Gunmen break into Lagos police station, kidnap suspect

A three-man gang of masked gunmen reenacted a commando-styled rescue mission when they broke into the Igbogbo Police Station in Ikorodu area of the state on Sunday, November 23, and freed a suspect detained at the station, Waidi Kabiru, the Punch reports.

It was gathered that the whereabouts of the 26-year-old suspect, who is said to be a musician, is still a mystery after the gunmen stormed the station at about 1am and abducted him from the cell he was kept and whisked him away.

Punch learnt that Kabiru was arrested in a raid by the police at Shelewu Road, in the area on Friday, November 21, and detained at the station but the gunmen took laws into their hands and freed him.

His father, Bisiriyu Kabiru, told reporters that he had been visiting his son since Friday when he was arrested, adding that he had gone to the station to give him food on Sunday only to be told that he was no longer inside the cell.

“He called me on the phone around 9am on Friday that he was arrested during a raid and I went to the station to see him.

One of the policemen I met asked me how much I had to bail him out and I said N4,000. But he told me it wasn’t enough and I left. I later came back with N5,000, but I was told that the DPO had taken over the case.

On Saturday, I brought food for him at the station and was there till the evening, trying to secure his bail. When I got there on Sunday to give him food, the policemen at the counter said he had gone out with the DPO.

But I was not allowed to see the DPO. I later learnt that he was whisked out of the cell early Sunday morning by three men who were masked. It was on Monday that I decided to inform his mother.”

The family of the young man has however, petitioned the Commissioner of Police in the state, Fatai Owoseni, to produce him. A Human Rights Activist who fired the petition on behalf of the family, Prince Akinsemoyin, urged the police to investigate Kabiru’s disappearance from the cell.

The petition read in part:

“I wish to bring to your attention that up till now, the whereabouts of Waidi Kabiru is still unknown. We strongly suspect a foul play in this matter.

The time has come to critically investigate the DPO and the role the DPO played in this case. If he has been released, to whom? On what grounds was he released to the surety and what offence was he arrested for?

We would like the police to produce the surety or else the policemen involved in this matter need to explain his sudden disappearance from Igbogbo police’s custody. This incident is capable of bringing the image of the police to disrepute. We hereby request a full scale investigation into this matter.”

But the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Joe Offor, said Kabiru was not abducted from the cell, insisting that he had been released on bail. He, however, said he did not have the knowledge of the name of the surety.

“It was not true that he was abducted. The suspect was released on bail to an identifiable person. The DPO said he had the name of the surety, but he did not disclose the name of the person to me.”