Some members of the late Abdulramon Smith’s family, on Lagos Island, have raised the alarm over alleged undue interference by the Zone 2 Police Command in their family estate affairs in Lagos State.
Four members of the family — Mr. Lekan Kehinde, Mr. Oluwole Rasak, Mr. Olanrewaju Oyegunle and Mr. Lukman Adegbero — voiced their concerns while addressing journalists on Wednesday in Lagos.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Kehinde alleged that the Zone 2 police command was interfering in internal family matters in spite of the absence of any threats or physical altercations among family members.
According to Kehinde, the family estate —left behind by their grandfather, Abdulramon Smith — was to be equally shared among descendants from four family lines, both male and female, in accordance with his Will.
“Revenue generated from the property was always deposited in the family estate account and shared every August among all the children. This arrangement continued up to 2024,” he said.
Kehinde added that his late mother, who was an active manager of the estate, was succeeded by him as her representative and signatory to the estate documents following her passing.
He, however, alleged that certain family members were using their influence within the police force to deny others their legitimate rights.
“Some relatives approached the police because they have a serving senior officer, an Area Commander, and a retired Inspector-General (IG) of Police, within the force,” he said.
Kehinde recounted a recent incident where he was summoned by Assistant Inspector General(AIG) of Police Adegoke Fayoade of Zone 2 command.
“I was invited to his office last Friday. I went with two of my brothers, only to find the other party already present, about eight of them,” he said.
Kehinde said that during the meeting, the AIG questioned his lineage and dismissed his claim to the estate.
“He said we belong to the female line of the family and are therefore not entitled to any share of the estate.
“When I tried to present documentary evidence, he refused to see it and warned me to stay away from my grandfather’s property, threatening to ‘deal with me’ otherwise,” he said.
Kehinde described the situation as a gross miscarriage of justice.
“The police have not accused me of any crime, yet they are threatening me over a family inheritance matter.
“This is outside their jurisdiction, and we will not bow to such intimidation from Zone 2,” he said.
He appealed to the Police Service Commission, the Inspector-General of Police, and well-meaning Nigerians to intervene and prevent further interference by the police.
“I want to alert Nigerians—if anything happens to me or my brothers, AIG Fayoade should be held responsible,” he said.
Contacted, Fayoade denied the allegations of intimidation or threats against Kehinde.
“The family has internal issues which they are trying to resolve. A resolution was reached to appoint an estate agent to manage the estate.
Kehinde was present at the meeting and agreed to the resolution,” Fayoade said.
According to him, he only advised Kehinde to cooperate with other family members and support the appointed agent in managing the estate.
