Abiola’s widow, Adebisi, speaks on stepsons’ detention

Adebisi Abiola, one of the widows of the late business mogul and politician, Moshood Abiola, has cleared the air on the arrest and detention of her stepsons.

Recall that some gunmen had invaded the late Abiola’s residence located at Opebi Ikeja on September 2 and reportedly carted away property worth millions of Naira.

It was gathered that the police, in the course of investigating the robbery, arrested Kassim and Aliu in connection with the incident.

Kassim and Aliu are Adebisi’s stepsons.

But on Friday, Abiola’s sons, through their lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, filed a N100 million suit against the police, blaming their stepmother, Adebisi, for their ordeal.

Reacting through a statement issued by Debo Adeleke, the family’s lawyer, Adebisi debunked her stepsons’ claim. She ascribed her stepsons’ ordeal to their unruly conduct during police investigation.

Adebisi, who explained what happened at Abiola’s residence after the robbery incident, said Kassim and Aliu tried to thwart police effort to unravel the cause of the robbery.

She noted that rather than cooperate with the police officers, her stepsons became unruly and threatened to deal with one of the police officers.

She added that Kassim and Aliu even questioned the authority of the police officers to interview them.

“On the 2nd September 2020, at about 6:00 am, some hoodlums suspected to be armed robbers broke into the residence of Late Chief MKO Abiola. The criminals broke into the bedroom of Late MKO Abiola’s wife, in person of Chief Mrs. Adebisi Abiola and carted away valuables running into millions of naira,” the statement read in part.

“The victim, Chief Mrs. Adebisi Abiola and her daughter were subsequently locked up in her room with a threat by the armed robbers that they would be eliminated if they raised an alarm. As expected, Chief Mrs. Adebisi Abiola was so petrified, bemused and stupefied by the unfortunate armed robbery incident that she could not raise an alarm even after the robbers had escaped with their loots running into millions of naira.

“It is on record that while the policemen were interviewing the family members, Mr. Kassim Abiola conducted himself in a very rude, ungentlemanly, provocative, embarrassing and suspicious manner and all efforts by other members of the family to make him act in a responsible manner failed.

“It is further on record that Mr. Kassim Abiola did not only throw tantrums at the police but equally threatened to deal ruthlessly with one of the senior police officers whom he (Kassim) claimed to know personally to the extent of describing the said senior police officer’s car and the location where he will deal with him.

“These unguarded vituperation and violent conducts by Kassim infuriated the police and he was subsequently invited for further interrogation for demanding the reason for the presence of the police men in his father’s house.

“It is equally noteworthy to mention here that his junior brother, Aliu Abiola joined him in his tirade of abuse against the policemen who were only trying to interview them and all other persons at the residence with a view to investigating the crime.

“The police subsequently arrested Mr. Kassim Abiola, Mr. Aliu Abiola and seven others for further questioning regarding the investigation of the robbery incident which the police suspected to have been carried out through the active connivance of a member of the family or staff considering the ease with which such an ugly armed robbery incident was carried out.”

According to the statement efforts were being made to secure the release of those detained in connection with the incident when the family learnt that a suit for the enforcement of the fundamental rights of Kassim and Aliu had been filed against the police.

The development which the statement said happened ” to the family’s chagrin and consternation ” thwarted the release of those detained.

Adebisi described the fundamental rights enforcement suit as “wrong and ill advised” but said efforts would still be made to secure their release.