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By Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The Lagos State Police Command, on Monday, revealed the identity of a 22-year-old man who allegedly poured petrol on a sound engineer, David Imoh, as he was lynched in the Lekki area of the state.
The command’s spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, in a statement said that the number of suspects arrested in connection with the gruesome murder of Imoh had risen to seven.
Hundeyin mentioned the seventh suspect as 22-year-old Usman Abubakar.
Imoh was reportedly beaten and set ablaze by motorcyclists on Admiralty Way, in Lekki area of Lagos State, on May 12, 2022.
The engineer’s colleagues-Frank, a saxophonist, and Philip, a keyboardist- had boarded a motorcycle to a venue on Admiralty Way where Imoh was setting up for a show.
The motorcyclist was said to have conveyed the duo to the destination when an argument ensued between the motorcyclist and Imoh’s friends over N100.
The argument was said to have degenerated into a fight, and the motorcyclist sought the support of other motorcyclists, who intervened.
During the intervention, the motorcyclists were said to have attacked Frank and Philip when David was alerted to the incident.
In a bid to rescue his friends, David rushed out of the venue but as he got to the scene of the attack, the motorcyclists allegedly seized and beat him till he became unconscious and his motionless body reportedly set ablaze.
The development led to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu banning commercial bike riders in six local government areas of the state.
Giving an update on Monday, Hundeyin said there was no cover up in the murder case.
The statement read: “The attention of the Lagos State Police Command has been drawn to a write-up making the rounds on social media by a faceless DSS officer, claiming a cover-up by the Police in the unfortunate lynching of David Imoh on May 12, 2022.
“The Command wishes to debunk this write-up as nothing but a cunningly-crafted work of fiction ill-intended by some unpatriotic persons and war mongers to cause disaffection, and possibly ethnic war, amongst Nigerians.
“The Lagos State Police Command again confirms that the Divisional Police Officer, Maroko Division arrived at the active crime scene , promptly arrested four suspects and rescued the other two persons under attack. The numerous observers of the arrests, some of whom made videos, can attest to this.
“It is therefore ridiculous, frivolous and laughable that the suspects were allegedly paid a miserly One Hundred Thousand Naira each to admit and take the fall for murder.
“Further investigation by the State Criminal Investigation Department led to the arrest of two other suspects. All six suspects were paraded before the press by the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Abiodun Alabi, fdc, mnim, psc on May 20, 2022. A seventh suspect, Usman Abubakar, aged 22 (not the mastermind), who literally poured petrol on the victim, was eventually arrested the next day. This brings the total number of arrested suspects to seven.
“Furthermore, not only has the State Director of DSS in Lagos State confirmed to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police that the alleged officer was unknown to them, he equally confirmed that the DSS neither arrested nor handed over any suspect to the police.
“CP Alabi therefore urges Nigerians to disregard the write-up as a mischievous attempt by fifth columnists to cause trouble within the country.”
