By Gloria Fraser. MFR
Rights groups have demanded the immediate disclosure of the whereabouts of the prime suspect in the killings of Mr Sheriff Ishola Salami and Prince Kazeem Ademola Akinloye, warning that the alleged failure to enforce a valid remand order could undermine public confidence in Nigeria’s justice system.
Salami was reportedly ambushed and killed in Moba, Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State, on April 18, 2023, while Akinloye was allegedly murdered along Chevron Drive on August 26, 2024.
Headlinenews.News had earlier reported the arrest and arraignment of the suspect, who is accused of masterminding both killings.
At a press conference on Friday, representatives of the Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights and the Campaign for Democracy alleged that the suspect was not admitted into the Ikoyi Correctional Centre despite an order by Justice Muyideen of the Igbosere High Court remanding him there pending further proceedings.
President of the Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights, Comrade Alex Omotehinse, described Ajiran as a community paralysed by fear and said residents now “sleep with one eye open.”
According to him, once the court issued the remand order, responsibility for the suspect’s custody transferred from the police to the Nigerian Correctional Service, making compliance mandatory rather than discretionary.
Omotehinse alleged that correctional officials declined to receive the suspect on medical grounds without a court-certified medical report or a formal application seeking variation of the remand order.
“No medical documentation of the prime suspect’s alleged ill health was certified by the court. No formal application was made for a variation of the order, and his whereabouts remain unknown,” he said.
He warned that the development appeared to go beyond an administrative lapse and could amount to a deliberate attempt to frustrate the administration of justice.
Campaign for Democracy Secretary Femi Lawson also described the situation as disturbing, arguing that a suspect facing allegations involving capital offences should not be removed from lawful custody without transparent judicial authorisation.
Lawson alleged that evidence connected to the case had surfaced on social media and was being discussed by content creators despite being before the courts.
“We cannot take justice away from the courtroom and place it before ring lights,” he said, calling on the Inspector-General of Police to order an independent investigation into the conduct of officers connected with the case.
The groups also urged the Minister of Interior and the Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service to investigate why the Ikoyi facility allegedly rejected the suspect.
They demanded that his whereabouts be disclosed within 48 hours, insisting that correctional institutions must not operate separate standards for influential suspects and ordinary citizens.
Contacted on Sunday, the Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Command of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Osho Onimisi, said he would verify the allegations.
“I will have to get more information on this tomorrow,” he told Headlinenews.News.
The controversy now raises a larger question for the authorities: whether a subsisting court order can be displaced by undocumented administrative action. Until the suspect’s custody status is officially clarified, concerns over transparency, judicial authority and equal treatment before the law are likely to intensify.
The National Patriots has called for the immediate disclosure of the whereabouts of the prime suspect in the Ajiran double murder case, stressing that respect for court orders is fundamental to the rule of law. The group urged the Inspector-General of Police, the Minister of Interior and the Nigerian Correctional Service to ensure full transparency, accountability and due process, warning that public confidence in the justice system depends on the equal application of the law without fear, favour or compromise.
Headlinenews.News Special Investigative Desk.
