LAGOS — A Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Charles Ugwuanyi, has called on the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, to call the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP, to order over what he described as unlawful meddling and contradictory actions by the Lagos State Police Command in a land dispute involving Peace Estate, Okota.
Ugwuanyi, who spoke while giving further details on the arrest and detention of his client, Alhaji Jamiu Raimi Olonade, said the conduct of the Lagos Police Command amounted to harassment and abuse of due process in a matter already before the court.
Olonade is a Certificate of Occupancy, C of O, holder over a parcel of land located at Idowu Rufai Street, Okota.
According to the lawyer, the most puzzling aspect of the incident was that the Lagos State Police Command allegedly acted at cross purposes within its own structure on January 15, 2026.
He disclosed that on that day, about 30 police officers from the Lagos State Command were officially deployed to provide security for Olonade while he was erecting a fence on his land, following repeated disruptions by members of the Peace Estate Residents Association.
Ugwuanyi said the request for police protection was duly made and approved by the command.
“However, under the same Commissioner of Police, a Task Force was later sent to arrest our client on the excuse that an alarm had been raised on social media alleging that someone was building on a road,” he said.
He explained that when Task Force operatives arrived at the site at about 2pm, the police officers already providing security advised Olonade to cooperate and present his documents, believing the issue would be resolved without delay.
According to him, while the Task Force took Olonade away, the police officers officially attached to him remained on site and continued to provide security for his workers, who went ahead with the fencing of the land until about 6pm before closing for the day.
“Despite the fact that our client showed all his documents to the Task Force Chairman and their in-house lawyer, he was unjustifiably detained until about 8pm the following day,” Ugwuanyi alleged.
He further claimed that during Olonade’s detention, residents of Peace Estate, allegedly acting with the tacit support of the Task Force, invaded the land at night and completely destroyed the fence erected by his client after the police officers deployed to protect him had withdrawn.
Ugwuanyi noted that in their petition against Olonade, the Peace Estate Residents Association admitted that Olonade came to the land on January 15 in the company of many police officers and persons they described as “thugs.”
“This raises a fundamental question,” he said. “Is it the same Commissioner of Police that deployed officers to protect our client and his workers that also sent Task Force operatives to arrest him based on a social media post? Something is clearly not adding up.”
The lawyer said the matter had earlier been reported to Zone 2 of the Nigeria Police Force and was being handled under the directive of the IGP. He accused the residents of engaging in forum shopping, moving from Zone 2 to Abuja, and now from the courts to the Task Force and the CP, in search of favourable intervention.
He stressed that a state police command lacks the authority to interfere in a matter already before a zonal command acting on the instructions of the IGP, adding that the Lagos State Police Command must respect the offices of the IGP and the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2, Onikan.
Ugwuanyi maintained that Olonade’s land was duly verified by all relevant Lagos State agencies, certified as residential, issued a valid C of O and granted building approval.
He added that the dispute is already before the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, warning that continued police involvement could amount to interference in a matter that is sub judice.
He warned that unless the IGP intervenes decisively to restore order and ensure respect for due process, the matter may be escalated to the Senate Committee on Public Petitions.
