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In bold confrontation against impunity, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) earlier today stormed Abuja with a public petition against the Nigeria Police Force, accusing operatives of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Monitoring Unit of gross abuse of power, attempted murder, and brazen interference in a civil land dispute involving the OLUSCO Group.

Leading the protest, Innocent Ohalete, Executive Director of Rights Advocacy, said the organisation was compelled to act following a petition by OLUSCO Group’s Managing Director, Mr. Femi Olumeyan, and his staff, who suffered grievous injury after being shot on site by police officers.

In the strongly-worded petition, Ohalete stated:

“We write as a responsible civil rights advocacy group recognized by law and acting on our constitutional mandate to protect, defend and sustain the rights of individuals and institutions where such rights are seen to have been violated. This petition is based on the SOS we received from Mr. Femi Olumeyan, Managing Director/Chief Executive of the OLUSCO Group, and his staff who was shot while in line of duty by a policeman serving under the Inspector General of Police Monitoring Team led by ACP Akin Fakorede. The said policeman, whose identity is yet unknown, attacked them at a site legitimately under the control of OLUSCO Group.”

The land in question is located along the City Gate, beside the House on the Rock Church in Abuja. According to the group, OLUSCO entered into a subsisting memorandum of understanding with the Performing Musician Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN), granting the company rights over the property in a joint venture arrangement.

But tensions reportedly escalated when former PMAN President, Mr. Pretty Okafor, allegedly “influenced the IGP Monitoring Team through one CSP Lami to illegally and forcefully truncate the existing legal agreement and, through brute force, chase the OLUSCO Group away from their legitimate site.”

Recounting what they described as a shocking display of lawlessness, the CSOs narrated that on February 13, 2025, policemen stormed the disputed site and unleashed violence.

“The staff of OLUSCO Group resumed work only to find armed men in police uniforms occupying the land allegedly on the instructions of the Inspector General of Police,” Ohalete said. “They opened fire on armless and defenseless citizens in broad daylight. Amidst the gunfire, one officer particularly targeted Mr. Lawal Omaye, mistaking him for Mr. Olumeyan, and shot directly at him in what we believe was an attempt to murder him. Shockingly, he was not allowed medical attention. Instead, the police abducted him, kept him in custody for days, and only released him after confirming he was not the CEO. This action fueled suspicion that the real target was indeed Mr. Olumeyan.”

The Rights Advocacy director added that since then, “these satanic men in police uniforms” have continued to harass and intimidate the OLUSCO boss through threatening phone calls and proxies.

The incident, Ohalete said, has left a trail of devastation.

“This brazen act has brought untold psychological trauma and fear to the CEO of OLUSCO Group, his staff, and particularly Mr. Lawal Omaye, who has now been confined to a wheelchair because of the reckless shooting by officers who are sustained by taxpayers’ money. Instead of protecting lives, these men have become merchants of terror in the Federal Capital City,” he lamented.

The petition made a number of urgent demands, calling on authorities to rein in what the group described as a rogue unit of the police force.

“We demand that you use your honorable office to cause the Inspector General of Police to immediately set up a panel to investigate this attempted murder. The IGP must also direct his men to vacate the site they occupy illegally, commence a thorough investigation into the activities of the IGP Monitoring Team under ACP Akin Fakorede, and bring to justice those who shot and crippled Mr. Omaye. Justice must also be served for OLUSCO Group, whose name and corporate identity have been dragged in the mud,” Ohalete declared.

Reaffirming the CSOs’ confidence in lawful authorities, the group concluded with an appeal:

“We are of firm belief and unshakable confidence that, as usual, your good office will get us justice and restore normalcy in what appears to be threatening the peace of the capital city. While thanking you for making the nation proud in the discharge of your duties, please accept the assurances of our commitment to promoting justice, rule of law, and orderliness.”

The protest has intensified pressure on the Nigeria Police leadership to address rising allegations of human rights violations by the IGP Monitoring Unit, particularly in disputes that activists insist should be settled in court, not with guns.