Police Arraign NURTW Leader, Shamsideen Oladiti for Murder at Ebute Metta Court
…Case Adjourned to October 28 as Angry Protesters Storm Court Premises
A 55-year-old transport union leader, Shamsideen Oladiti, popularly known as Shamelon, was on Tuesday arraigned before an Ebute Metta Magistrate Court by the Lagos State Police Command over allegations of assault and murder.
Oladiti, a well-known National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) figure on Lagos Island, was brought to court amid tight security after being transferred from the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti-Yaba, where detectives had been conducting investigations into the matter.
He was arraigned before Magistrate Mrs. Akinde of Court 2, Ebute Metta, on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, grievous harm, and murder. His plea was not taken.
The case, prosecuted by Superintendent of Police (SP) Anthony Iyeye, was adjourned to October 28, 2025, while the magistrate ordered that the case file be duplicated and forwarded to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice within 30 days. Oladiti was remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre pending further directives.
According to the charge sheet, Count One alleges that on August 27, 2025, at about 10:00 a.m. on Lewis Street, Lagos Island, the defendant unlawfully assaulted one Imam Ramon, who later died at the Lagos Island General Hospital on September 17, 2025. The offence contravenes Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
Count Two accuses Oladiti and others still at large of conspiring to commit grievous harm, an offence under Section 411 of the same law, while Count Three alleges that they unlawfully beat one Omale Samuel, causing him grievous bodily harm, contrary to Section 245.
The atmosphere at the court was tense as scores of angry protesters, believed to be residents of Epetedo community on Lagos Island, thronged the premises with placards demanding justice for the slain Imam Ramon. The protesters chanted slogans and decried what they described as “delayed justice.” It took the swift intervention of armed police operatives to restore order.
A representative of the angry youths who identified himself as Abdul Rasaq Hafiz said he grew up with the deceased in Lagos Island. He called on all appropriate authorities including the police to expedite justice on the matter.
He insisted that there were two instances of Oladiti’s violent behaviour and only justice would assuage the wounds. He called on government to focus on both cases and not just the dispatch rider incident.
Earlier reports indicated that Oladiti was arrested on September 19 following a series of violent incidents linked to him.
In the aftermath of the incidents, tensions flared in the Sandgrouse Market area, where sympathisers of the deceased allegedly set ablaze two motorcycles belonging to Oladiti.
