken to the house of the traditional ruler of the community, where they were jeered for their action.

The source said packs of condoms were found on the partners.

The source stated, “They were caught red-handed having sex. One of them is a policeman and he is married. The other one is the son of a photographer named Emesco.

“This particular policeman and his colleagues chased a man driving his car and threatened to shoot him if he moved any further. After discussions, they took a bribe of N5,000 from him and left. But this evening (Tuesday), the policeman was caught having sex with a fellow man.

“They were caught red-handed by security men in the Umueze Autonomous Community, Orlu, after tracing them to where they were having anal sex.”

The police spokesperson in the state, Orlando Ikeokwu, said, “Preliminary investigation revealed that youths of the community claimed to have caught the constable with one of his friends, who is nicknamed Yellow, in acts of homosexuality. As a result, the youth pounced on them and beat them to stupor.

“The command wishes to warn members of the public to desist from taking the law into their own hands, especially on infractions by the members of the police force or other security agencies. They are advised to report all grievances to the nearest police station for prompt and decisive action.

“However, investigation into the matter has commenced and if found culpable, the constable and his partner will face the full wrath of the law.”

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The vehicle, it was learnt, was stopped at Odo Oba, Iwo, an entry point to Osun from Oyo State while attempting to enter Osun State.

The car was said to have left Ibadan for an undisclosed destination, when it ran into a police checkpoint which stopped the vehicle and demanded explanation.

While being interrogated, one of the occupants, believed to be sick, suddenly started coughing and died on the spot.

The chairman, Iwo Local Government, Raji Kamoru, who spoke to our correspondent, said policemen and health personnel stationed at the checkpoint were not convinced with the explanation of the occupants of the vehicle, when they stopped them.

He said when the team at the checkpoint told the occupants of the vehicle that they could not proceed, one of the occupants said to be sick suddenly started coughing and he died.

“They stopped the vehicle coming from Ibadan. One of the passengers started coughing and he died.

“The security men asked them some questions and they could not give a satisfactory explanation about where they were going. Immediately we were informed, myself and the DPO had to turn them back.

“In the first instance, when we told them to return to where they were coming from, they hid in the bush. But we found them and escorted them to the boundary and handed them over to policemen at Iyana Offa, Oyo State. They did not tell us where they were coming from and their destination,” Kamoru said.

The Police Public Relations Officer for Osun Command, Yemisi Opalola, confirmed that police personnel intercepted a vehicle carrying a corpse around Odo Oba area, Iwo.

She said a Mazda 323 car with number plate KFS 409 EH, driven by one Ismaila Ademola, was heading towards Iwo from Ibadan, adding that the medical team at the checkpoint suspected the deceased passenger might be a COVID-19 patient.

Opalola said, “The security team led by Iwo Local Government chairman had to escort the vehicle back to Iyana Offa and handed them over to a police division in Oyo Command.”

She maintained that the state Commissioner of Police, Johnson Kokumo, had directed closer monitoring of boundary communities to ensure total compliance with the lockdown order by the state government.

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They include the Police Mobile Force, Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Intelligence Response Team and the Special Tactical Squad.

Suspected hoodlums had reportedly taken advantage of the COVID-19 lockdown in the two states to break into shops and burgle homes in Aiyede, Ota, Ogun State and in the Agege and Agbado areas of Lagos State.

The Force spokesman, DCP Frank Mba, who disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Monday, said, “A total of 191 suspects have been arrested in Lagos and Ogun states in connection with the incidents. Fifteen locally-made guns, 52 live cartridges, 42 cutlasses and axes and a large quantity of weeds suspected to be marijuana have been recovered from the hoodlums by the police teams in the Agbado, Ifo, Ota and Agege axis.”

The statement explained that the police intervention team was being coordinated by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Peter Ogunyanwo, who is in charge of the Department of Research and Planning of the Force and the coordinating DIG for the South-West geopolitical zone.

“He is to immediately oversee the deployments of these additional assets to enhance public safety, public confidence and general security in the two states.

“DIG Ogunyanwo can be reached through 0803 389 3226. The Control Room numbers for Lagos Command are 08127155132, 08065154338 and 07055462708 while that of Ogun Command are 08081770416 and 08081770419,” the police said.

The IG also ordered the state commissioners of police across the country to immediately rejig the security architecture in their various commands to tackle all emerging crimes associated with the COVID-19 lockdown.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, on Monday, met with the intelligence and security agencies to review the security strategy on the enforcement of the lockdown.

The Chairman of the task force and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, disclosed this while speaking with journalists at a press conference in Abuja.

Responding to a question on robbery attacks in Lagos and Ogun, Mustapha said, “This morning, we had a meeting with the intelligence and security community to review our strategies, going forward. We’ve received those reports. I’ve seen some of the clips on social media.

“I even spoke with the governor of Lagos this afternoon. They have been holding their security meetings and consulting because every governor is a chief security officer of his state.”

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In what appeared like a coordinated operation, the hoodlums were said to have arrived in okadas and buses, armed with different kinds of weapons.

Residents who spoke with TheCable said the suspects looted food stores and warehouses in the areas.

“They came in at about 7pm this night with about 30 okadas and 10 5 buses,” a resident in Aluminium village, Dopemu, told TheCable.

“Many houses and food shops have been robbed. In fact they also broke into some warehouses here and stole items.”

In Mangoro, another resident said they attacked people on the streets, snatching purses.

“Nowhere is safe in the area now. Those that were on the streets were attacked and they collected their purses. They also broke into houses and robbed people of their valuables.”

In Iyana Ipaja, a resident said after previous attacks, some youth in the area lit bonfires on the streets.

“We know they have been operating in nearby streets, but we won’t allow them to get into our streets. We will keep a night over this fire,” one of them said.

Some residents of Mangoro keeping vigil

In a message posted on social media, a resident of Agege said: “We are no more safe in Agege. From Oke koto, Agunbiade, Ayanwale to Pen Cinema. We need help; we’ve called the police but no response,” she said.

“For the past one hour, no one has come to our rescue. What kind of country is this? They isolated us without any provision. Our lives are not secure. These boy have entered into out houses. over 100 of them. They have been robbing for over one hour.”

Bala Elkana, Lagos police spokesperson, however, accused those with the bonfires of causing panic in the areas.

“We have sent our rapid response squad there, and what we discover are youth of those areas stepping out in the name of protecting their areas from hoodlums coming in,” he told TheCable.

“Then burning tyres in the name of securing, and this on its own is creating panic. We have sent a strong message, the order is stay at home. Everybody must stay at home. We have enough deployment all this while. We are not under any threat. Those youths are looking for an opportunity to be out of the house, so they are creating panic. There is adequate police patrol in the areas.”

On Friday, suspected hoodlums had broken into houses and shops in Lagos and Ogun.

Dapo Abiodun, the governor of Ogun, later announced that 150 suspects were arrested in connection with the incident.

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