Nigerians on X have knocked Benjamin Hundeyin, spokesman for the Lagos Police Command, over his reaction to FIJ’s report on the whereabouts of Ayomide Adeleye, a 23-year-old man who confessed to killing Christianah Idowu, his friend.

A highly-placed prison source had told FIJ that there were two persons bearing ‘Ayomide Adeleye’ in their custody, but none was charged with murder and both had since been freed.

“We had one in Ikoyi and one in Kirikiri Medium, but they are no longer with us here. They have been released. None of them was charged with murder or kidnapping,” said the source.

“There is no Ayomide Adeleye in any prison in Lagos. Maybe you should ask the police because they are the ones who obtained the remand warrant.”

FIJ then made several attempts to reach Hundeyin, but he did not respond to calls or messages. Muyiwa Adejobi, the Force Public Relations Officer, promised to find out and get back to FIJ but he never did.

However, on X on Monday evening, Hundeyin shared a statement Umar Abubakar, spokesman for the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), signed insisting the service had Adeleye in its maximum security prison, Kirikiri, Lagos, and accused FIJ of sensationalism.

This move did not go down well with Nigerians who expected Hundeyin and the NCoS to produce pictures and video evidence that Adeleye was in custody over the weekend. Instead, Hundeyin referred to Daniel Ojukwu, the FIJ reporter who authored the story, as “low-budget Fisayo” [Soyombo], drawing the opporbrium of X users.

Some of the users, such as B_Pastor, Ibitoye Philp, Solesky, Julian and Justadey, asked the NCoS to strengthen their rebuttal with “undeniable evidence of Adeleye’s remand”.

“Why is it hard for you guys to show video evidence?” one said.

“‘A confessed killer is not in prison custody as he should be’. Our dear police spokesperson: whips out a press statement with a foolish caption to dismiss the allegation. I’m sure cameras don’t function in the NCS facilities,” said another.

“This is highly disrespectful to the image maker of the Lagos state police command. You threw your professionalism in the bin by going this route. Besides, show us video evidence and stop the article of no commercial value you are doing here,” read another comment.

Another X user added: “Show us evidence of the murderer,” while yet another said: “When you ask for evidence now, it will be a different story.”

Michael Oyewole, another X user, demanded why the NCoS refused to provide FIJ with answers when contacted for the report.

READ ALSO: CONFIRMED: Confessed Killer Ayomide Adeleye Not in Prison, Never Remanded for Murder

Some others questioned the professionalism of Hundeyin’s response, with one even branding the force Hundeyin works for as “low-budget policing”.

They stated that Nigeria lacks a professional police force and addressed the credibility of the statement issued by the NCoS.

READ ALSO: 5 Months After Ayomide Adeleye Killed Christianah Idowu, He Should Be in Prison But…

Segun Adebayo and others wrote: “I think you should be sanctioned for tweeting in this manner! You are the image maker of a serious organisation like the police and you are joining issues in a manner that parades as unprofessional and uncouth”; “We do not have a professional police organisation in Nigeria”; “Is the official handle of a state police spokesperson supposed to pass out information with the caption he used below”; “Shame on you, Ben. In your line of work, sense should dictate that there are some things you can think in your head but not express publicly. You’re supposed to be the image maker of a force that barely has any image left in the public eye. Shame.”

According to the NCoS, Adeleye is detained in Kirikiri on the orders of the Ogba Magistrate Court pending the advice of the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP).

It further claimed that while there was an inmate with a similar name, the person has since been discharged in April. FIJ’s report detailed that insiders in the NCoS revealed there were two people detained in their Lagos facilities, but as of press time, both had left. This statement confirms this part of the report, but the service insists Adeleye never left its facilities.

“To set the records straight,” the NCoS statement reads, “The said inmate aged 23 years with Custody Number: S-1995/24 was remanded at the Maximum Security Custodial Centre (MSCC), Kiri-Kiri, Lagos, for the offence of kidnapping and murder on the 26th September 2024 by Magistrate Court 13A, Ogba, Lagos state, and was produced to the same court on 16 December 2024.

“On the said date he was produced in court, the presiding magistrate ordered that he remain in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service pending advice by the Department[sic] of Public Prosecution (DPP).”
The post ‘Low-Budget Policing’ — PRO Benjamin Hundeyin Savaged Over Killer Ayomide Adeleye’s Whereabouts appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.