The Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Mr Joel Nwachukwu Enwonwu has confessed that the escape of alleged serial killer, Sunday Shodipe from lawful police custody gave him the greatest nightmare in his career.
The police officer also submitted that when he learned about the escape of Shodipe, the alleged serial killer in Akinyele Local Government Area of the state from police custody at Mokola in Ibadan, the experience gave him sleepless nights until the suspect was re-arrested by men under his command.
He admitted this much while featuring on a live program, Parrot Xtra Hour on Radio anchored by Olayinka Agboola on Space 90.1fm in Ibadan, Oyo State capital on Tuesday.
It would be recalled that the notorious suspect, who claimed to be 19 years old, supposedly escaped after a police officer, who was said to be off duty opened the cell for him in order to take a bath.
IGP’s Reactions
According to CP Enwonwu, the incident not only made the Inspector-General (IG) of police to call him but that it raised an uproar 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 continued by saying 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.”
On the whereabouts of the others who were also paraded with Sunday Sodipe earlier, Enwonwu said that they are all still in custody.
Lessons from Sunday Shodipe’s Case
“I have learnt 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 took time to commend the government of Oyo State led by Engineer Seyi Makinde for doing so much to support 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.”
Farmers, Herdsmen Relationship in Oke Ogun
While speaking about the farmers, herdsmen relationship in Oke Ogun Area of the state, the CP said “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.”
When asked of his major focus as the Commissioner of Police in the state, his words “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 to Oyo State People
Enwonwu then used the opportunity to promise 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.”
The Commissioner of Police was accompanied to Space 90.1 Studios by the Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Ade Ogunyemi and others.
