Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Tuesday exchange words with a chief superintendent of police following the lingering land dispute at Magodo Phase II Estate.
The governor was forced to the scene after residents began protesting against the presence of the police at the estate.
The protesters decried the invasion of the estate by a team of policemen alleged to be providing security for court bailiffs said to have sealed some property in the enforcement of a Supreme Court judgement in favour of the Adeyiga family.
Mr Sanwo-Olu arrived at the estate with some members of his cabinet, including the commissioner for justice and attorney-general of the state, Moyosore Onigbanjo, and the commissioner for information and strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, among others.
Sanwo-Olu told the yet-to-be-identified CSP who led the police team on the operation from Abuja to vacate the estate but the CSP said he was sent by the attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and inspector general of police.
“Can you call your superior in Abuja and tell them that the governor is here, and I am the chief security officer, and that you don’t have any business being in my state right now and that I want you to disengage forthwith from here?” Sanwo-Olu said.
Wearing a green shirt, the policeman said, “I am here on the instruction of the inspector general of police through the AGF. I am too small or too low to call them. Your Excellency sir, with due respect sir, you can call them directly sir so that they can tell us to come.”
Sanwo-Olu asked the CSP to give an account of the number of policemen at the estate.
“I have several of them, sir. I cannot precisely tell you how many we are,” the CSP replied. “I know the number of my men here sir, we sought for some other people to join us. But for security purpose, I cannot say this is the figure, sir.”
Sanwo-Olu thereafter declared the operation as illegal, saying he would speak again with the AGF on the matter.
