…Petitions IGP
One hundred and thirty seven landlords of Cedar Wood Gardens Estate, off SARS road, Rumuagholu, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State have petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Alkali alleging that some Police Officers are working in conjunction with a known land grabber simply identified as ‘Don’ to take over their property.
In a petition dated November 24,2022 written by their lawyer E.O Goodwill Esq which was signed by Anthony Odebe Esq and Dennis Bassey Chairman and Secretary respectively with one hundred and thirty five other landlords in the estate which was fired by our reporter, the landlords called for urgent intervention by the Inspector General of Police.
The landlords also alleged that ‘Don’ deployed Police Officers from Abuja, camped them in an uncompleted building within the estate for his illegal land grabbing scheme while they turned their abode to a detention center, confiscate items from developers and store them in the premises until their owners pay for their release.
The landlords further claimed that all these abated after an S.O.S letter was written to the Governor of Rivers State complaining about the menace of the Don in the Estate.
The landlords said ‘DON’ in alleged conjuction with some Police Officers uses strategy of petition of fabricated murder and attempted murder case against some land owners in estate as a strategy to ambush his victims and make them abandon their properties for him to grab same despite the fact that the murder allegations have been investigated by the Police to no avail.
The landlords said “it is interesting to note that this singular murder has different suspects at every point in time. The same victim is always waiting to die at the instance of ‘Don’ whenever he spots a potential landowner for his grabbing enterprise”.
They further alleged that some of the police officers involved in the racket have been given plots of land to make them very committed and devoted to the cause of ‘Don’.
“Before now the former commissioner of Police who is presently the AIG Zone 16 was able to put the said ‘Don’ in his right perspective but he has resurfaced again with his frivolous petition knowing the present Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Police Command is not aware of his antecedents. Presently two landlords of the Estate in person of Chief Collins Igwe and Mr George Peter Ndaokani were harassed, molested and bundled into a hilux van owned by the said Don and presently these men are in custody of the police” they said.
“We pray the Inspector General of Police to use his good office to order an independent panel to take over all the petitions made by Don and all the petitions written against him with respect to every landlord in Cedarwood Garden Estate; and to cause a thorough investigation of all the allegations contained therein; and prosecution of anybody found complicit.
The spokesperson for the Rivers State Police command, SP Grace Iringe Koko told our reporter she would get back to him when contacted but was yet to revert as at press time.
