Officers of the Lagos Police Command have arrested and detained about 70 people, including passersby and Uber drivers in Aswani, Ajao Estate and Oshodi areas of the state, following the killing of Chief Superintendent Kazeem Abonde.

The suspects were arrested on Friday and are currently in detention without being charged to court, Peoples Gazette has learnt.

The police said Mr Abonde was killed on Thursday while officers from the RRS, Taskforce, Ajao Estate Division were enforcing the ban on motorcycles in the area.

In a statement, the police spokesperson, Adekunle Ajisebutu, said while officers impounded some motorcycles, the riders regrouped and “attacked Abonde and men.”

However, in the aftermath of Mr Abonde’s death, about 70 suspects in Aswani and surrounding areas were arrested and detained.

Some of the suspects in police custody were heard in audio recordings obtained by this outlet lamenting how they were being tortured.

A source told The Gazette some of the arrested suspects were passersby, Uber drivers and men who had gone to repair their vehicles in a garage close to Aswani market.

“They didn’t pick them up at Ajao Estate; they went to Aswani and picked them up.

“They didn’t pick just one person but a lot of people and put them in black maria. Some didn’t even know what happened,” the source said.

The source continued, “There’s an uber driver that was also arrested. They broke his glass and dragged him out of the car. They violated their human rights and even hit them.”

Some suspects were taken to the Taskforce in Bolade, Oshodi area, while others were detained at other police divisions. Our source said several attempts by relatives to secure their bail have proved abortive.

“People went there to see them on Saturday and Sunday for the bail process, but they said they don’t grant bail to people on weekends. On Monday, the officers asked them to go to the Ikeja area command to go and bail them,” the source said.

At the Ikeja command, our source said the families and friends of the suspects were asked to check back to “find out what happened” if they were not released after three days.

“Friday is a public holiday, it’ll make a week and public holiday without charging them to court. My person is sick” another source said. 

However, Mr Ajisebutu told The Gazette over the phone that suspects were only arrested at Ajao Estate, adding that investigations regarding their arrests were ongoing.

“We will issue a press statement on the progress made on our investigation very soon,” he said.

When also contacted, the DPO of Aswani Division, Adeleke Ojajuni, said he was not aware of any arrest within the area, while that of Ajao Estate, Aminu Goni, declined The Gazette’s request to offer an official response on the incident.