A lawyer, Otunba Abdulwasiu Musa-Adebamowo, has denied a trending report claiming he attempted to assassinate one Chief Adebowale Kayode Emmanuel over kingship tussle in Igbooye, Lagos State.
Musa-Adebamowo, who is a Deputy Director in the Lagos State Ministry of Justice and the Head of Ewade Ruling House in Igbooye, Epe, Lagos State spoke through his counsel in a statement made available to The Eagle Online on Tuesday.
The Eagle Online had reported that Chief Kayode Emmanuel of Iredo community in Lagos State, has raised the alarm of an assassination attempt on him allegedly by a lawyer, Wasiu Musa Adebamowo, from Igbooye, Lagos State, over a kingship dispute.
The spokesperson of the Ogun State Police Command, Omolola Odutola, revealed the assassination attempt in a statement, noting that the case was reported on August 12, 2024 by Igbooye to the police.
According to the reports, Igbooye said while travelling from Ijebu Ode in Ogun State to Ikorodu in Lagos State via the Ijebu Ode/Epe Expressway, he encountered a suspicious Toyota Camry car, marked: “Oriwu One.”
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He said the car, which was initially trailing him, later double crossed him, forcefully taking his right of way.
He said as soon as he became aware that his life was in danger, he managed to scamper to safety by manoeuvring the vehicle and continued driving.
Igbooye said the suspects gave him a hot chase until he hid himself at Eredo Junction in Lagos State.
According to the complainant, he said he discovered another Lexus sports car speeding towards his car, but he changed his route towards Ijebu Ode, thereby narrowly escaping despite hearing gunshots aimed at his car by unknown assailants near Itawo Community Junction in Ogun State.
He said this prompted him to flee to Ijebu-Ode for safety, abandoning his vehicle midway on the highway.
While stating his ordeal to the Divisional Police Officer, he accused Adebamowo of threatening his life.
According to Odutola, the face-off between Igooye and Adebamowo is over who would be next king within their ruling family, though the incumbent, despite being of an advanced age, is well and alive.
Reacting in the statement on Tuesday, Counsel to Otunba Musa-Adebamowo, said, “Our Client’s attention has been drawn to an information trending on the social media a couple of days ago and credited to the Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO) Ogun State Police Command, SP Omolola Odutola to the effect that one Chief Adebowale Kayode Emmanuel has raised an allegation of an assassination attempt against our aforementioned client over a kingship dispute.
“We have our client’s instruction to inform your esteem office and indeed that of the PPRO that the said information, alarm or allegation is neither true nor correct in any material particular.
“As it would be shown below, it is rather a false information related to the Nigeria Police to mislead your said office and your officers all gear towards putting into trouble our client for no justifiable reason but for mischief concocted by the self-acclaimed Chief Kayode Adebowale who in fact and in law is a fugitive.
“It is pertinent to mention that there is no dispute between our client and Kayode Adebowale concerning the kingship of their town, Igbooye.
“Kayode Adebowale has no case in court or any dispute presented before any forum against our client concerning the Obaship of Igbooye.
“This is evident in the recent Supreme Court decision wherein the appeal filed by the deposed and therefore former Oba, Mr. Micheal Gbadebo Onakoya was struck out by the Supreme Court.
“Kayode Adebowale is not a party in that suit at all from the High Court to the Supreme Court, where the former Oba lost all through.
“Therefore, Kayode Adebowale must have deliberately come to give false information concerning the kingship of Igbooye in order to mislead the Police and to cover up his fugitive tendencies in respect of many criminal cases wherein he is already a Defendant before a Lagos State High Court or a suspect in various crimes before various Police formations in Lagos State and he is therefore on the run to escape justice.
“For that reason, the Police is already chasing him in order to arrest him having jumped administrative bail granted by the FCID, Alagbon, although a Warrant of Arrest has been issued to arrest him, a copy of which is attached as Annexure A.
“It is on record that Kayode Adebowale is the 1 st Defendant in criminal Charge No:20378C/22 for Attempted Murder of a member of the family, which case is pending before the Honourable Justice Harrison.
“A copy of the Information is attached as Annexure B, while a picture of the victim of the crime is attached as Annexure C.
