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30 Police detectives storm Lagos to unravel gruesome murder of  Police officer, abduction of others

Usman Alkali Baba, IGP

Exclusive by Owolola Adebola 

No fewer than thirty carefully selected homicide detectives drawn from the Force Criminal Investigations Department (FCID) Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) arrived in Lagos Monday to investigate the remote causes of blood-letting activities that led to the loss of life of a police officer who died in the line of duty during an unprovoked attack by some heartless social miscreants at Elegbin community in Lagos.
The blood-thirsty hounds were also said to have been responsible for the sudden disappearance of twelve others whose whereabouts remain a mystery.
The arrival of the top-rated police officers was said to have the blessings of the Inspector General of Police who mandated the officers to carry out a discreet investigation with the view to fishing out those who were responsible for the dastardly act.
The office of the IGP  had earlier received a flurry of petitions in connection with the heart-shattering incident which occurred weeks back.
It was initially suspected that the casualty-ridden incident was the handiwork of some hoodlums who disguised as land grabbers.
Week-long checks by our correspondent revealed that some yet to be identified gangsters who were said to have armed themselves with guns, machetes, axes, charms and other dangerous weapons, penultimate week, pounced on some duty policemen stationed in the community to see to the smooth possession of a disputed land by one Adeoku family after which a competent court declared the family as the rightful owner of the landed property.
The clash was said to have raised unprecedented dust as people ran helter-skelter.
It was learnt that when the dust finally settled, the attackers, who reportedly rode in a convoy of unmarked vehicles,  reportedly killed a mobile police sergeant, identified as  Edison Fulman, with Force Number 500314.
Eye witness accounts have it that, the unsuspecting police officer was not only dispossessed of his rifle but as well made to pay with his life.
As his lifeless body was openly displayed on the street, his other colleagues who accompanied him to the scene were not equally spared as they sustained varying degrees of life-threatening injuries.
 “The colleagues of the slain policeman, numbering sixteen, were later placed on emergency admission from where they have since been recuperating”.
One of the petitioners to the office of the IGP, Chief Morof  Owonla,.during our investigation disclosed that over  13 of his workers were, against their wish, abducted by the hoodlums and ferried away through a deep sea to an unknown destination.
According to the visibly agitated businessman, the missing workers include the following: Ganiyu Ogunbakinde; Olumide Omoakin; Jamiu Osama; Azeez Oloye; Akeem; Taiwo; Dayo, Wasiu, whose surnames are not known.
He however added that others who escaped death by the whiskers were macheted by the unprovoked attackers.
“The others who were wounded in the clash were promptly rescued by men of the policemen attached to Ajangbadi Division.
It was feared that those said to have been abducted by the criminal elements may have been killed as some fishermen reportedly sighted headless bodies floating in the area.
Further checks revealed that one, Mrs. Omowunmi Adewale, a local caterer was caught unawares by the hoodlums who attempted to hack her to death.
Adewale told our correspondent that she works as a caterer at the site only for her to be suddenly attacked by armed thugs who were chanting war songs.

“One of them attempted hacking me with a cutlass. It was mother luck which saved my life for as some policemen arrived from a nearby division which made my attackers flee”.

In-depth investigations revealed that there had been a lingering tussle between one Adeoku family and another family over the legal ownership of hectares of land in the community.

