51-year old Alaka Abayomi, an Independent Oil marketer who was arrested in connection with the recently uncovered badoo shrine has accused the Lagos State Police of framing him.
On Tuesday, August 1st, the Lagos state police command said it had discovered a shrine in Ikorodu that was allegedly being used by members of the dreaded cult group, Badoo.
Abayomi, who happens to be the owner of the shrine, was arrested and interrogated by the police for allegedly using the shrine to carry out the group's nefarious activities.
The accused has, however, come out to say he never confessed to the police either verbally or in writing, that he was a member of the dreaded cult group or that his shrine was being used by the secret cult members.
In a statement released by his lawyers yesterday, Abayomi said that two weeks ago, he was invited over by the police for questioning and that when he honored the invitation, he was asked if he was a member of the cult group and he said no.
He, however, informed them that he had a shrine in Agbowa town in Ikorodu.
He was released and allowed to go back home. Abayomi said he was shocked to see some armed police men in his apartment in Magodo on Monday, July 31st. and told him that the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Edgar, wants to see him and that he followed them.
"On getting to the State Command, I was detained and no one told me what my offence was. The following day, they brought me out, put me in a vehicle with pressmen and asked me to take them to my dedicated traditional place of worship at Agbowa in Ikorodu and I took them there, they searched everywhere and found nothing incriminating.
"That traditional place of worship has been there for over 30 years and there are over 100 traditional places of worship in Ikorodu alone and they found nothing in that place, yet they tagged me a murderer and a member of Badoo cult group.
"Tell me if I belong to Badoo cult group, will they release me? And for 30 years, I have lived in Ikorodu, people know I am a business man and they know the kind of business I do so who exactly is sponsoring the police to tarnish my good name that I have built for a long time?" Abayomi queried.
In a video interview at a radio station he also blasted the Lagos Police for acting on fake rumours, saying this is the first time he will ever see Policemen arresting a suspect based on rumours
"No petition, no allegation, no evidence, Just a litte evidence, they didn't see, and they went ahead to put me on TV. They should have interrogated me and asked my side of the story", Abayomi told pressmen in Yoruba. Watch the video below:
A statement from his lawyer also reads:
"Surprisingly, on the 30th July, 2017 at about 10 p.m., some armed policemen invaded the residence of Alhaji Alaka Abayomi in Magodo, Lagos. They informed him that the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Edgal, wanted to see him. When all entreaties to allow him come the following day failed, he followed them. When they arrived at the command, instead of taking him to see the DCP Edgal, he was taken to the cell. Nobody told him why he was being detained.
"The following morning, the 31th July, 2017, he was brought out from the cell into a waiting vehicle in a convoy and was told to take them to his sacred place in Agbowa town, Ikorodu, Lagos. When they arrived there, the policemen searched everywhere. Nobody told him what they were looking for. They had pressmen in their company. At the end of the search, nothing incriminating of any kind was found at the place. They returned to the Lagos State Police Command Headquarters where he was detained until about 4pm on the 1st of August, 2017 when he was released.
For the avoidance of doubt, Alhaji Alaka Abayomi is a legitimate businessman with Business. It must be noted at this point that from his arrest on the 30th July, 2017 to his release on the 1st August, 2017 he was never asked anything about the killing of anybody in Ikorodu neither was any statement obtained from him in connection with that.
Throughout his first invitation by the Police and his subsequent arrest and release, he was never shown any petition nor confronted with anything or by anybody linking him with anything Badoo Cult. He was arrested, detained and after the execution of the search, released from custody. Alhaji Alaka Abayomi is a legitimate businessman with business concerns in Ikorodu for over 20 years and has never been in any way whatsoever connected or linked with the Badoo Cult or the gruesome and mindless killings going on in Ikorodu, Lagos by the Badoo Cult,".
The Lagos state police command is yet to react to this development.
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