Senator Adeola alleged that the soldiers set up checkpoints to target lone occupants of vehicles in a bid to rob them and perpetrate violence.
The chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Solomon Adeola (APC, Ogun) has alleged that soldiers of the Nigerian Army stationed at checkpoints around the Ikeja area of Lagos State are responsible for the tragic death of his Senior Aide, Mr. Adeniyi Oluwatosin Sanni, in the early hours of Saturday, August 5, 2023.
Senator Adeola’s allegation is contained in a statement issued in Abuja, on Monday, wherein he said information available to him revealed that Mr. Sanni had been stopped at a checkpoint near Ojodu-Berger in Lagos, while on his way home to Isheri.
The statement reads in part, “Information available to me on the circumstances indicates that Mr. Sanni was stopped at a checking point around Ojodu- Berger Area of Lagos on his way to his home at Isheri by “security agents” who asked him to provide the documents of the car he was driving, which he did through a call to his wife, who sent all the documents to his phone WhatsApp.
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“The wife called a while later and the late Mr. Sanni told him soldiers are still checking the vehicle papers. That was the last she heard from her husband, and the body of Mr. Sanni, ridden with bullets was later discovered at Toyota Bus Stop area of Oshodi, close to a military barrack.”
The lawmaker, who also shared updates on the investigation carried out by the Nigerian Police Force, recounted a similar incident.
“Available evidence shows that my aide had fallen victim to a group of soldiers operating under the command of Brigadier General AM Adetuyi, the newly deployed Commander of 9 Brigade, Ikeja Cantonment of the Nigerian Army.
“The soldiers were apparently engaged in setting up checkpoints and targeting lone occupants of vehicles for robbery and violence, further revealed that a similar incident took place on the night of August 17, 2023, around the same Ojodu-Berger area.
“Another individual was killed and robbed by soldiers after being stopped at a checkpoint. This individual was part of a convoy of two cars headed to the same destination.
“The first car was allowed to pass, but the second was stopped. The occupant of the first car, after realizing the second car was missing, contacted his colleague, who informed him that soldiers had taken him to Iyana Ipaja. Tragically, this individual was also found dead, echoing the circumstances of Mr. Sanni’s case,” he narrated.
Adeola appealed to the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Taoreed Lagbaja, to ensure that those involved in the death of his aide are found and prosecuted.
He equally expressed concern over similar incidents involving soldiers at late-night checkpoints around Ikeja, asserting that such rogue elements cannot be tolerated within the Nigerian Army.
As of now, Mr. Sanni’s black Toyota Camry, his phones, and other personal belongings remain missing.
