Lagos States government yesterday arraigned 50 suspects before Chief Magistrate Bola Osunsanmi of Court 4, Ikeja Magisterial District, over an attack and vandalism of government equipment (Caterpillar) at Idansan village, Ibeju, Lekki.
Chairman of the Lagos State Task Force, CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi, disclosed that the accused, including four girls, attacked officials of Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) while on official duty of demolishing shanties on government-acquired land.
Egbeyemi alleged that the accused set fire on a Caterpillar belonging to the government.
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According to him, LASBCA officials were attacked with stones, iron rods, broken bottles and burnt tyres before the arrival of the enforcement team of the agency, who rescued the officials.
He added that investigation revealed that owners/occupiers of the shanties were served necessary notices and given months to evacuate all their belongings from the land for the proposed Dangote Refinery in the area.
Meanwhile, the accused were arraigned on a four-count charge of “arson under section 341 (c), conspiracy under section 411, conduct likely to cause breach of peace under section 168 (1) (d), and unlawful obstruction under section 117 (1) & (2) of the Lagos Law of Lagos State 2015.”
Osunsanmi remanded 50 of them in prison and immediately referred the case file to the Director Public Prosecution for legal advice on the matter due to the charge of arson, which carries a punishment of life imprisonment.
In his reaction, one of the accused, Tobena Anthony Okoh, said: “I am a site engineer at Dangote Refinery. I was arrested in my apartment while I was sleeping. I am from Delta State, so I have no business fighting over land.
I am being prosecuted unjustly. I want Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to wade into the matter. I am innocent of the accusations. I finished my work late and decided to sleep; it was during sleep that I was arrested.
I thought the right thing to do was proper profiling after arrest but the police did not do that as they arraigned everybody. The government should help me out.
