Osun Panel of Inquiry: How police fraudulently sold petitioner’s car to fellow officer

Abimbola Abatta, Osogbo

As the Osun Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Police Brutality, Human Rights Violations and Related Extra Judicial Killings resumed hearing on Thursday, one of the petitioners, Mr Elusanmi Kolawole, narrated how he was beaten to a pulp by some police officers, whom he said, forcefully took away his vehicle.

Kolawole who had approached the panel to seek justice, alleged that his fundamental human right was violated and also accused the police of complicity, fraud and stealing by trick.

The petitioner said he was arrested and tortured by the police officers who accused him of buying and selling a stolen car.

He, however, said he explained to the officers that he got all necessary documentation for the vehicle before he sold it to another person, a claim which according to him, was turned down.

Kolawole said: “I was in my house that fateful day when I saw about five fully-armed police officers who had come to arrest me. I was beaten mercilessly and forced into the vehicle and taken away.

“When asked why I was arrested, I was told that I sold a stolen vehicle, an allegation that I knew nothing about. Though, I bought a vehicle few months to my retirement with the aim of using the vehicle after I retire but I had to return the vehicle immediately it was delivered simply because it wasn’t my choice of car.

“The car was sold to me at the rate of N220,000, out of which I paid N100,000 to the owner as deposit. When I made a move to return the car, I was asked to look for a buyer after which the person that sold the car to me and myself took it to someone that needed the car.

“The new buyer paid the sum of N220,000 and I removed my N100,000 from it and gave the rest of the money to the person that sold it to me.

“But few weeks later, five police officers came from Mogbon Police Division in Ogun State, along side with the person that sold the car to me and I was bundled out of the house around 1:00am and taken to Zone 11 here in Osogbo.

“I was there for few days and later released but the car was taken to Magbon police station in Ogun State where it was allegedly sold to another police officer.

“All efforts to retrieve the vehicle proved abortive but we later got to know that the car had been sold to a police officer in Ogun State.

“Part of the efforts taken to get the car back after it was taken to Ogun was that, I personally went to Zone 11 to report the matter and one of the senior officers who showed interest in the matter ordered his boys to go after the officers involved and retrieve the car.

“Though for their two trips to Ogun State, I spent about N100,000 which they collected as transport fare. Upon this, they couldn’t retrieve the vehicle but it was established that one of the officers, one Superintendent Ayuba had sold the vehicle to another officer.

“Since then, the police have been shielding the erring officers to the extent that when I returned to Zone 11, I was told that the case had been resolved within the top ranking officers.

“As I speak, I am still refunding the man I sold the car to. I appeal to this panel to do justice on this matter,” he added.

The chairman of the Panel, Justice Akin Oladimeji (rtd.) adjourned the case to March 18, 2021, for further hearing.