Lagos Community Leader, Relatives File Suit Against IGP Over Intimidation

A Lagos community leader, Chief Busari Abatan Adeleye, alongside two members of his family, has instituted a N50 million fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, and the Commissioner of Police, Force Intelligence Department (FID), Lagos Annex, Akanniyene Ezima, over alleged harassment, intimidation, and unlawful arrest.

Chief Adeleye, who is the Baale of Adeleye Opeki Community in Abesan, Ipaja, Lagos, filed the suit at the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja. The family members – Taiwo Adeleye and Akinola Akeem Adeleye – are co-applicants, while Egonte Chukwuma Onyema is joined as the third respondent.

The applicants are asking the court to declare their arrest and detention between September 15 and 16, allegedly instigated by Onyema, as a gross violation of their fundamental rights to liberty, dignity, and property, as guaranteed under Sections 35, 36, and 44 of the 1999 Constitution.

They also urged the court to hold that their arrest over allegations of trespass, wrongful execution of judgment, and malicious damage was unconstitutional, and that police actions, allegedly carried out at the behest of Onyema, amounted to abuse of power and unlawful interference with their rights.

In addition to restraining orders to stop further arrests or harassment, the applicants are seeking N50 million in general damages and N5 million in aggravated damages against the respondents for breaching their rights.

In a 31-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Taiwo Adeleye, the applicants stated that their family are the customary owners of the Opeki Village land in Abesan, Lagos.

He averred that their claim was reaffirmed by a judgment of the Lagos State High Court delivered on July 7, 2022, by Justice O.A. Taiwo in suit No: ID/1495/2010, Alhaji Sule Ajibade & Ors v. Hajia Rauf Ajala & Ors.

Taiwo further averred that despite being privy to the judgment, Onyema has repeatedly instigated the police to interfere unlawfully with their rights and to forcefully re-enter the disputed land.

The affidavit revealed that the land dispute had been the subject of civil litigation involving the applicants and one Andrew Egonte (the third respondent’s father). Court processes, including the writ of summons and hearing notices, were duly served on Egonte as far back as May 2011, but his counsel failed to file any defence, leading to judgment in favour of the applicants.

So far, the respondents – IGP, Ezima, and Onyema – have not filed any defence, and no hearing date has been fixed by the court.