Our Reporter, Abuja
The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has petitioned the Police Service Commission (PSC) to investigate allegations of abuse of office, monetisation of bail, retaliatory prosecution and deliberate frustration of bail against the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Ajuwon Police Station, Ogun State, Yusuf, and officers under his command.
In a petition dated February 12, 2026, and signed by its Executive Director, Mr Okechukwu Nwanguma, RULAAC said the complaint arose from the treatment of Mrs Akinluyi Rosemary, a 44-year-old widow, who was allegedly turned from a complainant into an accused person following her report of vandalism at the station.
RULAAC explained that Mrs Akinluyi had initially approached the Ajuwon Police Station to report damage to an apartment belonging to her landlady. However, instead of conducting what it described as a professional investigation, officers allegedly pressured her to implicate another individual, reclassified her as a suspect without transparent findings, and compelled her to sign an undertaking to replace electrical wiring.
The group further alleged that officers collected ₦30,000 from Mrs Akinluyi’s brother as bail, despite police regulations that bail is free. According to the petition, RULAAC wrote to the DPO to protest the alleged irregularities, particularly the bail payment.
Shortly after the petition, Mrs Akinluyi was reportedly invited to the station under the guise of further discussions and was informed she was being charged to court without prior notice or opportunity to prepare her defence. She was subsequently arraigned in Charge No. MOJ/2C/2026 on allegations of breaking and entering, stealing electrical fittings valued at ₦745,406, and malicious damage.
RULAAC said it was informed that Mrs Akinluyi was told the matter would have been resolved without court proceedings if the earlier petition had not referenced the alleged ₦30,000 bail payment, a development the organisation described as indicative of retaliatory prosecution.
The petition also accused the police of deliberately frustrating her bail after arraignment. Although the court granted bail and her sureties reportedly met the conditions promptly, the Investigating Police Officer, identified as PC Oludotun Oluwafemi, allegedly insisted on transferring her immediately to the Abeokuta Correctional Centre, despite being informed that bail documentation was almost completed.
RULAAC stated that minutes after her transfer, bail was perfected, forcing a surety to allegedly provide ₦15,000 to enable a court official travel from Ojodu to Abeokuta the following day to secure her release. The organisation said the incident subjected Mrs Akinluyi to avoidable incarceration and trauma and imposed unnecessary administrative burdens on the justice system.
Describing the case as emblematic of wider systemic problems, RULAAC warned that arbitrary arrests, monetised bail and malicious prosecutions were contributing to prison congestion and eroding public confidence in law enforcement.
The group urged the PSC to conduct an independent investigation into the conduct of the DPO and other officers involved, determine whether the prosecution was professionally justified or malicious, probe the alleged ₦30,000 bail collection and order a refund if confirmed, and examine the circumstances surrounding the hurried transfer to correctional custody.
RULAAC also called for appropriate disciplinary measures where misconduct is established and for firm directives reinforcing compliance with police regulations prohibiting bail monetisation and abuse of prosecutorial discretion.
“This case is a test of accountability,” the organisation said, adding that retaliatory policing and deliberate frustration of bail have no place in a constitutional democracy. It pledged to continue monitoring the matter closely.
