The Lagos State Police Command has declared Abiodun Ariori, Chief Executive Officer of Prosperous Ariori Golden Venture Limited, wanted in connection with the killing of three people during a violent land dispute in the Owode Onirin area on Wednesday.
Police spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, said preliminary investigations linked Ariori to the clash, which also left a police inspector critically injured. He added that efforts to arrest Ariori have been unsuccessful, and the suspect is believed to have gone into hiding.
“He is hereby declared wanted by the Lagos State Police Command, as all efforts to effect his arrest and bring him to justice have so far proved abortive,” Hundeyin said.
The police have circulated Ariori’s photograph and last known address in Egbeda, urging the public to provide useful information or report sightings to the nearest police station.
Graphic footage of the incident, widely shared on social media, showed at least three victims with fatal injuries. Police later confirmed the deaths after the victims were taken to hospital, while the injured officer remains in critical condition.
Lagos Commissioner of Police, Olohundare Jimoh, personally led a joint security team to restore order in the area. Hundeyin said roads were reopened and normal activities resumed, with additional police deployed to prevent further unrest.
He also confirmed that four policemen who allegedly accompanied Ariori from outside Lagos have been detained for going on illegal duty with the suspect. They are currently facing orderly room trial at the Command headquarters.
Hundeyin dismissed claims that the incident was a tribal clash, clarifying instead that it was a confrontation between hoodlums and land grabbers.
“The Lagos State Police Command hereby wishes to inform the general public that there was no tribal clash or disturbance between ethnic groups. Normalcy has been restored,” he stated.
The police appealed to residents to remain calm and law-abiding, stressing that Lagos remains peaceful.
