Council boss hands vigilantes to police over colleague’s death

Ogundare disclosed this development in response to reports that he facilitated the release of the suspects after their arrest.

Multiple reports have it that members of the local security outfit introduced by the LCDA, while acting on Taofik’s directive, allegedly tortured Ezekiel after accusing him of stealing a phone when they attended an event in the community on Monday, June 26, 2023.

According to a source in the area, after torturing Ezekiel, members of the security outfit abandoned and starved him for two days till he became unconscious and died on Wednesday, June 28.

Dismissing reports that he facilitated the release of the suspects, Ogundare said he handed them to the police, adding that when members of the community bailed them, policemen detailed from the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba, re-arrested them.

“I did not know about the incident the day it happened. But the moment I was informed, I took them (the suspects) to the police station. They spent two days in police custody when some criminals in the area started to come out to start terrorising residents because of the lack of presence of vigilantes in the community.

“So, some members of the community went to the police station to bail them. But the following Monday, policemen came from the SCID, Panti, to re-arrest them and the investigation is ongoing. The police are in a better position to get to the root of the matter.

“Even the deceased victim’s family came to meet me and they sought assistance to finalise the burial arrangements and I did all I could to support them,” he stated.

The council boss, however, noted that members of the security outfit that didn’t get involved in the incident had returned to their duties.