The police top hierarchy has ordered the immediate detention of the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Okota Police Station in Lagos State.
The DPO, a Chief Superintendent of Police, London Aloba, was said to have been detained for allowing a corporal who shot and killed two civilians on a motorbike to escape.
The order for the arrest, detention and immediate interrogation of Aloba came from Abuja after family members of the deceased wrote petitions.
The family of the victims became uneasy after the case appeared to have suddenly gone cold.
But determined to get justice for their beloved ones, they had petitioned the IGP.
The incident happened at Idimu/Igando area of Lagos State in 2013.
The two men, who were killed, were sent on an errand by their boss.
Policemen on duty along the road had attempted to flag down the motorbike rider, but he allegedly refused to stop.
Another version of the story claimed that when the policemen, who were armed, flagged down the motorbike rider, he stopped, but started riding away when they demanded for money.
The irrefutable fact however was that one of the policemen opened fire, killing the two motorbike riders of the cyclist.
It was later gathered that the Igando Police Station was almost razed down by an angry mob.
Policemen on duty however held sway.
Later, it was learnt that though the policemen were at the axis between Igando and Idimu, they were actually from Idimu Police Station, not Igando as thought by the irate mob.
The shooter, who his colleagues fingered, was detained at the Police Provost Office.
Aloba was the Officer in Charge of the Provost Office back then.
He was supposed to interrogate the corporal and put him through an orderly room trial.
He was also expected to make a recommendation, which many policemen said was usually dismissal and trial in the court for policemen who killed for unjustifiable reasons.
A police source: “In fact, we heard that the police authority recommended the killer cop for dismissal and the case file was forwarded to the Commissioner of Police.
“We forgot about the case.
“Everybody thought the corporal had been dismissed.
“Nobody knew that London, who had become DPO of Okota Police Station, allowed him to go.
“Families of victims have petitioned the IGP.
“It was when the IGP called for the corporal that problem started.”
The source added that Aloba released the corporal on bail, instructing him to be reporting every day at the Police Command.
The corporal reported twice and stopped.
The source added: “The lawyer of the victims sued the IGP, AIG, CP and DPO Idimu Police Station, where the corporal was attached to.
“When the matter reached the IGP, he instructed CP Umaru Manko to look into the case.
“The CP said he should be charged for murder, dismissed and charged to court, but suddenly the corporal was nowhere to be found.
“The present OC Provost said that the corporal had been released and that his release order was signed by London.
“London was immediately ordered to produce the corporal or be detained.
“London was also immediately replaced by another DPO at Okota Police Station.”