Hakeem Odumosu, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, is said to have ordered the arrest of four security guards for refusing to let him into Brooks Estate in Magodo.
The Lagos Police Command’s spokesperson, Adekunle Ajisebutu, verified this in a statement.
The remark, according to Ajisebutu, was made to counter rumors that the police chief had shut down the estate during his visit.
Odumosu had gone to the estate on Saturday to see a “strategic partner,” according to the police spokesperson, but was refused access by some private security officers despite being duly presented.
The statement reads, “All appeals to the security men to allow the CP go to see someone at a function where an urgent matter bordering on security was to be discussed, fell on deaf ears even when they had foreknowledge of his coming.
“In spite of this deliberate humiliation, the senior police officer remained calm. When it became obvious that the security men were going overboard, the CP after about 30 minutes humiliation, ordered the arrest of four of the security men, leaving one.
“However, in order not to make the estate porous, the Commissioner of Police immediately posted well-armed policemen at the gate to support the security man left behind.
“A few minutes later, a female resident of the Estate later identified as Adebola Fatiregun who didn’t witness the incident but heard of it, stormed the gate in anger, inciting other residents against the Commissioner of Police and his aides.
“She was also arrested for inciting violence and conduct likely to cause a breach of peace.”
According to the statement, all persons arrested were escorted to the Isheri Police Division and made statements before being freed minutes later after “notable personalities” intervened.
“Some residents of the estate in solidarity with the arrested security men, deliberately closed the gate, thereby creating a temporary gridlock. This they did after the CP had left, perhaps to blackmail him and make him release the security men,” Ajisebutu added.
