Contradictory Police Investigations Deepen Controversy Over Allegations Against AIG Moshood Jimoh

Lagos, Nigeria – The controversy surrounding the murder investigation involving businessman Ahmed Tajudeen Akanbi has intensified following fresh allegations by social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), who has accused Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Moshood Jimoh of orchestrating a flawed investigation while serving as the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State.

At the centre of the controversy are claims that the original investigation and a subsequent review by the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, reached materially different conclusions, raising questions about the integrity of the investigative process.

According to VeryDarkMan, the later SCID Panti investigation exposed significant inconsistencies in the original investigation. He alleges that suspects initially arrested in connection with the murders later claimed they had been subjected to torture and coercion during interrogation and were compelled to falsely implicate Ahmed Tajudeen Akanbi.

The activist further alleges that the suspects claimed they were instructed to state that a man identified only as “Bode,” who was allegedly based in Germany, contacted them and paid them ₦2 million to carry out the killing on Ahmed’s instructions. According to VeryDarkMan, these confessions formed a critical part of the case against Ahmed despite later claims by the suspects that their statements had been obtained under duress.

VeryDarkMan has also questioned what he describes as significant investigative gaps. He argues that despite the allegation that Bode was the intermediary who allegedly recruited and funded the suspects, investigators made no known effort to locate, interview, or seek the extradition of the individual from Germany before declaring Ahmed wanted.

The activist further contends that Ahmed was declared wanted without investigators first obtaining his account of the allegations or inviting him for questioning. He argues that this sequence of events departed from the principles of a fair and impartial criminal investigation and contributed to the perception that the investigation had reached its conclusions before hearing from all relevant parties.

These allegations have become the foundation of VeryDarkMan’s call for an independent review of the investigation. He maintains that if the findings reportedly made by SCID Panti differ materially from those of the original investigation, the Nigeria Police Force should publicly explain the reasons for the disparity and release any official findings capable of resolving the conflicting accounts.

Supporters of AIG Jimoh reject the allegations and maintain that the original investigation was conducted in accordance with established police procedures and based on evidence available to investigators at the time. They argue that the allegations made by VeryDarkMan have not been established by any court and should not be treated as proof of wrongdoing.

Legal observers note that allegations of coerced confessions, if substantiated, could have significant implications for the admissibility and reliability of evidence in criminal proceedings. They also observe that where successive police investigations are alleged to have reached conflicting conclusions, transparency and independent scrutiny are essential to maintaining public confidence in the criminal justice system.

As of the time of publication, the allegations remain disputed. No court has publicly determined that AIG Moshood Jimoh engaged in the misconduct alleged by VeryDarkMan, and the Nigeria Police Force has not publicly released an official report conclusively addressing the alleged discrepancies between the original investigation and the subsequent SCID Panti review.