Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola has directed the Office of the Public Defender, OPD, to commence legal action against the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, over the unlawful arrest of eight residents of Ejigbo, following the discovery of petroleum substances in their well.
During a raid on the area last week, the NSCDC invaded No.17 and 30, Aminatu Ilo Street, Ejigbo, arresting eight persons, including a pregnant woman on the allegation that they dug their well to the level of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, pipeline which runs through Ejigbo area, so that some of the fuel running through the pipes would divert into their wells.
Against this notion, Governor Fashola directed the OPD to take legal action against the NSCDC to claim damages for the affected people, frowning at the action of the corps in arresting innocent people indiscriminately.
According to the director of OPD, Mrs. Omotola Rotimi, who was the head of the team that visited the affected area on Monday to interact with the people arrested by NSCDC, the arrests of the residents and relations of the two houses at Aminatu Ilo Street whose houses were polluted with petroleum substance was faulty.
Rotimi noted that Fashola directed the OPD to take up legal action against the NSCDC as the governor was displeased with the action taken by the corps on innocent people, noting that the OPD had since secured the release of the arrested persons, but that it is suing for damages.
The OPD director noted that she spoke with the owners of the two houses, who claimed that they notified Ejigbo Police Station when they noticed that petroleum substance was coming out of their well instead of water.
The residents said that the Police took them to NNPC to make an official report of the spillage, adding that the NNPC came to take samples from the well and sealed it off with the promise that they would return on Monday, August 26, 2013, only for NSCDC to arrest them on Saturday, August 24 and that all appeals to NSCDC that the matter had been officially reported to the appropriate quarters fell on deaf ears.
