The Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Mr. Joel Nwachukwu Enwonwu has revealed that the escape of an alleged murderer, Sunday Shodipe from police custody gave him his career’s greatest fright.
Mr. Enwonwu explained that when he was told about the escape of Shodipe, the alleged serial killer in Akinyele Local Government Area of the state from police custody at Mokola in Ibadan, he was unable to sleep for several nights until the suspect was re-arrested by men under his command.
He exposed this while speaking on a live program on Space 90.1FM in Ibadan, Oyo State capital on Tuesday.
The notorious fugitive, who claimed to be 19 years old, evidently fled after a police officer, who was said to be off duty opened the cell for him in order to take a bath.
CP Enwonwu disclosed that the incident not only made the Inspector-General (IG) of police call him but also raised an upheaval internationally with people contacting him from the United States Of America (USA), Italy and others.
He said “It was the greatest nightmare of my life. I had sleepless nights because people were saying all sorts of things and they kept calling me, that I should be removed from my post, even though they knew that I was not the one responsible for his escape. The society was not fair to us.
“Some said he disappeared. There is nothing like disappearing. The police officer who opened the cell for him was unprofessional in his conduct, saying the suspect wanted to take a bath.
“He was not even on duty. He collected the key from another officer who was on duty and opened the cell. They are both in police custody now and they’re going to pay for it, their matters have left Command level” Enwonwu added.
The Oyo CP explained that “different people were calling me. You see, the news of Sunday Sodipe’s escape was both an embarrassment and a nightmare to me. My greatest happiness is that he escaped under my watch and he was rearrested under my watch too.”
Enwonwu also disclosed that the other men who were paraded with Sunday Sodipe are still in police custody.
“I have learned a bitter lesson with this case. The society is ruthless and unfair to us policemen. I felt sad about the reaction of our people. One policeman caused embarrassment. You definitely cannot use one person to judge the whole system. People know the truth. Was I the one holding the key? They should know that in any twelve, there is always a Judas. You can’t use only one person to judge others. I can never behave like that to others.
“For example, I cannot say that all journalists are bad. It will be unfair. I know there are so many fine and professional journalists. If one does something bad, all I need to do is just single him out. The Shodipe saga taught me a very big lesson,” he stated.
Enwonwu applauded Engineer Seyi Makinde and his cabinet for supporting the state command under him.
“Before I came into office in Oyo State, Governor Seyi Makinde had bought vehicles and upgraded so many of our facilities. Like Oliver Twist, I will still want to implore him that there are still many things we will want him to do for us. Security maintenance is a serious assignment, we need all the support we can get.”
The CP also commented on the farmers, herdsmen relationship in Oke Ogun Area of the state, stating that “We are doing our best to ensure that they continue to live in peace. We have been meeting the monarchs and others in that zone. We are not interested in persecuting or prosecuting anybody. We just want them to live in harmony.”
The Commissioner in his words, when asked for his security focus stated that “Immediately I resumed duties, I told my men what I wanted and what I expected of them. The first is that they must respect human rights. They should not harass, engage in brutality, or intimidate anybody. They should offer a quality service to the people. This is the template I operate with. And I will continue along this line.
“In addition, I added a caveat – that my Divisional Police Officers must cooperate with me along these lines. They must be friendly at all times. This is because if a policeman is friendly with the people, he will enjoy their support and this will help him to gather quality intelligence to do his work. I have tried this and it has worked for me. If any of my DPOs goes against these principles, I will do the needful.”
Enwonwu used the opportunity to pledge to the people of Oyo State that “Our Command will give you a conducive environment to do your business, we appeal for your cooperation. Our men are there at your service not only in Ibadan but all over the state.”
source Oyo Affairs