The matter was adjudicated upon by Justice O. Oshodi of the Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja, who, after listening to the two parties, delivered judgment in favour of the Adeoku Family.
That was in the year  2013 which consequently led to a  possession order given by the court.
A pile of documents made available to our correspondent also indicated that a certificate of warrant of possession otherwise called Form ‘O’ was consequentially issued to the family of Adeoku to take legally, the possession of the expanse of land.
Subsequently, a team of 17 policemen drafted from the Zone 2 Police Headquarters, Lagos and the court sheriffs executed the warrant of possession on February 11, 2022.
It was in the course of taking repossession of the landed property by the victorious family that a spurious alarm signal was sent to the state authorities informing them that some persons suspected to be land grabbers had illegally stormed the quiet  Elegbin community to foment trouble.
The unsuspecting state government, it was gathered, wasted little or no time in dispatching a delegation led by the Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs, Dr. Wale Ahmed, to Etegbin with the view to confirming, assessing, and report back their findings of the alleged invasion by hoodlums with the view to averting a breakdown of law and order.
Also on the entourage was the State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Cornelius Ojelabi,
who, during the visit, had suggested that the parties to the tussle would be invited to a roundtable to resolve the matter amicably.
A concerned resident in the community had earlier hinted that some persons behind the bloody attack had actually raised the false signal to the state government after the possession of the landed property was taken on February 11, 2021, for which the State government officials visited.
The visitation made by the delegation was said to have apparently provided a leeway for the hoodlums to raise the bar of violence against the police officers and other law-abiding citizens, just as both economic and social activities were paralysed for several hours.
” The bloody clash took place after the delegates had departed”, a source revealed.
The gun-totting hoodlums, according to some residents who pleaded for anonymity, destroyed multi-million naira properties in the wake of the mayhem.
‘Some of the properties include hotels and filling stations, as they (the hoodlums) moved around the community with other dangerous weapons to harass and intimidate law-abiding residents and people perceived to be related to the victorious family.
Meanwhile,  a leading petitioner to the office of the Inspector General of Police, whose petition was routed through the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Alagbon, Lagos, Chief Owonla and who claimed his workers were illegally abducted and injured by the rampaging hoodlums, had pleaded with the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of the investigative department to order a high-level investigation into the incident with a view to arresting the perpetrators and their sponsors by bringing them to justice.
Owonla, in a chat with our correspondent, said he got ownership of his property through the judgment given in favour of his landlords, the Adeoku Family.
According to him:“It was quite a pathetic situation and with a heavy heart to lay my complaint concerning what happened to my workers and manager at Etegbin and the event that led to the gruesome murder of Sergeant Edison Fulman and so many of my workers that are missing and yet to be confirmed dead.
“The fact in issue was that my landlord from whom I derived my title to Etegbin property got a judgment in their favour which was fully guaranteed and confirmed with a certificate of warrant of possession, Form ‘O’ given in favour of  Adeoku Family of Etegbin in suit no ID/2370/94; CA/L/415/03  and BDM /6M/2009 dated 8th September 2013 and revalidation of possession to give credence to the judgment for the second time was carried out on Friday, February 11, 2022.
“Immediately after the possession, peace and tranquillity pervaded the village without let or hindrance and we have started enjoying peaceful possession since then.
“On Monday, February 14, 2022, my manager, who was at my gas station to oversee my real estate property, equally at Etegbin, briefed me adequately about the dastardly destruction of lives and properties and arson which took place that day in a high-level conspiracy and scheming orchestrated and executed by hired armed hoodlums led by the suspects, despite the peaceful possession given to us by a court of competent jurisdiction as the judgment creditors, to enjoy the fruit of our lawful possession.”
He added: ”The moment the suspects came into the village with hired armed thugs and hoodlums (including) dreaded cultists, they started shooting sporadically in scaring tactics to create panic and confusion in the relatively peaceful village and began to terrorise our workers and standby policemen from Zone 2 Police Command.`
“In the process, Sergeant Edison Fulman from Zone 2 Command dropped dead while many of our workers were missing but yet to be confirmed dead, and these among others include Ganiyu Ogunbakinde; Olumide Omoakin; Jamiu Osama; Azeez Oloye; Akeem; Taiwo; Dayo and Wasiu.”
Owonla claimed that one Shakiru and over 50 others were complicit in the matter, urging the police to “apprehend the culprits via conducting a wide-angle investigation into this report to know the degree of their complicity in crime and notoriety in criminality, lawlessness, extra-judicial conducts, conspiracy over time and to allow me unfettered access to my gas station and real estate property at Etegbin devoid of hired hoodlums attack, intimidation and harassment whatsoever”

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Analyses

The invisible toll gates:Why National Single Window is Nigeria’s ultimate economic battleground

Monday Discourse with  Ibrahim Nasiru
Walk into any market in Nigeria today, from the commercial hubs of Lagos to the roadside stalls in Yola, and ask why a bag of rice or an imported spare part costs three times what it did last year.
The typical public commentator will blame global inflation, floating currencies, or macro-economic shocks.
But those who understand logistics know the real truth lies buried under layers of paper, manual stamps, and artificial delays at our seaports.
Nigeria’s international trade is suffocating not from a lack of deep water, but from a deliberate design of convenience.
The recent operational rollout of the National Single Window (NSW) has triggered behind-the-scenes panic among Port cartels, and for good reason.
For decades, keeping our clearing processes fragmented, manual, and dependent on desk-to-desk human interaction was the perfect business model for syndicates.
When cargo dwell times drag on for 21 days, those delays are money in the pockets of the gatekeepers and a death sentence for local businesses.
Let us look at the raw field realities. The push by the Nigeria Customs Service to aggressively crash clearance times down to global 48-hour standards is meeting fierce internal resistance.
Why? Because a unified digital ecosystem means you cannot easily manipulate documentation, hide illicit cargo, or demand “mobilization fees” before signing off a container.
The outcry and protests from certain freight-forwarding syndicates aren’t about technical glitches; they are about the sudden closure of invisible toll gates.
This is exactly why governance at our national gateways can no longer be left to the mercy of transactional bureaucratic habits.
Building deep-sea infrastructure like Lekki Port is a massive physical achievement, but concrete and cranes are useless if the administrative processes at the gate remain backward.
 Real structural reform requires turning our Ports into automated, friction-free pipelines that prioritize production over rent-seeking.
If Nigeria wants to survive this fiscal squeeze, the National Single Window cannot just be treated as another glossy IT project launched in Abuja.
 It requires unyielding administrative enforcement to completely dismantle the corrupt cartels managing the manual desk chains.
The invisible toll gates at our Ports must be completely demolished, and that exact same structural discipline must be scaled across our border stations and trade corridors.
The era of managing international trade with 20th-century paper trails is dying. The future belongs to the builders of automated, transparent systems.
Chief Ibrahim Nasiru, a public affairs analyst,  writes from Abuja 
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Headlines

NANTA Exco embarks on seven-day Ghana retreat, fam trip to deepen regional tourism partnership

Gloria Odion, Reporter

The National Executive Council (NEC) of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) has commenced a seven-day executive retreat and familiarisation (fam) trip to Ghana, hosted by Safari World, as part of efforts to strengthen regional tourism partnerships and expand cross-border travel opportunities.

