14th October, 2010
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, has adjourned till 18 November for further hearing a fundamental right enforcement suit filed by an Ijora high chief, Mufutau Oloyede.
Oloyede is praying the court not only to restrain the Inspector-General of Police and Lagos State Commissioner of Police from harassing him, threatening to arrest him and his family members, but to also compel them to pay him N10 million as compensation for unlawful detention.
Chief Fatai Aromire is also a defendant in this suit.
According to facts deposed to by Chief Oloyede and filed before the court by a Lagos lawyer, Barrister Ogunjimi Oluseye Olaniyi, it was averred that sometimes in 1998 and 1999 after the death of Chief Musibau Bashorun of Ejimosun, the then Aro of Ijora Oloye, his name was presented by the Oduntan family to ascend the throne and same was approved.
Consequently on 7 December, 1999, he was legally installed as the new Aro of Ijora Oloye kingdom.
However, on 8 December, 1999, a petition was written to the Area Commander, Area C Police Command and he was invited and detained beyond 48 hours, while he was also brutally tortured.
The deponent averred further that before the incident, Chief Fatai Aromire had filed a suit against him, causing the court to give an order that the Aro Oloye palace be locked and the keys delivered to his counsel.
Upon locking the palace on 16 January, 2000, some people invaded the place and destroyed the applicant’s properties worth millions of naira.
Thereafter, the applicant wrote a petition to the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, bute again in April 2001, the applicant alleged that Chief Fatai Aromire, the fourth defendant in this suit, in company of his allies, attacked and beat him. This prompted him to forward another petition to the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State.
Consequently, rather than desist from threatening him, the fourth defendant allegedly commenced demand of rent from the applicant’s tenants at the Aro Palace.
Based on another petition addressed to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 2 Police Command, seven persons namely Wasiu Ademola, Lateef Ajibola, Fatai Bolaji, Babajide Onijemo, Amuda Yusuf, Olayiwola Oluwa and Abayomi Teslim, were charged and arraigned before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate’s Court.
On Friday, 19 July, 2009, the applicant, along with one Wasiu Balogun, were arrested and detained at the State Criminal Investigating Department, Panti, Yaba, upon a petition written to the police by Chief Fatai Aromire and since then, his life has always been threatened.
In view of this, he urged the court to restrain the police from further harassment.