The commissioner of police in Anambra State, CP Aderemi Adeoye has been dragged to court, and, asked to pay N200 million as damages.
The plaintiff, who operates a private security outfit in Awka, Blue Shield Company Limited, Ozo Jeff Nweke, in the suit No. A/390/2023, filed in an Anambra State High Court sitting in Awka judicial division named the Police Service Commission, PSC as 2nd defendant and accused CP Adeoye of labelling him and his security company as criminals and land grabbers.
In the statement of claims he filed in the court, Ozo Nweke traced his travail in the hands of CP Adeoye to a dispute between the people of his Ezinano community of Awka, Awka-South local government area and the people of their neighbour, Enugwu-Agidi community, over an estate known as Four Ways Court Estate, originally known as Agunogu land.
The plaintiff claimed that his private security outfit was hired by the people of Ezinano to provide security in the disputed land which he said the legal dispute between Ezinano and Enugwu-Agidi is currently pending in the Supreme Court.
He, however, alleged that CP Adeoye suddenly developed vested interest in the land dispute in favour of the Enugwu-Agidi people, and, deployed a team of operatives from the state police command who went and attacked the operatives of his security company at the disputed land.
Ozo Nweke further alleged that the operatives of the state police command on September 27, 2023, arrested some of his private security personnel deployed at the disputed land and detained them at the state criminal investigation department, SCID, before releasing them.
The plaintiff stated that the worst was to befall him and his security company when CP Adeoye later published in the media wherein he labelled him as a criminal, land grabber, who deploys the services of his security company to terrorise people, grab their land, and, even kill people.
Ozo Nweke claimed that his security outfit was duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, and, that it has been providing security services to society, but, that, since after CP Adeoye’s disparaging public statement against him and his company, people have been avoiding the company, and it has been closed down.
Besides the N200million he is praying the court to compel CP Adeoye to pay him as damages, Ozo Nweke is also, urging the court to make an order for the state police boss to publish apologies to him in two national dailies.