The NANTA delegation was received at Safari World Homes in Accra by the Chairman of the Safari World Group, Mr. Ernest Gyekye, who expressed delight at hosting the Nigerian travel trade leaders.

He assured the delegation of a memorable experience throughout their week-long stay.

Speaking on the significance of the visit, NANTA President, Mr. Yinka Folami, described the retreat and familiarisation tour as a strategic initiative aimed at fostering stronger business relationships and promoting collaborative tourism development across Africa.

“This mission is not a leisure trip,” Folami said. “It is a deliberate step to implement and expand our association’s marketing advocacy for Nigerian brands across borders.”

He noted that Nigeria and Ghana share deep historical, cultural and commercial ties that should be leveraged to drive tourism growth on the continent.

“Nigeria and Ghana share history, culture, trade and people. The future of our tourism cannot be built in silos,” he said.

“This retreat is about moving from policy to practice—creating real products, real partnerships and real movement of travellers between Accra and Lagos.”

As part of the programme, the NANTA executives will engage in strategic business-to-business (B2B) meetings with their Ghanaian counterparts, tour key tourism destinations under the Safari World brand, and participate in cultural exchange activities designed to promote stronger bilateral tourism cooperation.

The itinerary spans Safari World’s three flagship destinations, including Safari Homes in Accra, the Aqua Safari riverfront experience, Safari Island Cruise, Safari Nautica, and Safari Recreation and Sports facilities in Ada, as well as the Safari Valley Eco Resort and Safari Eco Park in Dawu.

Operating under the brand promise, “One World, Three Destinations, Over 20 Unique Experiences,” Safari World is leveraging the visit to strengthen its footprint in the Nigerian travel market while positioning Ghana as a premier destination for leisure tourism, conferences, group travel, family holidays and premium tourism experiences.

A major highlight of the visit will be the Executive Dinner scheduled for July 21 at the Safari Valley Eco Resort, where key stakeholders from Nigeria and Ghana’s tourism industries will deliberate on strategies for deepening travel trade and advancing regional tourism development.

The familiarisation tour is expected to provide NANTA’s leadership with first-hand knowledge of Safari World’s tourism offerings, paving the way for the development of attractive travel packages and stronger business partnerships that will benefit Nigerian travellers and the wider West African tourism industry.

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Customs

Ogun Customs spurns claims of Smugglers’ takeover of Idiroko–Sango Ota trading Route

Funso OLOJO, Editor

The Ogun I Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has dismissed as false reports alleging that smugglers had taken over the Idiroko–Sango Ota trading route in Ogun State, describing the claims as a deliberate misrepresentation of a traffic incident.
In a statement issued by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Superintendent of Customs (SC) Chado, the Command clarified that the traffic gridlock on the route resulted from the breakdown of an articulated commercial trailer after it fell into a badly deteriorated section of Atan Road, temporarily obstructing the free flow of traffic.
According to the Command, the vehicles caught in the ensuing congestion were legitimate commercial trucks transporting red palm oil to various local markets and had no connection whatsoever with smuggling activities.
It explained that the large number of heavy-duty trucks trapped in the gridlock may have led some members of the public to wrongly conclude that smugglers had taken over the road.
“The reports that smugglers blocked the road are inaccurate. The disruption resulted from a road accident and poor road conditions. The vehicles involved were lawful commercial vehicles transporting red palm oil for legitimate trade,” Chado stated.
The Command urged journalists, social media users and the general public to verify information before disseminating reports capable of creating unnecessary panic or undermining public confidence in security agencies.
Observers within the border trade sector noted that the allegation does not reflect the prevailing security situation within the Ogun I Area Command, where anti-smuggling operations have been intensified under the leadership of the Acting Customs Area Controller, Comptroller O.O. Afeni.
Since assuming office, Comptroller Afeni has strengthened intelligence-driven surveillance, enhanced collaboration with other security agencies and host communities, and sustained pressure on economic saboteurs operating along the Ogun border corridors.
These measures, according to stakeholders, have resulted in significant seizures of prohibited goods and reinforced the Command’s resolve to safeguard Nigeria’s economy and territorial integrity.
Maritime and border trade stakeholders also cautioned against the spread of unverified information capable of undermining the efforts of security personnel or creating a false impression of lawlessness in border communities.
They stressed that while combating smuggling remains an ongoing responsibility, responsible and accurate reporting is equally critical to ensuring that operational achievements are not overshadowed by misinformation.
The Ogun I Area Command reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining its anti-smuggling campaign while facilitating legitimate cross-border trade in line with the statutory mandate of the Nigeria Customs Service.

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