“Kayode Adebowale is also the 9 th Defendant in criminal Charge No: ID/23981C/2024 with 7 counts bothering on Criminal Conspiracy, Advance Fee Fraud, Stealing and Sale of Family Land without authority at the price of Two Hundred and Thirty Million Naira (N230,000,000.00) to a company known as Grand Duke Investment Company Limited, with the company as complainant and our client being the Head of Ewade Ruling House as one of the witnesses.
“This charge arose from a complaint investigated by Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Annex, Alagbon Close, Ikoyi, Lagos State. A copy each of the Information and the Contract of Sale of land relating to the charge are hereto attached as Annexures D and E.
“Kayode Adebowale has made a statement at FCID referred to in the immediate paragraph around November/December, 2023 and was granted administrative bail but he has refused to honour subsequent invitations by the Officers of FCID, Alagbon since January, 2024 till date in breach of the administrative bail graciously granted to him by the Police.
“He has therefore been tracked on more than three occasions but efforts to arrest him have not been successful.
“Also, FCID. Alagbon was in Igbooye on more than three occasions in order to arrest him and his conspirators to facilitate their arraignment in the aforementioned charge but all to no avail.
“Hence, both the Police and residents of Igbooye including our client have been watching out for him to effect his arrest in order to make him answer to the charge.
“Thus, on Sunday, 11 th day of August, 2024 our client got an information that Kayode Adebowale was in Igbooye and in an attempt to have him arrested, our client contacted a security agency available at that material time so that the fugitive could be arrested and handed over to the nearest Police formation at Noforija or Epe, Lagos State.
“On sighting our client and the security agents, the fugitive speeded off and he was given a chase. The fugitive took off from Igbooye through Odo-Shuwola towards Epe and when he found out that he was being blocked by a truck and in order to escape the arrest by the convoy of our client he made a U-turn towards Ijebu-Ode taking one-away and escaped into Ogun state at the toll-gate and our client turned back even without entering Lagos-Ogun State boundary at the toll gate.
“Our client therefore turned back without succeeding in arresting the fugitive!
Additionally, the counsel noted that, “Our client is assertive that no attempt was made by him or anybody at the life of the fugitive and all the incident happened within Lagos State and not in Ogun State on that very day.
“One is not surprised that the fugitive did not report or make a complaint in any Police formations in Lagos state because he knew that he is being tracked and wanted by the Police on account of his aforementioned criminal exploits from which he has been running and wanting to get off by hook or by crook.
“Consequently, it is our prayer sir, that you use your good offices to ignore the unfounded allegations of an attempt to assassinate the fugitive, Kayode Adebowale by our client or anybody.
“Rather, we urge this esteem office to direct Kayode Adebowale to report himself to FCID, Alagbon, Ikoyi, Lagos State which is already on his trail and in respect of which a charge had been filed against him and only awaiting his arraignment upon his imminent arrest since no criminal can escape the Police.
“Moreover, our client being a Legal Practitioner, a Law Officer and a responsible citizen and as well as a respectable head of a ruling house, Ewade Ruling House in Igbooye, Epe has pursued his grievances against Kayode Adebowale and his cohorts in civil manner and in civil court when they started to sell the family land without his authority and thus attempted to remove him from office as the head of family as evident in the Ruling of the High Court of Lagos State reaffirming the headship of the family by our client and ordering the maintenance of status quo on all the family lands. A copy of the Ruling is attached as Annexure F.
“Also, Kayode Adebowale LOST woefully in another judgment dated 13 th day of June, 2024 in Suit No: FHC/L/CS/198/2023 delivered by the Federal High Court Lagos Division in a Fundamental Right Action wrongfully instituted by the fugitive, Kayode Adebowale.
“A copy of the judgment is attached as Annexure G, whereas a Fundamental Rights action instituted by our client against Kayode Adebowale and his group members was WON in a judgment dated 2 nd day of February, 2024. A copy of the judgment is attached as Annexure H.
“There is therefore no reason why our client will be after the life of Kayode Adebowale or attempt to assassinate him howsoever.
“More so, when our client is a law abiding citizen apart from being a Law Officer and the Head of his Ruling House.”
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