A lawyer, Nurudeen Abdulsalam, has accused the Kwara State Police of trying to intimidate him after he publicly claimed that Lieutenant-Colonel Nurudeen Yusuf, the aide-de-camp to President Bola Tinubu and the Elemona of Ilemona, abused his power and promoted land grabbing in his community.
Mr Abdulsalam is from Offa, which is close to Ilemona in Kwara State. Both towns are the headquarters of Offa and Oyun Local Government Areas and have a long history of land disputes.
Mr Abdulsalam, who is the chair of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Gwagwalada Branch in Abuja, said about 10 police officers were sent from Kwara State to Abuja to arrest him after he complained about the traditional ruler.
In a statement dated 3 November, the lawyer said he got a phone call around 11:55 a.m. from someone claiming to be an officer at the Kwara State Police Headquarters. He said the caller informed him that a police team had arrived in Abuja and was at the Gwagwalada Police Division for an investigation, urging him to report immediately.
Mr Abdulsalam alleged that the officers were following orders from the Kwara State Commissioner of Police, with the FCT Commissioner of Police also expected to help with his arrest. He requested a formal invitation from the police if they needed him for an investigation.
“I have neither fled nor gone into hiding,” he stated.
The lawyer described the alleged deployment of police officers across state lines as a way to intimidate him over a private dispute involving Mr Yusuf. He also claimed that public resources and security personnel were being misused to protect the interests of the traditional ruler while people in Kwara continued to face insecurity.
PREMIUM TIMES could not independently verify the lawyer’s claims about the police deployment or the phone call he received.
These latest claims come after an open letter Mr Abdulsalam wrote on 27 October, titled A Call Against Impunity: The Overreach of the ADC to the President, Elemona of Ilemona Community of Kwara State.
In the letter, he accused Mr Yusuf of using his military rank, royal status, and political connections to influence land disputes involving Ilemona and nearby communities, especially Offa and Ira.
He alleged that armed youths from Ilemona had been taking land and intimidating residents, while the police and judiciary were used to harass those who resisted.
Mr Abdulsalam mentioned a man named Gani Agidingbadi, who he said was arrested while farming in Alaya and taken to Ilemona over a land ownership dispute. He alleged that Gani was charged with illegal possession of a firearm and still remains in detention.
In his statement on 3 November, Mr Abdulsalam also referred to another resident, Suwara Agindingbadi, who he claimed was held on what he called false charges. The lawyer further alleged that Offa youths, including Kamal Lawal and Taye Lateef, were assaulted over land disputes and accused the authorities of not handling the situation properly.
He claimed that a judge told victims in court to go and plead with Mr Yusuf. The lawyer did not provide further details about the court case or name the judge involved.
Mr Abdulsalam said the latest incident showed that state institutions were being used to resolve private disputes involving the traditional ruler. He called the police actions an abuse of executive power and said he would keep demanding accountability.
“As a legal practitioner and a Branch Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), I will not be cowed by gunboat tactics or the unconstitutional misuse of executive power,” he said.
Mr Abdulsalam signed the statement as the founding partner of Lawgem LP and chairman of the NBA Gwagwalada Branch.
Efforts by PREMIUM TIMES to reach the Kwara State Police spokesperson, Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, for comments on the allegations were unsuccessful, as her phone number was unreachable when this report was filed.
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