By A special team comprising officers of the Nigerian Police Force from different units, on Thursday, raided some shanties in Ikorodu, Lagos.
These places were suspected to be hideouts of traffic robbers and cultists.
In a statement on Friday, the spokesperson for the police in the state, CSP Muyiwa Adejobi, said the operation was necessitated by the promise made by the state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, recently at the Ikorodu Town Hall Meeting to rid the community of illegal and criminal acts.
The operatives arrested five suspects namely Tanimowo Babatunde, 41; Gbolahan Oladimeji, 25; Kabiru Atanda, 30; Ibrahim Abubakri, 29 and 19-year-old Wasiu Rafiu.
However, BlackBox Nigeria has learnt that the 41-year-old among the suspects is innocent.
Tanimowo Babatunde, also known as Sunshine, is a popular tailor whose shop is located at Munirat Aleje Street, behind Ikorodu BRT Terminal.
He was said to have been picked by the police on Thursday night, while on his way to deliver clothes for a customer. The operatives had asked him for his nose mask, Babatunde replied that he forgot somewhere.
This questioning, according to eyewitnesses, was followed by series of slaps by the operatives landed on the tailor. He was then taken, alongside other arrested persons, to the Lagos State Task Force office at Oshodi.
Some of his relatives, in their bid to secure Babatunde’s release, were told by the officers in charge to bring the sum of N200,000 for his bail. Admittedly, the officers said he was innocent, adding that he was simply picked for violating COVID-19 protocols — by failing to use a mask.
His family is now questioning the rationale behind parading him as a traffic robber if his offence was not wearing mask. They are equally calling on the concerned authorities to step into the matter.
