The Director-General of a Non-Governmental Organisation, Police Assistance Committee, Dr. Johnson Oni, has accused two sacked officials of conspiring with suspected criminals to frustrate the committee’s efforts on information and intelligence gathering.
Oni, in a text message sent to our correspondent, identified the two officials as 45-year-old Jumoke Mutairu, who until her arrest was a resident at Isiba Street, Itire, Lagos; and Uzoma Johnson, 29, of Okota, Lagos.
According to the PAC boss, the committee discovered recently through a tip-off that the two sacked officials were being used by suspected highway robbers, ritualists, hired killers and hoodlums to thwart efforts to assist the police and other security agencies to tackle crime.
“The two suspects stole caps, tee-shirts, black berets, certificates and other items belonging to the committee, about six months ago, and were going from place to place within and outside Lagos, selling the items at exorbitant prices to unsuspecting members of the public,” Oni said.
The PAC boss also accused the suspects of conniving with some police officers, whose names he did not mention, to arrest some officials of the committee, who were working with them.
But the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Imohimi Edgal, said the two suspects were arrested for allegedly hiding under the umbrella of offering security alert to go from door-to-door in some neighborhoods in Lagos to extort money from people.
Edgal said the suspects wore black tee-shirts and black berets inscribed with police insignia, while allegedly carrying out their criminal acts.
The Lagos police boss said when they were interrogated by police detectives, they admitted to have been perpetrating the illegal act for 15-years, having been trained by the Oni-led committee for six months.
But Edgal assured that Oni, who is also said to be a pastor of a church at Ijeshatedo, Lagos, had been declared wanted by the
police.
