The embattled Eze Ndigbo of Ajao Estate in Lagos State, Frederick Nwajiagu, who is being detained at the State Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Department, SCIID, Panti, Yaba, has been refused bail.
OsunDaily News recalls that Nwajiagu was arrested and detained for threatening to invite members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPoB, to help secure the property of Igbos living in Lagos dimed, yesterday after a team of lawyers and Igbo leaders pleaded in vain for his release.
It was gathered that some Igbo leaders from Lagos and the South-East had on Tuesday stormed SCIID, Panti to solicit his bail but they were told that investigation into the case was ongoing.
According to Vanguard, another team of solicitors arrived at the police department only to be told to give detectives time to carry out thorough investigations into the case.
Speaking to the platform, one of the lawyers said: “We were there in numbers and we made it clear to the police that our client had spent more than 72 hours in detention and should be granted administrative bail. But, they insisted that we should allow them to complete their investigations.
“We are still wondering whether a mere threat to invite a protective group to help aggrieved people when authorities concerned, including security agencies, woefully failed to do their duties, is such a heinous crime that will make an innocent man be so unjustly incarcerated.
“We also proceeded to police headquarters in Ikeja from Panti to seek an audience with the Commissioner of Police, but we could not see him. He was said to be in a crucial meeting but one of his aides promised to discuss it with his boss.”
Cabinet members on the run
Meanwhile, members of the Eze Ndigbo cabinet in Ajao Estate have reportedly gone into hiding following rumours that they would be arrested.
Vanguard reports that some of them had already fled from Lagos, while others have gone into hiding in remote areas of Lagos.
However, police sources said the rumour was unfounded, adding: “Detectives are still on the matter but I doubt if the case will degenerate to carrying out the mass arrest. Whatever information we need, we are capable of getting it. So, there is no cause for alarm.”
