The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Adegoke Fayoade, has ordered the removal of the Divisional Police Officer, Gown Estate Division, Austin Arase, following the conclusion of investigations into the allegations made against the DPO.
This was revealed in a statement signed by the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, on Tuesday.
The statement read, “Following the conclusion of investigations into the allegations made against the Divisional Police Officer, Gown Estate Division, as published in Punch Newspaper of January 4, 2024, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Adegoke Fayoade, halas ordered the immediate removal of the DPO pending a review of his case by other supervisory authorities.
“The CP had earlier ordered a thorough investigation into the matter upon receipt of the publication.
“CP Fayoade has equally directed the OC Legal of the Command to initiate steps to reach out to the Nigerian Bar Association, Lagos State Branch to enable a round table discussion towards preventing a recurrence of the avoidable incident and enhancing better police-lawyers relationship.”
The statement added that the Lagos State Police Command, under Fayoade, will continue to uphold the rule of law, and will not hesitate to sanction any officer found engaging in unprofessional, unethical and discreditable conduct.
PUNCH Metro reports last Thursday that a Lagos-based lawyer, Olumide Sonupe, was hospitalised after he was said to have been detained by the police while seeking the bail of his client at the Moshalashi Police Station in the Alimosho area of the state on December 30, 2023.
It was learnt that the 36-year-old Sonupe was taken to the hospital when his health deteriorated upon his release from the police station on January 1, 2024 after spending two nights with his client in the police cell.
The incident happened when Sonupe went to the station on December 30 to seek the bail of his client, a carpenter, who had been detained for alleged breach of contract.
Sonupe told PUNCH Metro that a female officer had accused him of speaking with his client without the presence of an officer.
He said while trying to clear the misunderstanding and appeal to the officers on the N30,000 bail sum demanded for his client, the Divisional Police Officer, Austin Arase, came in and ordered that he should be detained as he accused him of disrespecting the officers.
The Nigerian Bar Association also condemned what it termed the unlawful detention of its member.
Speaking exclusively with PUNCH Metro, the association’s National Publicity Secretary, Akorede Habeeb-Lawal, said the association had received an official complaint and ordered a probe into the matter.
They also demanded the release of the videos which were recorded through the CCTV cameras installed in the police station.
