By Linus Akomolafe
Four estate guards of Brooks Estate were arrested on Saturday for allegedly obstructing and denying entrance to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu at Magodo, Isheri.
Odumosu was said to have ordered the arrest of the guards and deploy police to the spot after his convoy was stopped and barricaded while heading for a security meeting with statesmen in the estate.
The arrest led to outcry on social media from residents adding that the estate was locked down.
In a statement tagged “Brooks estate not locked down by Lagos CP” and signed by Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Adekunle Ajisebutu on Sunday, the command clarified that the CP did not lock down the estate as speculated on social media.
According to the statement: “On reaching the Estate gate, he was properly introduced notwithstanding the visible security details in uniform including a dispatch rider in his convoy, yet he was prevented from entering the Estate by some overzealous private security guards.”
“In spite of this deliberate humiliation, the senior police officer remained calm. When it became obvious that the security men were going overboard, the CP after about 30 minutes of humiliation, ordered the arrest of four of the security men, leaving one.
Condemning the act, Ajisebutu stated that the internal security arrangements of the estates and other public places nonetheless, the statutory powers of the police to have unfettered access to public places must be acknowledged and respected.
He therefore advised on managements of estates in the state to constantly brief private security guards in this regard. And that any restriction deliberately put in the way of the police in any of the estates will not be tolerated.
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