The Lagos State Police Command has said it did not arrest some young men for playing ludo in the Aboru area of the state as claimed.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Benjamin Hundeyin explained in a statement.
He said, “Following repeated complaints from residents of Harmony Estate, Aboru, Lagos about the activities of young men in the habit of converging around the entrance of the estate in the morning and night gambling, selling/smoking hard drugs, harassing/hindering free movement of residents and extorting passers-by, operatives of the Command drawn from Area P, Alagbado carried out a thorough surveillance of the area and subsequently stormed the area at about 0800 hours on Thursday, February 29, 2024, to arrest the miscreants.
“A total of eight suspects were arrested with substances, suspected to be hard drugs, resulting in the blockage of road by other miscreants who demanded the release of their cohorts before the Police could leave the vicinity.
“The miscreants equally assaulted the officers, who, however, called for and received reinforcement, enabling them to successfully move the suspects and exhibits to the station.
“Further investigations at the station proved that four of the eight arrested were not culpable.
“They were, therefore, freed while the remaining four, Afolabi Joshua ‘m’ aged 24, Isaiah Omogbolahan ‘m’ aged 25, Oluwadamilare Kayode ‘m’ aged 38 and Friday Anamaliu ‘m’ aged 40, were arraigned on March 1, 2024 at Ejigbo Magistrate Court and remanded by the court in prison custody till March 25, 2024.
“News making the rounds that the suspects were arrested for playing Ludo game are entirely false and only brought up by some of the miscreants, who managed to escape, in a bid to change the narrative and divert attention from the real issues.
“The Lagos States Police Command will not succumb to social media blackmail, and would continue to uphold its mandate to maintain law and order, and protect the lives and property of Lagosians.”