From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
There is a serious dispute among the Osun State Police, Department of State Security (DSS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), Daily Sun has gathered.
It was gathered that the trio of the security operatives have been at loggerheads over superiority claim thus causing disharmony among them and their officers.
The recent parade of suspects by the Commissioner of Police in Osun, Olawale Olokode, where a suspect accused NSCDC and DSS of connivance in the kidnapping was said to have compounded the matter.
A suspect, Akeem Ogunibi, who was paraded by the police for alleged kidnapping, was said to have fingered NSCDC personnel and DSS operatives in the kidnap of a Bureau De Change operator simply identified as Mallam Bala.
A security source told our correspondent that the police commissioner arrested and detained the accused officers without informing his sister’s agencies.
It was gathered that the commandant of NSCDC and the state director of DSS made extra efforts to discover that their officers were locked up and their mobile phones seized by the police.
A security source said the refusal of the commissioner of police to inform his sister agencies infuriated the duo of the NSCDC and DSS and they perceived the action of the police as deliberate.
The source said the police has always been in haste to parade suspects without conducting any investigation on the allegation against them.
Meanwhile, it was gathered that Bala who was said to have been kidnapped was arrested by the security men over a business transaction.
Daily Sun gathered that the suspect, Ogunibi, was a customer who had gone to challenge Bala for underlying his brother who sold a gold chain to him.
Ogunibi was said to have invited the security agencies to arrest Bala, an allegation purportedly turned to kidnapping.
It was gathered that Bala has revealed how he was arrested at Sabo market, Osogbo, contrary to the report that he was kidnapped.
Sources quoted Bala as saying “when the security men, one of them in NSCDC uniform came to Sabo, they said you are under arrest.”
Efforts to speak with Bala proved futile as he was said to have left the state, having discovered that the matter has caused a crisis between the security officers. His mobile phone has been switched off.
When contacted, the state commandant of NSCDC, Emmanuel Ocheja, refused to comment on the incident, saying “necessary step is being taken.”
Though it was gathered that the officers detained have been released, Ogunibi was yet to meet up with the bail condition.
While a report said that the purported arrest of Bala happened on December 28, another report said it was December 30th, 2021.
The operatives of the DSS also refused to speak on the matter and efforts to see the director were futile.
But, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Yemisi Opalola, said the police informed NSCDC and DSS and their bosses came to the command.
She said, “there is no way their bosses would have known if we don’t inform them.
“When a suspect is first arrested, you may not know the person he/she is because it is not written on the head and the person is not in uniform. When a person is arrested and he didn’t wear uniform to where he went to commit the offence, nobody will know who they are. It is during investigation that they will know them.
“Also, when a person is arrested for an offence, he may want to hide his identity. They may not contact their office at that time. So, nobody can allege the police on that because police can take anybody.”
