By Adeyinka Adeniran
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bullion Go-Neat Global Limited, owner of Bullion Hotel and other investments, Ambassador Olufemi Ajadi Oguntoyinbo has said that the political thugs that carried out an attack on his Bullion Hotel located in Simawa Area of Ogun State last Tuesday were allegedly given cover by men of the Nigeria Police.
It could be recalled that on Tuesday, October 3, 2023, over 20 political thugs, purportedly led by three men in Police Uniforms launched a brutal attack on the Bullion Hotel leaving staff and guests traumatised.
Addressing journalists on Thursday, Ajadi said last Tuesday attack was the second one after the first on September 5, 2023, when a group of thugs, some masquerading as soldiers, stormed the Bullion Hotel. He said the information he gathered and the attitude of the men of the Police in the ongoing investigation has shown that the political thugs are being aided by the Police from Shimawa Division as many of them have not been arrested despite committing heinous crime.
He said during the September attack, a Security Guard in the Hotel, Taiwo Lawal, sustained severe injuries while attempting to protect him.He said the turn of events since the attack started in September has shown that the political thugs are given cover by the men of Nigerian Police.
Ajadi who is a Chieftain of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and the governorship candidate of the party in the 2023 election in Ogun State said it was unbelievable that the hotel’s intelligence officers who played pivotal role in the arrest of one of the assailants who attacked the hotel in September, Nwokparo Offor was detained by the Police and later charged to Court.
He said instead of detaining the thug, Offor, the security personnel responsible for his capture were arrested and charged by the Police.Ajadi said before leaving the scene, Officer Lawal who came along with Officer Kenny hit one of the hotel’s officers, John Osita, in his chest twice.He alleged that some thugs came and started shooting guns at the Bullion’s security officers immediately after the police vehicle left the Bullion Hotel premises for their station.
Moreover, the vehicle (Hilux) of the Bullion Hotel that took the security personnel and the suspects to the police station was stoned by some of the thugs hiding around the police station, which destroyed the windscreen, and it was by the grace of God the driver escaped. He said the attack of last Tuesday took place around 8 a.m., saying the assailants, identified themselves as Alowonle’s Boys, who is the Chairman of Okada Riders in Simawa Area of Ogun State.
Ajadi said what made last Tuesday attack worrisome and more distressing is the alleged involvement of Police officers who not only protected the thugs but also physically assaulted two hotel security personnel who were simply watching television in the Hotel.He listed the items stolen to include telephones, a significant sum of money, and numerous power banks used for charging mobile devices.
Ajadi said shockingly, four hotel security personnel, along with the Bullion Entertainment Manager, were apprehended during the commotion and labeled as suspects in the incident.
According to him, the detained security officers are Soji Ileyemi, Adedayo Opeyemi, Dauda Yusuf, and Temitope Makinde, along with Temitope Olajide, the Bullion Entertainment manager, saying these were hotels staffers who found themselves ensnared in the troubling and chaotic attack.
He said with the recent detention on October 3, 2023, the total number of Bullion Hotel staff in Police custody has now risen to seven, further deepening the crisis that has engulfed the hotel. He said the hotel’s CCTV system is helping and playing a crucial role in identifying both the thugs and the police officers involved in the attack, saying that will provides vital evidence for ongoing investigations.
