Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Rights groups have raised the alarm over what they describe as the alleged disappearance of the prime suspect in the murders of two residents of the Ajiran community in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State, calling on the Inspector-General of Police and the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service to investigate the circumstances surrounding the suspect's whereabouts and ensure compliance with a subsisting court order.
The suspect, identified as Alhaji Ahmed Tajudeen (also known as Ahmed Tajudeen Akanbi), is alleged to have masterminded the killings of Mr. Sheriff Ishola Salami and Prince Kazeem Ademola Akinloye. Salami was reportedly ambushed and killed in Moba, Eti-Osa Local Government Area, on April 18, 2023, while Akinloye was allegedly assassinated along Chevron Drive on August 26, 2024. According to police investigations and confessional statements by arrested suspects, Tajudeen was identified as the principal sponsor and orchestrator of both killings.
Following the arrest of other suspects, Tajudeen reportedly fled Nigeria to evade prosecution before he was later apprehended and returned to the country through international collaboration involving the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL). His arrest had restored some confidence in the justice process, with formal prosecution expected to commence.
However, speaking during a press conference on Friday, July 17, 2026, the President of the Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights (CHSR), Comrade Alex Omotehinse, alleged that Justice Muyideen of the Igbosere High Court had ordered that Tajudeen be remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre pending further proceedings, but the order was allegedly not complied with. "It is on record that Honourable Justice Muyideen issued an order that the prime suspect be remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre pending further proceedings. We have received credible reports indicating that the suspect was not remanded as ordered by the court," Omotehinse said.
Omotehinse further alleged that correctional authorities declined to take custody of the suspect on the grounds of ill health. According to him, no medical report was presented before the court to justify the alleged refusal, nor was any application filed seeking a variation of the remand order. "The whereabouts of the suspect remain unknown as we speak. What we are witnessing is not a minor administrative lapse but a deliberate violation of a subsisting court order," he alleged.
The rights group expressed deep concern over what it described as a deliberate attempt to subvert the responsibility of the police to investigate crimes and undermine the justice process. Omotehinse accused authorities of failing the victims and the Ajiran community, which he described as "a community paralysed by fear, with inhabitants who now sleep with one eye open."
The CHSR called on the Inspector-General of Police to immediately investigate how sensitive police documents relating to the murder cases became tools of subjective social spin and convenient narrations in the hands of bloggers. The group also demanded that the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service publicly state the exact whereabouts of Alhaji Ahmed Tajudeen, clarify why the Ikoyi Correctional Centre did not comply with a valid court order, and provide evidence of any medical claim used to justify refusal of custody. "We are therefore deeply concerned about alleged involvement of both serving and retired senior police officers who may have connived or are still conniving in shielding the prime suspect at the expense of justice," the group said.
Also speaking, the Secretary of the Campaign for Democracy, Femi Lawson, described the alleged disappearance of the suspect after his arrest and arraignment as disturbing and unacceptable, arguing that there was no justification for moving a suspect facing a capital offence away from lawful custody.
As of the time of filing this report, the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Correctional Service had not issued official statements on the allegations. The CHSR has warned that the implications of undermining police investigation and the justice system process through subterfuge and bullying by bloggers could be better imagined. The group has demanded that the IGP demand a thorough investigation into the matter and the role that some police officers are playing in it.
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