Gunshots, Frame-Ups, Extortion: Lagos Community Accuses Police Officer of Terrorising Residents
Investigation has uncovered disturbing allegations of unchecked violence, extortion, intimidation, harassment and criminal conducts levelled against a serving police inspector, Kolawole Olanrewaju Olopade, attached to the CP Tactical Squad Ijegun (AP No. 229055), who, residents of Ijegun and Ikotun in Lagos accused of running a one-man regime of fear under the guise of law enforcement.
Multiple residents and business owners said the police Inspector popularly known as Olopade has operated with impunity for years despite repeated complaints. Though reportedly redeployed earlier in the year, he allegedly refused to leave and continued to parade himself as “Commander” of the CP Tactical Squad, Ijegun. His Toyota Camry “Muscle”, with an Abuja registration number, carries a customised plate: Federal 1.
Residents say this self-acclaimed ‘commanderhood’ has allowed him to intimidate and extort businesses across Ijegun, Ikotun, Governor Road and the environs, often under the pretext of offering “protection”. “He is like a demigod here—feared, untouchable and worshipped,” one resident said, insisting on anonymity for fear of reprisal.
Sources allege the officer is also a cultist and openly brandishes an assortment of weapons—including a cut-to-size AK-47 rifle and two Beretta pistols while moving around the neighbourhood. Several witnesses say he periodically fires shots into the air to “announce his presence,” triggering panic and intimidation.
A source at Petrocam petrol station, Ijegun Road, confirmed an incident on Monday, 1 December, around 10.15 p.m., when the inspector allegedly drove into the station and fired shots into the air. Workers initially feared a robbery until they recognised “the popular policeman.” He was not on official assignment for the station.
A traditional ruler in the locality, according to residents, has also expressed frustration that despite repeated complaints, the officer continues to operate “unchecked.”
One of the most serious allegations dates back to 2024, when Inspector Olopade allegedly shot a long-time acquaintance, known locally as Alowonle, during a midnight raid. The raid was justified as a search for a “stolen generator,” but sources said the attack stemmed from a personal grievance: the victim had reportedly advised a woman in an abusive relationship with the inspector to leave him.
Olopade allegedly shot the man in the leg, bundled him into his vehicle, and later released him to seek treatment. No charges relating to stolen property were ever filed.
Victims also recount cases of staged arrests. A young phone seller was allegedly set up when a stranger believed to be acting on the inspector’s instructions—approached him under the guise of inspecting a handset. As the phone was handed over, Olopade and his team swooped on the seller, accusing him of handling stolen goods. The young man was reportedly tortured with a pestle inside a cell, leaving him with permanent leg damage.
Another resident described how he was abducted from a hotel on his street by a team led by the inspector, acting on what later turned out to be a fabricated petition at Zone 2 Police Command. He said he was forced to pay ₦800,000 before release. The money and his seized wristwatch were later returned after he approached officers at the AIG’s office who summoned the purported prosecuting unit.
Residents say the officer has perfected a pattern: demand for money, threat of arrest, staging of evidence, and fabricated allegations—tactics that have left many business owners, hoteliers and artisans paying routinely out of fear.
Several residents revealed that for months they assumed the harassment came from the Tactical Squad as a whole. “But we later realised it was just one bad egg,” a hotel operator said. “Yet nobody has been able to stop him.”
When contacted for comment, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Adebisi couldn’t respond to a call and message as at press time.
Residents and business owners have urged the Lagos State Police Commissioner, the state government, the Police Service Commission and the top hierarchy of the Nigeria Police Force to intervene before the situation escalates further.
