The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Police Commissioner Fatai Owoseni

  • Police nabs suspected notorious cultists, Oriyomi Balogun

    Police nabs suspected notorious cultists, Oriyomi Balogun

    A suspected cultist, Oriyomi Balogun, 30, (a.k.a. J-Prompt) yesterday said he joined the Eiye Confraternity in 2009 to avenge the death of his best friend killed by members of Black Axe.

    The suspect, who said he was happy to have fulfilled his wish, added that he killed two persons, Femi Wiper and Lekan Akon, who murdered his friend, Sunday Folarunsho.

    J-Prompt has been on the wanted list of the police for allegedly unleashing mayhem on residents of Shomolu and Bariga.

    Although he was alleged to have been involved in various armed robbery operations, the suspect denied the allegation, insisting that he only involved in cult clashes.

    He said: “I am a ‘Bird’. I belong to Eiye confraternity and we are always fighting with Aye (Black Axe) over who controls the area. We also fight when they snatch our member’s girlfriend. I joined Eiye because Aye members killed my best friend in 2009. His death pained me so much and Eiye people came to me that they will help me to avenge his killing if I joined them. I agreed and we killed Femi Wiper. We killed him during a carnival. Lekan Akon was killed in 2010. Since then, I have not killed anyone again but my members have been killing people.

    “I was arrested last week while we were chasing a robber who came to our area. Policemen from Alade Division came and stopped us. They arrested me and took me to the station.

    “They said I will have to wait for the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) to come the following morning and that my mother should come and bail me but when my mother came, the DPO said they should not bail me.

    “I do not regret my actions. I take responsibility for it but I want to advise young people that cultism does not pay. They should never repay evil with evil. Our government too is not helping the youth. So many young people who do not intend to take to crime are doing so because there is no assistance from government,” he said.

    Asked how he was able to escape each fight unscathed, the suspect said as an ‘Alpha’, he has his charms, adding that a herbalist was also invited to ‘cook’ them to become bullet proofs.

    Parading the suspect, Police Commissioner Fatai Owoseni said he confessed to several murders in the last six months, adding that he led the gang that razed popular house, Mashafani.

    [blog_posts style=”m1″ share=”on” display=”category” category=”256″ count=”5″ pagination=”on” load_more_count=”3″ ad_count=”3″]

  • Insecurity: Lagos residents urged to know their tenants, neighbours

    Insecurity: Lagos residents urged to know their tenants, neighbours

    As suspected militants continue to flee the creeks following onslaught by the military, Lagos residents have been urged to be mindful of those they lease their homes to.

    Police Commissioner Fatai Owoseni made the appeal Tuesday at Idimu while inaugurating the division’s Eminent Persons Forum (EPF), as well as unveiling the community town hall built at the station.

    Owoseni noted that the fleeing militants, who might want to infiltrate other areas, will not only terrorise the residents but also introduce their children to crimes.

    According to him, landlords should endeavour to collect passport photographs of their prospective tenants, get duplicate copy of their International passports data page or identity card, as well as investigate them.

    He also advised that they should find out their villages and ask to see any of their community members who know them, stressing the need to not be carried away by the money the tenants intend to pay.

    The Commissioner who said the police introduced the EPF following the divisions along ethno-religious line that have erupted the country, added that it was the believe of the acting Inspector General of Police  (IGP) Ibrahim Idris that community policing strategy will help unite the people.

    “Mind the kind of tenants you take. Militants fleeing from the creeks have short guns which they can hide and enter your house as tenants and start to wreak havoc. They have a way of influencing the children by buying drinks for them. You should be able to know your tenants. Ask them questions. Get their passport photographs and even a copy of their ID. In Ethiopia, you cannot rent a house as a foreigner without producing your passport. These are some of the ways to help make the job of the police easy.

    “Globally, policing is for community members. You see what we don’t see in our offices. So, the EPF is a way to further community policing. “Because of things happening in the country, we are falling apart. As elders, youths, traditional and religious institution, we are losing it. Gone are the days when people were alive to their civic responsibilities. We have been divided along ethno-religious line even in Lagos.

    We are now torn apart. We carry daggers to pursue each other and it should not be so,” he said.
    Owoseni also charged transporters in the state to conduct checks on passengers’ luggage before departure, urging them to avail the police information on criminal elements.

    “Some criminals have been arrested in motor parks with guns stocked in their bags, while trying to escaped and smuggle their weapons out of the state,” he said.

    Also speaking, Special Adviser to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on Civic matters, Kehinde Joseph urged the residents to corporate with the police in fighting crime.

    “With the provision of security gadgets by the state government to the police and their being put to use adequately, crime rate has drastically reduced in the state. There is hardly any crime that the police do not uncover in Lagos,” he said.