The police in Osun State were accused of unlawful invasion and destruction of his property by a 45-year-old farmer, Mutiu Adeeyo, who resides in the Iso-Isu area of the state.
According to The Punch, Mutiu also claimed that the sum of N5.5m went missing from his wardrobe after the police invasion of his home on July 19 around 11 pm.
He said, “My wife, children, and my brother’s wives and children were all sleeping that night when we heard people kicking the gate. I was traumatised because I knew the security situation of the country. They scaled the fence when we didn’t open the gate. They went to the main and back doors and started shouting that we should open the doors.
“When we didn’t answer, they broke the doors open and asked where I was. The women said I wasn’t at home. They started breaking every door to look for me. They didn’t stop despite the women protesting that they were not covered. When they noticed the room I was in, they broke in and arrested me at gunpoint. I was handcuffed and taken into their van.”
The farmer said he had a land dispute with some of the people who accompanied the policemen.
“But we had settled it and followed what the law says. When they were bringing me out, some men went into my wardrobe and took a polythene bag containing N5.5m,” he added.
Mutiu said he was taken to the Pere Police Station, Ede, and detained till the following day.
He said he was later taken to court, where he was accused of destroying the fence of a building on the disputed land at Kajola.
He said the court, discovering that there was a similar case that the Zone 11 Police Command had filed on his behalf, adjourned the matter and allowed him to leave.
“If the police called to see me, I would have answered them because I didn’t commit any crime,” he stated.
His wife, Shakirah Adeeyo, also confirmed the incident to our correspondent.
A member of the legal team representing the farmer, Azeez Zakariyau, told The PUNCH that it was the second time the police would detain Mutiu.
“When the police went to his house the first time, enquiries were ongoing when we filed a petition at the Zone 11 police headquarters at Osogbo. They investigated and discovered that he wasn’t at fault. Then the Zone 11 Police Command charged some suspected land grabbers to court for malicious damage.
“Then, they went to arrest him again on July 19. Our team has filed a petition against the entry and disappearance of the money,” he added.
The petition, dated July 29, was signed by one Alfred Adegoke and addressed to the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba.
Adegoke alleged that the police team stole N5.5m from the farmer and demanded an investigation into the incident.
However, a police source denied that any money was taken by the team, adding that Mutiu was arrested for malicious damage.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Yemisi Opalola, said she was not aware of the matter.
She promised to get back to our correspondent but had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.
