Kwara lawyer alleges police intimidation after accusing Tinubu’s ADC of land grabbing

A lawyer, Nurudeen Abdulsalam, has accused the Kwara State Police Command of attempting to intimidate him after he publicly accused Lieutenant-Colonel Nurudeen Yusuf, the aide-de-camp to President Bola Tinubu and the Elemona of Ilemona, of abuse of power and promoting land grabbing by his community.

The lawyer is from Offa, a neighbouring community to Ilemona in Kwara State. The two communities, respectively the headquarters of Offa and Oyun LGAs, have a history of land disputes.

Mr Abdulsalam, who chairs the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Gwagwalada Branch, Abuja, said about 10 police officers were deployed from Kwara State to Abuja to arrest him following his complaint against the traditional ruler.

In a statement dated 3 November, the lawyer said he received a phone call at about 11:55 a.m. from a person who identified himself as an officer at the Kwara State Police Headquarters.

He said the caller told him a police team had arrived in Abuja and was stationed at the Gwagwalada Police Division for investigation, and asked him to report immediately.

Mr Abdulsalam alleged that the officers were acting on the directives of the Kwara State Commissioner of Police, with the FCT Commissioner of Police also expected to assist in his arrest.

He said he requested a formal invitation from the police if they required his presence for an investigation.

“I have neither fled nor gone into hiding,” he said.

The lawyer described the alleged deployment of police officers across state lines as an attempt to intimidate him over a private dispute involving Mr Yusuf.

He also alleged that public resources and security personnel were being diverted to protect the traditional ruler’s interests while communities in Kwara continued to face insecurity.

PREMIUM TIMES could not independently verify the lawyer’s allegations about the police deployment or the circumstances surrounding the reported phone call.

Earlier allegations

The latest allegations follow an open letter Mr Abdulsalam issued 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 position, royal status and political connections to exert influence over land disputes involving Ilemona and neighbouring communities, particularly Offa and Ira.

He alleged that armed youths from Ilemona had been seizing land and intimidating residents, with the police and judiciary allegedly being used to harass people who resisted the actions.

Mr Abdulsalam cited the case of a man he identified as Gani Agidingbadi, whom he said was arrested while working on his farmland in Alaya and taken to Ilemona over a disputed land ownership claim.

He alleged that the man was subsequently charged with illegal possession of a firearm and remained in detention.

In his 3 November statement, however, Mr Abdulsalam referred to another resident, Suwara Agindingbadi, whom he said remained in custody on what he described as fabricated charges.

The lawyer also alleged that Offa youths, including Kamal Lawal and Taye Lateef, had been assaulted over land disputes and accused the authorities of failing to address the matter effectively.

He further claimed that a judge had told victims in open court to go and beg Mr Yusuf. The lawyer did not provide details of the court proceedings or identify the judge in the statement.

Calls for investigation

Mr Abdulsalam said the latest incident reinforced his earlier allegations that state institutions were being deployed to settle private disputes involving the traditional ruler.

READ ALSO: Penta-3 vaccine coverage in Kwara rises to 50.4% – Official

He described the alleged police action as an abuse of executive power and said he would continue to demand 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 Command spokesperson, Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, for comments on the allegations were unsuccessful, as her telephone number was unreachable at the time of filing this report.