The Osun State police command has explained why its officers scaled the fence of a house in Oroki Estate, Osogbo, to gain access to the residence of a suspect identified as Aderanti Jeremiah Oluwapelumi.

A video circulating online and obtained by the Peoples Gazette on Friday showed police officers scaling the fence of Mr Oluwapelumi’s residence before entering the premises. 

The video sparked a flurry of reactions online with netizens condemning the action as lawless and accusing the police of being unprofessional.

“This happens when police carry out operations without proper investigation or evidence to prosecute the criminal. They are trying to catch the criminal off guard to see what to use against him in court of law. We need to stay recruiting highly intellectual people into the system because this method isn’t needed,” an Instagram user @deep.sshyami stated.

“The things we do in Nigeria amuse me a lot. We’re not safe here at all. Anywhere in this country is unsafe. The guy who even climbed is very lucky. If the owner had a gun and fired at him, they would say a civilian killed an officer on duty. We still have a long way to go here,” @Siryemi said.

Another Instagram user, @thesavagery said, “This impunity must stop. We cannot continue to allow this lawless behaviour.”

However, spokesperson for the Zone 11 command in Osogbo, Ogunyemi Adeyemo, in a phone interview with The Gazette on Friday, stated that Mr Oluwapelumi had been on the wanted list for a while for impersonation and defrauding the public.

Mr Adeyemo explained that the suspect was alleged to have also called himself a personal assistant to Governor Ademola Adeleke while leveraging the criminal opportunity to rob innocent people of millions of naira.

Mr Adeyemo said, “The suspect in question has been on our wanted list for some time. He was alleged to have called himself a lawyer and a personal assistant to the Osun State governor, while, of course, he is not. His wife happens to be a lawyer, though. The husband impersonated to deceive and defraud Nigerians.”

The police spokesperson further clarified that police operatives decided to scale through Mr Oluwapelumi’s fence because he tried to escape arrest when they visited that day.

“When we got the information, we tried our best to get across to him, but he refused. On the third day, policemen went to his office, of course, based on the allegations against him. Four complainants submitted allegations against him.

“When we got to his house, we met the house help who was able to go out. He put the call through to the man who came out to see the police. He then asked to change because he was in boxers. As he entered, he locked the gate, ran inside, and started shouting. 

“Based on the level of his offence, police had no choice but to scale through the fence and get him apprehended based on the power conferred on us by the constitution. We weren’t able to arrest him. But he turned himself in at the police station later in the day,” he added.

Mr Adeyemo disclosed that the suspect would be charged to court as soon as possible.