By John Idem
Legal counsel to a businessman and land owner at the Owode Onirin market, Lagos, Barrister Yinka Sanni has called for a detailed forensic inquest in the alleged killings at the most populous Lagos iron market to ascertain the authenticity of the traders’ claim that seven persons were killed on August 27, 2025 during a fracas between his client Abiodun Ariori and some traders. The human rights lawyer and property consultant is also demanding an unalloyed apology from the Lagos State Police Command for dehumaning his client, noting that Ubis jus Ibi Remedium.
Recall that a fight broke out between security details of Mr. Ariori and some traders over an unresolved land matter which resulted in wanton destruction of building materials belonging to Ariori. Sources said the security details who rose up to the challenge while the property they were guarding were being destroyed were ferociously attacked by the traders adding that the attackers who were no less behaving like hired thugs attempted disarming the mobile police officers which resulted in the use of maximum force and one of the traders was fell by the hot lead fired by the officers. The atmosphere it was gathered, became charged and free for all that policemen from Owode-Onirin Division who raced to the scene to quel the crisis had to call for a backup from the Lagos State Police Command Headquarters before the officers could be rescued.
In the meantime, the mobile officers were moved to the Force Headquarters Abuja where they were all tried and found to have been legally attached to the business and that they acted in professional good faith to protect their arms hence they fired shots that unfortunately killed one of the errant traders.
However, without recourse to receiving signal from the Force Headquarters Abuja to declare Mr. Abiodun Ariori wanted, the Lagos State Police Command for whatever reason, hurriedly declared him wanted. Sources said, as a law abiding man with no skeleton in his cupboard who was not even at the scene of the incident, Mr. Ariori went to Abuja to meet with the police where he was told that he was never declared wanted by the Force Headquarters adding that he should go back to Lagos where the incident happen; perhaps maybe that’s where he was being declared wanted. It was gathered that he also on his free will went to meet with the Commissioner of Police CP Jimoh Oluhundare Moshood of Lagos State as a kinsman who asked that he sits and wait for him. Sources said the CP immediately put a call to the DCP in charge of SCID, Dayo Akinbisehin to come and pick Mr. Abiodun Ariori to his unit in cuffs.
He was reportedly kept in the cell for three weeks without trials and was to be arraigned for murder the same day one Samsideen Oladiti aka Shamelon, the NURTW Chieftain who killed a dispach rider but for the insistence of the O/C legal who said he could find any suitable charge for him. According to sources, both the O/C legal and state’s police boss had a shouting match on the issue of arraigning Mr. Abiodun Ariori. Whereas, it was said that the CP Jimoh insisted that Mr. Ariori must be charged anyhow, the O/C legal insisted that as a lawyer, he could not charge an innocent person who was not even around the scene on the day of the crises for murder. In anger, the CP reportedly collected the file from the O/C legal. The file is said to be currently with the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecution for advice.
Reacting, a visibly pained Barrister Sanni said the only thing that could bring joy to him as an old rights lawyer, is for the police to do wholistic forensic inquest of the crisis which they said claimed seven lives. Again, he insisted that the police must tender an unalloyed apology to his client whose rights were undermined and dumped in the cell for three weeks for what he knew nothing about. He said, ” What I want the police to do is to carry out a detailed forensic investigation to unravel the claims that more than one persons died on that day in question. The traders who were behaving no less than thugs actually wanted to disarm the officers hence they used maximum force to protect their arms by firing.
Don’t forget that the same traders had in time past, disarm a mobile police officer there so these officers didn’t want a repeat of that. The matter was tried then at the FCID Annex Alagbon Lagos and one of the traders was sentenced and remanded in Kirikiri prisons. So when they were rescued from Owode Onirin to the state command headquarters, they were later moved to Abuja where they were tried and found not wanting. Therefore, they were discharged and released to go.
Why then, would the Lagos State Police detain Mr. Abiodun Ariori for three weeks for the same offence that he was not in the state when it happened. The land in question belongs to him, there is valid and subsisting court judgement on it. As a matter of fact, possession had long been taken over it. The local government Council chairman only begged him to allot 40 per cent the vast area to the local government which he painfully obliged because the land is his.
When he went to revalidate the judgement, the court ordered the Attorney General of the state, the police command, Task Force, LABSCA to ensure seamless take over of possession of the land. So I do not know what the problems of the traders are.
