Residents of Igbara Oke, the Headquarters of ifedore Local government area of Ondo state on Friday stormed the streets in the ancient town to protest what they described as gross misconduct and extortion by the divisional Police Officer, DPO, Ganiyu Daudu since he was deployed to the town.
The protesters who trooped out to express their grievances over the alleged unprofessional acts by the DPO barricaded the main road causing serious gridlock.
The protesters also carried leaf branches and sang DPO Olè… Meaning DPO is a thief.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, a youth leader, Owoeye Mayowa alleged that the DPO had extorted residents of Igbara Oke on many occasions.
According to him, the DPO collects an exorbitant amount of money from anyone who brings a case to the police station, even if it is a civil case.
They alleged that he had been collecting between N200,000 and N800,000 from the people whose cases were brought to the police station, citing a case whereby suspected armed robbers terrorizing the community were said to have escaped after being detained in his Police station.
The protesters also alleged that the DPO had been involved in corrupt practices such as illegal arrest and complicating issues brought before him with the intention of extorting huge money from parties.
Some of the protesters who were members of the National Union Road Transport Workers, NURTW, also alleged that the DPO had been victimising them, asking his men to always collect money from them.
They however asked the police commissioner Wilfred Afolabi to redeploy the DPO in the interest of peace in the community.
One of the protesters said, “An armed robber was arrested but he later told us that the suspect escaped. We asked the DPO to produce him, but he failed and that one went like that.
“One of the drivers here and a woman had some misunderstanding. The woman claimed she was assaulted. But those who witnessed the incident including some soldiers attested that she was not assaulted.
“When they got to the station, the matter was settled amicably by the officers on duty. Unfortunately, as they were about to leave, the DPO arrived and asked again what happened. He later asked the woman to come to his office and asked the woman to lie that some of her belongings got lost during the altercation.
“The police rearrested the guy and the police were asking him to pay N780,000.
“We came to plead but he insisted the money must be paid to the woman because she was planning a wedding ceremony for her child.
“We have to bail the boy by paying a sum of N50,000 the third day.
“The DPO kept asking the woman to lie. Whenever we see the woman, she would agree not to pursue the matter, but once she meets with the DPO she will say another thing.
“We had to petition him and took the case to the police headquarters in Akure. When we got to the headquarters, the police there found out that she was not assaulted.
“So one of the Deputy Police Commissioners warned the woman not to visit Igbara Oke police station over the matter again. That was how the case got settled.
“Since then, he has been victimising All drivers in the Town and anytime we have any encounter with his officers, the DPO would ask them to collect huge amounts of money from us.
“He kept threatening us saying the case that he was supposed to cash out was taken to the headquarters. That he would not stop victimising us. That’s what led to the protest.
“We are tired of him. The community has not been at rest since he came here.
“We want the police commissioner to give us another DPO for peace to reign. He has been extorting us and we can no longer take it.
When contacted, the public relations, Ondo state police command, Olushola Ayanlade urged members of the public with any concrete evidence against any officer of the force to come up with such evidence rather than taking laws into their own hands.
He said, “I can confirm there was a slight misunderstanding between the members of the drivers union and our men at the Igbara Oke division, arriving from an accident that occurred, and some of the drivers insisted that the vehicle should not be towed to the police station.
“However, upon the intervention of the local government chairman, the matter was amicably resolved.
“We urge any member of the public who has any concrete evidence against any of our men, regardless of rank, to come forward with it.
“The force has been purging itself of bad eggs and we will keep doing that.
“So, if anybody has any concrete evidence against any allegations against any member of the force, please come forward with your evidence, and we will do well to let the public know the outcome of the investigation.”
