A Nigerian man, Gbolahan Lawanson (Gbolahan), has accused Assistant Inspector General of Police, Adeyinka Adeleke, of abuse of office and also dragged his brother, Ladi Lawanson, his uncle, Akin Lawanson and telecommunication giant, Globacom Limited, of illegality.
According to a petition made available to the media, Gbolahan’s trouble started when forgeries and illegal sales of some of their family assets by his elder brother, Ladi Lawanson, came to light.
It was alleged that Ladi impersonated their late dad, Chief A.O. Lawanson and forged the signature of their late mum, Patricia Lawanson, in order to deceive unsuspecting buyers of their family lands.
“I, Mr. Gbolahan Lawanson, am one of the sons of the Late Chief A.O. Lawanson of 4/8 Lawanson Road, Lawanson, Surulere, Lagos. I am a law-abiding citizen, a visible and responsible member of my community, with business interests in and around my community.
“The genesis of my travails began with the exposure of my elder brother, Mr. Ladi Lawanson, for his forgeries and illegal sale of some of the Lawanson family assets and properties. Ladi Lawanson had impersonated our Late Father in some land sale transactions and forged our Mother’s (Mrs. Patricia Lawanson) signature in order to deceive unsuspecting buyers of some land belonging to the family. I note that a significant number of my direct siblings do not reside in Nigeria, and in that regard, they are unaware of the true state of our Family assets,” he said.
Gbolahan, being the one managing the family account, explained that he advised that the assets should be handed over to his elder sister, Subusola Lassalle, after the demise of their mother.
“At a family meeting held on the 23rd of January 2022, by my direct siblings, post our mother’s funeral rites of January 21st, 2022, I, Gbolahan Lawanson was asked by my siblings present at the meeting to render financial and other accounts of the family assets being managed directly by me. I duly rendered the accounts as advised and handed the assets in my possession to my elder Sister, Subusola Lawanson Lassalle. I then noted that as part of the family assets, over three (3) acres of vast land worth the sum of N650million, company shares in various blue chip companies in our late father’s name, worth the sum of N250 million, the sum of N100 million lease rentals resulting from the lease of the family’s petrol station to Total Nigeria and the sum of N20 Million lease rentals resulting from the lease of the roof-top to the family’s property situated at No. 8 Lawanson Road, Lawanson, Surulere, Lagos, to Globacom Limited for construction of their communications mast, are all unaccounted for and were directly handled by Ladi Lawanson (Ladi).
“I indicated that Ladi should be asked to render accounts for these assets,” he wrote.
Gbolahan claimed that from the day he informed Ladi to render the stated accounts, his brother had vowed to deal decisively with him.
“I’ve not known peace since then. He boasted to me that he has ‘friends’ in the police force and that he was going to have me locked up and gotten rid of,” he revealed.
And not long after, Ladi hatched out his threats accordingly, which escalated and landed the siblings in court.
“To carry out his threat, he started with the invasion of my private quarters in the family house at 4/8 Lawanson Road, Lawanson, Surulere, Lagos, with armed thugs and unknown gun men; all in his efforts to intimidate me.
“He then started a campaign of calumny against me by maligning my character and writing false petitions of criminal and unfounded drug-related activities against me. His threats and aggression continued unabated and I was compelled to charge him to court to render accounts for the above-stated family assets which he had disposed of. The Court case/Suit Number is ID/8613GCMW/2022, at Ikeja High Court, Lagos,” he wrote.
The embattled Gbolahan also alleged that an Assistant Inspector General of Police (A.I.G), Adeyinka Adeleke, colluded with some people including members of staff of the telecommunication giant, Globacom, Vixen Enterprises and Akin Lawason’s lawyer to bring up thrumped up charges against him.
“I note that on the 24th of May, 2022, I was invited to visit the office of the Assistant Inspector General of Police (A.I.G) Adeyinka Adeleke, on the pretext that the A.I.G. wanted to meet with me and my brother.
“On my arrival to the A.I.G’s office in my courteous compliance with the received invitation, I was confronted with over eight (8) people, with some of them being unknown to me, brandishing petitions against me. The petitions had never been sighted by me. These people included representatives of Globacom Limited, Vixen Enterprises and a lawyer representing Mr Akin Lawanson.
“I am noting that Mr. Akin Lawanson is my uncle (my late Father’s brother) and I have some pending court cases with him over some of his forgery of documents. These persons present at the A.I.G.’s office, all alleged that I threatened their lives.
The acts dealt a mental blow to his sanity as Gbolahan claimed most of his accusers were unknown to him.
“I was perplexed, especially as I have not had any interactions with any of them. Without listening to my explanation or even bothering to ask for an investigation into the allegations, A.I.G Adeleke looked at me directly and said ‘I WILL DEAL WITH YOU AND TEACH YOU A LESSON’.
“He then ordered the Commander of the Monitoring Team to detain me with a “NO BAIL’ option. I was thereafter locked up in a cell at Zone 2 Police Quarters at Onikan, Lagos on the 24th of May, 2022. I was prevented from contacting my Lawyers nor was I allowed to inform my wife of my whereabouts. I was held for 20 hours at the prison cell with no access to water nor food.
“On the morning of 25th May, 2022, I was driven to Tinubu Magistrate court by six (6) heavily armed policemen and paraded like a criminal. The intention of the police was for me to be further detained at the Ikoyi Prisons pending bail application. The case has been scheduled for hearing on June 20th, 2022.
“I also note that Ladi Lawanson had informed me directly that being a former Commissioner of Transport of Lagos State, he has acolytes everywhere. In this regard, I submit that Ladi Lawanson acquired the services of A.I.G Adeyinka Adeleke and the instrumentality of the A.I.G.’s office to harass and detain me unlawfully,” he maintained.
Owing to this unpalatable experience and in a petition signed by him, Gbolahan claimed he was forced to drag all the players responsible for his travails to face the full wrath of the law.
“I am compelled to petition your good offices to help call Ladi Lawanson, A.I.G. Adeleke, Globacom Limited and Vixen Enterprises to order and to desist from further threats to me or my safety. I have been traumatized and dehumanized by their actions and I fear for my safety. All these harassments are based on my requesting Ladi Lawanson to account for the assets he wrongly disposed of, which belong to the family estate. I am petitioning Ladi Lawanson for unlawful harassment.
“In addition, A.I.G. Adeleke’s actions were not only unprofessional but also despicable and lacks moral decency. His actions also fall very short of the minimum standard expected of a professional of his calibre, especially in the Police Force. His conduct is an affront to his oath as a public official and an abuse of his office and position.
“My fervent prayer is that you kindly utilize your good offices to stop A.I.G. Adeleke, Mr. Ladi Lawanson, Mr. Akin Lawanson, Globacom Limited and Vixen Enterprises from harassing me and threatening my life. In addition, A.I.G. Adeleke should be advised not to detain me unlawfully, and he should be fully investigated for mis-use of his authority,” he submitted.
The alleged victim copied the Attorney General of Nigeria, Governor of Lagos State, Attorney General of Lagos State, The Chief Commissioner, Public Complaints Committee, Chairman of Code of Conduct Bureau, Inspector General of Police, Chairman of the Police Service Commission, the chairmen of All Progressive Congress (APC) in Lagos State and at the national level.
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator and a recipient of the D9112 Superstar Icon Award, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
