There was tension in the Ebute
Oniyanrin in the Ilaje, Bariga area of
sergeant, Adekan Adesola, shot dead
a 33-year-old man, Abiodun Balogun.
The police, however, said Abiodun,
known as Anarchy, was a wanted
cultist, and died during an exchange
of fire.
PUNCH Metro learnt that Abiodun,
who worked as a moulder in a block
industry, had been called by a friend
at about 8am to come to the
Oniyanrin area as Sallah gifts were
going to be shared by politicians.
It was gathered that Abiodun, who
reportedly went with an unidentified
friend, was however, manhandled by
the police sergeant.
It was learnt that Adesola, who was
not in uniform, allegedly dragged
Abiodun on the ground, before
shooting him.
Abiodun’s friend was said to have
escaped from the scene.
Our correspondent gathered that the
deceased’s mother, Aishat Balogun,
who was called on the telephone that
her son had been shot by a
policeman, had gone to the Bariga
Police Division, where the sergeant
was attached and where the corpse
was taken to.
The woman was reportedly barred
from entering to see Abiodun.
When PUNCH Metro visited Ajileye
Street where the Baloguns’ lived,
sympathisers lamented the death.
Aishat, who spoke with our
correspondent in Yoruba, claimed
that the police sergeant had been
looking for Balogun as a result of her
son’s refusal to join the Eiye cult
group which dominated the area.
She said, “I was still with him on
Monday, and we were discussing how
we would celebrate the Sallah.
I did not know that evil was lurking.
It was around 8am today (Tuesday)
that someone called me and said the
sergeant had shot Abiodun dead. The
lie they are spreading now is that he
was a cultist.
“But the fact is that Adesola is a
notorious policeman in our area. He
has been shooting at people, claiming
that they are cultists.
But Abiodun was not a cultist. They
had been luring him to join them, but
he refused. I do not know the fate of
my son presently. I have not been
allowed to see him at the police
division.”
Our correspondent, however, learnt
that the corpse was still at the Bariga
Police Division as of the time of
report.
Abiodun’s wife, who did not want her
name in print, said they were
together in the morning when her
husband received a call that he
should come for Sallah gifts at the
Oniyanrin area.
She said, “We were together till
around 7am when that phone call
came in. So, he went to the area to
collect his gift.
“That was where Adesola met and
shot him. The policeman was in
mufti, and Abiodun was not carrying
a gun. He did not have any weapon.”
Other workers and friends of the
deceased at his block industry who
spoke with PUNCH Metro claimed that
Abiodun was murdered in cold blood
by the policeman.
The Lagos State Police Public
Relations Officer, DSP Joe Offor,
however, said Abiodun was a wanted
cultist by the police, adding that the
33-year-old was shot dead during an
exchange of gunfire.
He added that the matter had been
transferred to the Special Anti-
Robbery Squad, Ikeja, for further
investigation.
He said, “He was a wanted cultist by
the police. He died during the
exchange of fire. He was known in
the area as Anarchy. The case has
been taken to SARS for further
investigation.”
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