Some suspected land grabbers have
invaded a house on Popoola Street in the Bariga area of Lagos State,
exhuming the corpse of a man, who was buried 14 years ago.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the
corpse, which was identified as that of Alhaji Liadi Okeshola, was dug
out on March 8, 2015, and had yet to be found, which had thrown the
children and other family members into confusion.
Our correspondent gathered that the land
grabbers, who reportedly came with hoodlums, also damaged the
building’s gate, broke the doors and pulled down the walls.
It was learnt that the matter was
reported at the Pedro Police Division, while the police arrested seven
suspects in connection with the exhumation.
Our correspondent learnt that the
police, however, allegedly released the suspects the following day and
had yet to brief the family on the progress of investigation.
It was gathered that the family members
wrote a petition to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Department
of Criminal Investigation, Yaba, requesting the DC to withdraw the
matter from the Pedro division because the station had not handled the
matter well.
In a copy of the petition, which was obtained by PUNCH Metro,
the deceased’s son, Abraham Okeshola, said the suspects were
threatening to kill him and his siblings if they did not let go of the
matter.
He said, “This is a case of conspiracy,
unlawful exhumation of my father’s corpse, breaking and entry to cause
malicious damage. Another aspect is that the suspects are threatening my
life and my siblings’. Some of the suspects are Americana and Akindele.
“On that day, I was not in Lagos. It was
when I came back that the shocking news was relayed to me. Some people
came to my family house on Popoola Street and broke the gate. They
demolished our family house using some hoodlums armed with weapons.
“On the following day, they tried to
start work on my father’s property without the family’s permission. When
I got to the place to see things for myself, I discovered that the
burial ground of my late father had been destroyed. They have also
exhumed the corpse and taken it to an unknown destination.
“We reported the matter at the Pedro
Police Station and the suspects were arrested. They told the police that
they had sold the property for N100m. This was done without my
knowledge. To my surprise, they were all released by the police. I want
this matter investigated and the suspects punished.”
Spea king with PUNCH Metro on
the telephone, Akindele, however, described Abraham’s claim as false,
saying the complainant should provide concrete proof that his father’s
corpse was exhumed.
He said, “He is a liar. The house was
demolished with his consent. He has signed a statement on oath in a
court that the building should be demolished. There is still a case on
this property at the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Adeniji-Adele.
“He sold four plots of land belonging to
his father. He is lying. I am not involved. I do not know anything
about the corpse being dug out. Did he see me there? I have never been
to Popoola Street.”
The Lagos State Police Public Relations
Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, had yet to reply to a text message sent to
her phone on the incident.
No comments:
Post a Comment