There was pandemonium on Tuesday in the Arepo area of Ogun State along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway when suspected Indian hemp peddlers attempted to evade police arrest.
Our reporter who was at the scene of the incident at Arepo Bus Stop in the afternoon observed the struggle between the police tactical team and the suspects numbering up five.
One of the suspects was seen deflating the tyres of a grey-colored Toyota Camry car with no number plate parked by the policemen who came in mufti. This happened as the officers were making efforts to handcuff the suspects.
Residents in the area who spoke with BREAKINGNG said the police team had been tracking the “roadside chemists” who doubled as drug sellers.
“I heard on radio that the police had ordered a clampdown on all of these people. These policemen had been here but the hoodlums were relaxed thinking the policemen were the regular police officers from the Warewa Division whom they could settle as usual,” a resident identified simply as John, told our reporter.
“One of the boys, wearing red clothing, is a regular Indian hemp seller. In fact, he sells to me. They will settle it. They will settle the policemen,” he added.
After some minutes, following the drama, which began around 2pm, a number of supporters had gathered in their scores and were almost overpowering the officers said to have come from outside Ogun State.
“These officers are not from this area,” a bike man at the bus stop who spoke on condition of anonymity said. “But it will be difficult for them to make arrests because the ‘Abokis’ always support themselves. You can see they are already mobilising and they are outnumbering the officers.”
“We dey always settle una for here! We dey settle everybody!” One of the hoodlums held by the officers was heard screaming as they insisted on not going with the officers.
The police officers eventually nabbed about three of the suspects, and drove away after making efforts to fix the vehicle initially grounded by some of the hoodlums.
When contacted, the Divisional Police Officer in Warewa, SP John Ayegbe, confirmed that the Division was aware of the operation of the police officers whom he said were from the Force Criminal Investigation Department.
“Of course, the policemen are from here. One came from the FCID, and I think two policemen were from outside. They were here this morning and they were booked. They should allow them to do their work. The only thing is that if they are in doubt, they should all come to this place. Because they have signed a letter from the Commissioner of Police. They are from outside the state,” he told our reporter.
