Mr. and Mrs. Chidi Onyiah have petitioned the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, over alleged abuse of office by Insp. Geoffrey Akwo and cohorts attached to the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Annexe, Alagbon Ikoyi, Lagos.
The Lagos couple, speaking through their lawyer, Savn Daniel of Otung, Okoh and Co Chambers, stated that trouble started in July 2023 when they bought a property situated at 2, Salami Street, Olodi Apapa, Lagos, from one Sulaiman Ojora. The property was well receipted with both parties signing the deed of assignment on video.
Unknown to them, there are other vested interests in the property, which originally belonged to the Osazuwa family.
It was reportedly in a decrepit state when they bought and renovated it with the intention of reselling it.
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However, a member of the Osazuwa family, who is also a friend of the council boss, was said to have called to say that they didn’t sell the property to anybody, even as their accredited agent and representative, Kenneth Aragba, collected the money on video and remitted it to the head of the family in Canada.
The matter reached Alagbon, where Insp. Akwo, who introduced himself as a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), was the Investigating Police Officer (IPO).
When Maxwell, who introduced the couple to the property, and Aragba were interrogated, they confirmed that the property was put up for sale and bought by the couple.
The matter was settled amicably, but Akwo allegedly began to sexually harass Mrs Mary Onyiah through WhatsApp.
Sources said that because Akwo grew up in Ajegunle, where he became friends with both Messrs Maxwell and Kenneth Aragba and the local council chairman, he got Mr Abayomi Eletu arrested on the chairman’s behest for issuing a conveyance letter from the Oluwa Family to the couple who bought the property. He was detained for days but let off the hook after being admitted to bail.
On this basis, Mr Onyiah petitioned the IGP Intelligence Response Team (IRT) Abuja, alleging threats to life and attempted kidnap, following which Messrs Kenneth Aragba and Onoriode Aragba were arrested for interrogation.
However, Onoriode Aragba slumped and was rushed to the hospital on the day he was granted bail, only to be confirmed dead on arrival. Following this development, Akwo, on the chairman’s behest, put up a petition against Mr and Mrs Onyiah for murder. Mrs Onyiah was arrested and detained for four days before being granted N10 million bail .
Calling on the IGP to sanction Akwo and others, Savn Daniel said, “The actions of Akwo amount to an abuse of power, are unprofessional, and he needs to be called to order. Officers like Akwo, who are trained and paid by taxpayers’ money, need to be schooled on professionalism and policing with a human face.”
When contacted, the FCID Alagbon spokesperson, ASP Aminat Mayegun, said she had contacted Akwo on the matter, adding that he denied all the allegations.
“I have talked to Insp. Geoffrey Akwo about your allegations, but he denied them all. He said Mr and Mrs Onyiah even petitioned him at the X-squad and he gave his statement, but the petitioner didn’t show up. He said your complaint had been published in newspapers and that, though he actually asked Mrs Mary Onyiah out, he stopped when she said she was married.
“Please bring Mrs Onyiah, so I can hear from her. She needs to be heard, so that if Akwo is lying, we have a way of sanctioning such officers,” she added.
Also contacted, Akwo said: “Yes, I am aware of the petition because the PRO showed it to me yesterday, that my name is included, and she said she invited Mary James to come to her office to shed more light. I am waiting for them; all I know is that the lawyer just wrote what he was told to write. I will defend myself anytime I am called upon
