apartments at Pedro police barracks, Somolu, Lagos. The eviction was said to have been ordered by a Deputy Inspector General of Police of G department, Mr. Abdulrahman Akano.
Two weeks ago, Akano allegedly visited the barracks while on an inspection tour of police stations and barracks in the state.
“As Akano approached Block two, we could hear music blaring loudly from one of the apartments. Akano enquired from his entourage the identity of the person who lived in the apartment. Egor was at home and was brought before Akano. To the surprise of everyone present, Akano ordered that he be ejected from his apartment.
“At another block, the same incident repeated itself. This time though, it was Peter’s 13-year-old brother who was home listening to sport news blaring out from the radio. Annoyed at the development, Akano ordered that Peter too be ejected from his apartment,” a source within the barracks, said.
PUNCH Metro gathered that those who witnessed the incident pleaded with Akano to show mercy. Some of the women, who were home at the time, allegedly went on their knees before Akano, pleading with him to change his mind.
It came as a shock to everyone when a letter arrived from the office of the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar Manko, on March 14, ordering that the affected occupants leave their apartments before March 20.
“No reason was given for the eviction other than that the apartments had been assigned to other policemen. The corporals in question tried everything they could, including appeals to the Area H commander to intervene on their behalf. They were told to comply with the directive as the order was beyond the purview of either the Area H commander or Manko,” the source said.
In carrying out the eviction order, five policemen on Wednesday, stormed the Pedro police barracks at about noon. They were said to be from the provost department of the Lagos State Police Command. Egor and Peter were not at home at the time. Their children were also said to be at school and their wives were also said to have gone out.
At the time, it was only women who were said to be present at the barracks and a few other policemen. Although the general feeling was one of anger and disappointment, those present felt helpless.
“It is just unfortunate that a police officer can be doing this to his subordinate. I don’t know where these men and their families are expected to live now. It is not as if they are from Lagos state. They were both working elsewhere before their redeployment to Lagos.
“Playing loud music is no offence; that is barracks life for you. Besides, those of us living in the barracks were unaware anyway that Akano was arriving that day for inspection,” the source lamented.
Egor’s wife who was away at the market returned home to discover that they had indeed being evicted. She was said to have immediately recorded the incident with her phone.
“In a strange twist, we were surprised to hear from the provost office later in the day that both families could go back into their apartments as they had been given another two weeks of grace. We were told that information had got to them that Egor’s wife had recorded events with her phone and that was why they had a change of heart,” the source said.
All attempts to get a response from the spokesperson of the Nigeria Police Force, CSP Frank Mba, proved abortive as he did not reply the calls or text messages to his telephone.
