By: Hyacinth Chinweuba
The Lagos State Police Command says its personnel did not pull down the campaign posters of the All Progressive Congress (APC) gubernatorial aspirant in Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu,just as it reassured residents of adequate protection during the APC primary.
Sanwo-Olu had accused the police of taking sides with Governor Akinwunmi Ambode by pulling down his campaign posters, an allegation the command has debunked saying the police was not a partisan organization that would engage in such petty conduct.
In a statement at the weekend, the spokeperson of the Lagos state police, CSP Chike Oti, said: “The attention of the authorities of the Nigeria Police, Lagos State Command, has been drawn to the news making the rounds on a social media platform captioned, ‘Police caught pulling down Sanwo-Olu’s campaign posters, shoots sporadically in Ikorodu”.
The command wishes to inform the general public that there is no truth in the allegation and, for the record, it wishes to state that on September 27, 2018, about 1630hrs, at the Civil Service Model College, Ikorodu, one Oregbesan Yekini Owolabi, a staff of the aforementioned school, while acting on the instruction of the College Principal, Reverend Ajose, to paste a ‘POST NO BILL’ warning on the school fence to prevent the defacing of the wall by advertisers, was accosted by unknown persons who accused him of removing posters of politicians which he vehemently denied.
In the ensuing argument, one of the policemen posted on guard duty at the school, Inspector Sunday Ogwuche, intervened but unfortunately, he was attacked by these yet-to-be identified persons.
These men, not done with humiliating an Inspector of police, still went ahead to put his picture on the social media to give life to their lies.
Although the picture they circulated contradicted their allegations because the officer wasn’t seen in the said picture yanking off posters from the wall, yet these mischief-makers, desperate to cause disharmony in a peaceful state, went ahead to portray an innocent middle-ranking officer of the Nigeria Police in a most uncharitable manner with an intent to cause a breach of the public peace.
Oti went further to state that the command wishes to assure Lagosians, especially politicians, that it will discharge its duties firm and fair to all inhabitants of the state while warning those using the social media to fuel hatred and incite the public to desist from such acts as the command will not stand by and watch them cause civil strife.
The command has always been apolitical and would ever remain so.
Oti, however, assured residents of police protection during and after the gubernatorial primary.