Lagos Baale drags IGP, CP to court over unlawful arrest, seeks N50m damages
A Lagos community leader, Chief Busari Abatan Adeleye, has sued the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Commissioner of Police, Force Intelligence Department, Lagos Annex, Akanniyene Ezima.
He is demanding ₦50 million as compensation for alleged unlawful arrest, harassment, and intimidation.
Chief Adeleye, the Baale of Adeleye Opeki Community in Abesan, Ipaja, Lagos, filed the case at the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja. Two of his relatives, Taiwo Adeleye and Akinola Akeem Adeleye, are also part of the case.
A man named Egonte Chukwuma Onyema is joined as the third respondent.
The applicants argue that their arrest and detention on September 15 and 16, allegedly arranged by Onyema, violated their fundamental rights to liberty, dignity, and property under the Nigerian Constitution.
They said the police acted unlawfully by arresting them over claims of trespass, wrongful execution of judgment, and malicious damage.
They want the court to stop the police from arresting or harassing them again.
In addition to the ₦50 million damages, they are also seeking ₦5 million in aggravated damages.
In an affidavit, Taiwo Adeleye stated that their family are the rightful owners of Opeki Village land in Abesan.
He said this ownership had already been confirmed by a Lagos High Court ruling on July 7, 2022, delivered by Justice O.A. Taiwo.
Despite this judgment, Onyema allegedly kept pushing the police to interfere and tried to reclaim the disputed land by force.
The affidavit further explained that the land dispute had been ongoing for years between the Adeleye family and Onyema’s late father, Andrew Egonte. Court documents show that Egonte was properly notified of the case since 2011, but he failed to defend it, which led the court to rule in favour of the Adeleye family.
As of now, the IGP, Ezima, and Onyema have not yet responded to the lawsuit, and the court has not fixed a hearing date.