Our attention has been drawn to a false
publication by the Punch Newspaper of Thursday, 12th February, 2015
on page 4 with the above caption.
2. Discerning
members of the public will recall that on 10th December, 2014, Punch
Newspaper published the story of one Mr & Mrs. Ejeh Smith who were
allegedly assaulted by one Cpl. Dada Ogunsanya (as he then was) attached to
Ikoyi Division of the Lagos State Police Command. The Couple were alleged to
have been manhandled by the NCO when a cab they were riding in was flagged down
for routine checks by a team of Policemen from Ikoyi Division at the
Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge. It was in the course of this check that an altercation
ensued leading to what transpired that is already in public domain. The then
Divisional Police Officer, Ikoyi, SP Aisha Haruna on getting the information
raced down to the scene and brought all the parties to the Station for necessary
Police action. She initiated disciplinary processes against the offending
officer and instantly detained him. The matter was transferred to the Provost
Section State Command Headquarters for trial. The erring Cop was in detention
between 3rd December,2014 to 17th January, 2015 when
verdict was given to reduce him in rank from Corporal to Constable owing to the
fact that he was adjudged to have acted unprofessionally in his handling of the
matter involving Mr. & Mrs. Ejeh Smith.
3. On the
other hand, SP Aisha Haruna was queried over the matter. Her reply to that very
query is being processed by the competent authorities. These issues are all
well known to Punch.
4. In a recent
development, Mrs. Aretha Njoku, of Park View Estate Ikoyi brought Mr. Smith
Ogede Ejeh, Mathias Manga and Adamu Iliyasu to Ikoyi Division on 9/2/2015
alleging that they conspired and stole diesel at her residence and
investigations commenced. It is instructive to note that the suspects never
denied the allegation of either stealing diesel neither did Mr. Ejeh denied
receiving the stolen items from the thieves. It is a well known fact that
receiving stolen property is a criminal offence punishable under section 326 of
the criminal law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011. The suspects including Mr.
Ejeh were subsequently arranged at Magistrate Court 11, Tinubu Lagos on
12/02/2015.
5. What
is however curious is how Punch arrived at the story of Police framing up Mr.
Ejeh and taking him to Lion Building Police Division where SP Aisha Haruna is
now the DPO and alleging that Fifteen Thousand Naira (N15,000) was collected
for his bail.
The facts of the latest development is that;
ü
Mr.
Ejeh Smith and his co-suspects were brought to the Ikoyi Police Division by the
complainant;
ü
The
matter was never reported at Lion Building Police Division and Mr. Ejeh Smith
and his co-suspects were never taken there;
ü
None of
the suspects including Mr. Ejeh Smith was granted bail as the matter was
charged to Court immediately after investigations were completed.
6. Now the questions that beg for answers are as
follows:
Ø
Where
did Punch get the story linking Lion Building Police Division with the matter
from when in actual fact the matter was never reported there?
Ø
Where
did Punch get the alleged bail and collection of N15,000 story from when in
actual fact there was never a bail as the matter was charged to Court
immediately after investigation from the Ikoyi Division where the matter was
reported?
Ø
Why did
Punch not crosscheck all these falsehood and fabrication with the Command
before rushing to publish same to cast the Command in bad light before the
reading public?
Ø
Is
Punch not aware that the principle of balanced reportage entails hearing from
all parties in a matter?
7. In the
light of the above and as glaring as the bias of Punch is, the Command wishes
to advise Punch to desist from reporting falsehood just to embarrass her.
8. The
Command therefore notes that the report is not only misleading and mischievous
but smacks of blackmail intended to distract her from concentrating on the
onerous task of providing efficient security for Lagosians and indeed all that
frequently come to the Centre of Excellence especially with the fast
approaching General Elections.
DSP KEN
NWOSU
POLICE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
LAGOS STATE POLICE COMMAND
IKEJA
No comments:
Post a Comment