Lagos State Police Commissioner Abiodun Alabi ordered the transfer of all attached policemen to Ajiwe Police Division, Ajah.
State police spokesman Benjamin Hundeyin revealed that the divisional police officer at the station had also been changed.
Hundeyin said that the shacks around the station had been dismantled, adding that similar measures would be replicated in all divisions of the state.
The development was a sequel to research by PUNCH Subway about how Ajah police officers were caught consuming alcohol after patronizing vendors at the division facility.
Our correspondent visited the police station last Tuesday around 10 am and shared his findings with the police spokesman that day while seeking a reaction.
In a report released later Monday, PUNCH Subway exposed how some of the agents got drunk with alcohol on the premises of the police station.
One of the two officers, who was sitting near a hairdressing salon attached to a building next to the station, was seen with a glass of beer, which he drank at intervals.
A policeman was seen among another group of officers hiding under a shed adjacent to the station drinking a canned alcoholic beverage with a pistol strapped to his waist.
While some vendors around the police station put some of the alcoholic beverages within the officer’s reach, other officers kept out of prying eyes by walking a distance to patronize other vendors.
After observing this for almost an hour, a handsome-looking officer, who had been seen earlier walking down the corridor of the station, signaled to our correspondent.
Close contact with him showed that he was drunk, as his body reeked of alcohol.
While this reporter thought he was going to be questioned about his presence around the police station, the policeman, sounding incoherent, asked for a sum of N200.
Out of curiosity, the reporter gave him N1,000 pending his balance.
The officer immediately took him to a vendor, bought a bag of alcoholic beverages, and drank it on the spot, while the vendor delivered the rest.
PUNCH Subway He also learned that police officers made regular visits to some liquor vendors behind a car park under the Ajah Bridge, where Raheem was shot dead.
Visiting the site and mingling with some of the street urchins, our correspondent watched as they waved at some of the policemen, who came to patronize a customer spotted on a corner under the bridge.
It was also known that most of the police officers had been in the area for a long time and refused to be transferred.
Our reporter’s investigation followed the murder of a pregnant lawyer, Bolanle Raheem, by a police deputy superintendent, Drambi Vandi, who was attached to the station.
Two weeks before that shooting, an inspector, Imeh Johnson, attached to the division, also shot dead another resident, Gafaru Buraimoh, who was on his way to buy fuel.
Lagos State Police PR officer Benjamin Hundeyin while reacting to PUNCH SubwayThe report in a statement on Monday through his Twitter drive, announced the dismantling of the shacks in the station facilities and the transfer of officers.
He said, “The new DPO Ajah, CSP Adolf Ogwu, had dismantled all the shacks around the police station earlier in the week. In addition, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Abiodun Alabi, fdc has already effected the transfer of all division personnel, with replacement from other divisions. This would fully materialize in a couple of days.
“While we appreciate @MobilePunch for the exposure, we encourage more Lagos residents to, as usual, say something every time they see something, as this would translate to a better police experience for everyone. Remember, safety is everyone’s business.”
Hundeyin, in a telephone interview with subway slam, He said: “Wherever there are reports of alcoholism, a similar method will be replicated. All we have to do is give marching orders to our DPOs across the state to make sure that what the DPO has done in Ajah is also replicated in their areas of responsibility if there is a similar problem,” he added.
But a lawyer and human rights activist, Inibehe Effiong, described the transfer order as window dressing.
He said: “There is a climate of impunity in that particular police station. The truth of the matter is that the police are not serious about the reforms. What the Police Commissioner has done is just window dressing. He knows that this is not the solution. If officers are caught drinking while on duty, it is misconduct under the Police Act.”
Meanwhile, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has expressed his condolences to Raheem’s family.
The Nigerian News Agency reported that Osinbajo contacted the family on December 28 to pray with them.
The vice president, during the phone call made since his vacation, also ensured justice for the family of the deceased.
The late Raheem was a member of Redeemed Christian Church of God Olive Parish, Ikoyi, where Osinbajo pastored until 2015 when he took over as vice president.
