Yet-to-be-made-public Police Inspector and Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) who were alleged to have caused the murder of rising football star with Ogun state-based Remo Stars Football Club, Kazeem Tiamiyu, popularly known as Kaka last Saturday, have been reportedly dismissed and detained for trial by the Nigeria Police Force.
Recall that the two men of Special Anti-Robbery Squads (SARS) at Obada-Oko in Abeokuta had travelled several kilometres away to Sagamu, another city in the State to effect arrest of the footballer for unknown offence which snowballed to the murder of the promising footballer along Sagamu-Abeokuta expressway whom the SARS operative claimed to have been killed by oncoming vehicle when the footballer attempted to evade arrest.
But, developing events after the death of the footballer proved the men of Special Anti-Robbery Squads (SARS) culpable as the deceased parents and several eye witnesses who witnessed the arrest and death of Kaka alleged that the issue was a clear case of murder on the part of the officers who effected the arrest.
Reacting to the ugly incident, Mohammed Adamu, the Inspector General of Police announced immediate dismantling of all zonal intervention squads of SARS created by the 12 Zonal Assistant Inspectors-General in the country and collapsed them under the watch and control of Commissioners of Police in all the 36 States and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
The Inspector-General of Police during a visit to parents of the deceased in Sagamu in company of Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, and Peter Ogunyonwo, Deputy Inspector General in charge of Criminal Investigations Department at the Force Headquarters, said, “I can tell you that the name of your son remains indelible in the history of Nigeria Police.
“I have a signal here and it was based on the incident, the IG immediately ordered that all satellite offices established by all zonal commands; the twelve zones, that they should be dismantled immediately.
“And all those offices be handed over to the various Commissioners of Police of the Commands. Even as a Deputy Inspector General of Police, who has served the Police for over 34 years, I have not been able to influence that but your son has done that to us.”
Meanwhile, Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has appealed to the people of Sagamu to be law-abiding and not give opportunity to criminals to perpetuate their acts in the town, pledging to use every instrument of government available to unearth the circumstances of the killing and crisis that engulfed in the town as a result of the killing of the footballer, Tiamiyu Kazeem.
“We will use every means possible not only to ensure that justice is served, but that it is seen to have been served. We’ll work to ensure that this will be the last of such avoidable deaths in the hands of security officers in our state,” he vowed.
Governor Abiodun, who was accompanied by the Deputy Inspector General, the Commissioner of Police in Ogun State, Kenneth Ebrimson and the State Director of state security service, David Tuska to pay a condolence visit to the parents of the footballer, pleaded with the people not to take laws into their hands.
“Let us continue to preach peace. Let’s be law abiding and discourage those that want to take advantage of the situation to commit crimes. The incident caused a lot a lot of pain to us and that is why we are here to condole with you. God allows this incident for a reason. I want to assure you that since it happened, we have left no stone unturned. We are closely monitoring the situation,” he said.
The mother of the deceased, Selimot Tiamiyu, while narrating the incident that led to her son’s death, said he was neither a robber nor a fraudster, but a young man who made a living playing football.
Receiving the Governor in his palace, the Akarigbo of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Ajayi, called for more police divisions to cope with the size of the town.
He appreciated the State government for its efforts at restoring peace since the incident happened last weekend.
RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta
