A legal practitioner, Mr. Femi Emmanuel Emodamori, has urged the Ondo State Attorney-General, Dr. Kayode Ajulo, to revisit the attempted-murder case involving the attack on UK-based politician, Otunba Akinleminu Blessing, alleging that the investigation was poorly handled by the police.
Emodamori, who petitioned the Attorney-General on behalf of the victim, accused the police of conducting a “lethargic and unprofessional” probe into the November 2024 incident, despite having several months to investigate the matter.
In the petition dated October 31, 2025, he faulted the handling of crucial leads, including the alleged failure of investigators to scrutinise alibis submitted by some of the accused persons.
According to him, “The lethargic, unprofessional and completely shoddy investigation purportedly carried out by the Police over a period of nine months without touching even the most elementary issues like the alibi presented by some of the defendants is deeply worrisome.”
He said witnesses who mentioned specific suspects in their statements were not given the opportunity to identify them, adding that the entire process appeared compromised even before the case file was forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The lawyer explained that his client was assaulted at a public bar in Atosin Idanre shortly after returning from the UK for the governorship election, noting that the incident occurred in the presence of police escorts assigned to him by the state command.
Quoting a statement by one of the escorts, he wrote, “Information that APC thugs were planning to come and attack… just because Otunba and his people are PDP members” was documented in the case file, which he said raised fears of political undertones.
He criticised the police for not verifying the travel claims of two key suspects—Sunday Akinmolayan (also known as Wulowubo) and Michael Eze—despite eyewitnesses allegedly placing them at the scene. He added that investigators also failed to conduct phone analysis or confirm communications between suspects.
The petition further alleged that some of those in custody enjoyed unusual privileges while detained at Zone 17 headquarters in Akure.
He wrote, “Even when the suspects were in Police custody… they were allegedly given exceptional treatment, including unrestricted telephone and/or social media access, despite the seriousness of the allegation.”
Emodamori also said his client had reported alleged extortion to the ICPC and disclosed that the federal police headquarters had planned to take over the matter before the suspects were “hastily” arraigned and granted bail.
According to him, “The Police did not even prepare any Police Investigation Report for the case file with which the suspects were hurriedly taken to Court. This unusual omission speaks volumes about the absence of any serious Police investigation.”
He added that some suspects mentioned in the original statement had yet to be arrested and still “walk freely in Idanre,” insisting that the manner of investigation pointed to a “monumental failure” on the part of the State.
On that basis, he appealed to the Attorney-General to order the police to withdraw the matter from court and carry out a fresh, comprehensive probe.
He wrote, “It is certain that the case was programmed, packaged and pushed to the Court by the Police for it to fail. The Police now wants the office of the Attorney-General to take the blame when it eventually recommends that the case discloses no evidence.”
Emodamori said only a proper reinvestigation would clear doubts over the alleged political motivation behind the attack.
“We need to let the whole world know that we have nothing to hide, and the Honourable Attorney-General has a litmus test to discharge that patriotic duty in this case,” he added.
The petition was copied to the ICPC Chairman, the Inspector-General of Police, the AIG of Zone 17, and the Ondo State Director of the DSS.
Below is the full text of the letter to the AG;
31st October, 2025
Our Ref: FEE/AG/ODS/I.7/025
The Hon. Attorney-General & Commissioner for Justice
Ondo State Ministry of Justice
Alagbaka, Akure
Dear Sir,
RE: CASE: MAK/284C/2025: COMMISSIONER OF POLICE V. SUNDAY AKINMOLAYAN (A.K.A WULOWUBO) & 3 ORS;
A CALL FOR ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DIRECTIVE TO THE POLICE TO WITHDRAW THE CASE AND CONDUCT PROPER INVESTIGATION IN ORDER TO PREVENT A DELIBERATE COMPROMISE OF THE CASE AND PERVERSION OF JUSTICE.
Our professional service has been retained by Otunba Akinleminu Blessing, the nominal Complainant in the above case, to solicit your urgent intervention in the above case by issuing a Legal Advice to the Police to withdraw the case from the Magistrate’s Court of Ondo State and carry out proper, diligent and sensible investigation, in order to prevent an apparent compromise of the case and perversion of justice.
Our client’s clarion call in this regard is premised on the following:
The lethargic, unprofessional and completely shoddy investigation purportedly carried out by the Police over a period of Nine (9) months without touching even the most elementary issues like the alibi presented by some of the Defendants;
The Police did not allow some of the witnesses to the gruesome attack who had named some of the suspects in their written statements to positively identify those suspects throughout the purported Police investigation; and the fact that the case file has now been referred to the Director of Public Prosecution of the Ondo State Ministry of Justice, for Legal Advice.
The Honourable Attorney-General would discover from the case file that our client, who had just returned to his Idanre hometown from the United Kingdom to participate in the 16th November, 2024 Ondo State Governorship Election, was brutally attacked by several armed men who shot at him and his companions multiple times at a public bar in Atosin Idanre, right in the presence of the official security guards (escorts) supplied him as a VIP by the State Commissioner of Police.
According to the written statement made to the Investigating Police Office (IPO) by one of the escorts code-named “Page A6” in the case file (whose real name would not be disclosed in this Petition for ethical reasons and his own personal safety), the escorts had received “information that APC thugs are (sic-were) planning to come and attack …just because Otunba and his people are PDP members.”
This vital piece of information, though still a mere allegation, raises a serious concern that the attempted murder might have been politically motivated. The fact that the Police allegedly failed to carry out any serious investigation of the case for nine months as well as some other shocking details disclosed herein-below, have further reinforced our client’s fear that some powerful forces are suppressing or sabotaging the case.
For instance: One of the suspects called Sunday Akinmolayan (A.K.A Wulowubo), who was positively mentioned by almost all the eye witnesses who made statements to the Police, claimed in his own statement to the Police that he travelled to Lagos a few days before the attack to avoid being linked to allegations like this. Strangely, the Police failed to obtain or investigate any evidence relating to his purported travel like Passengers’ Manifest which are always filled at every motor parks by passengers embarking on long distance travels or his flight ticket (if he travelled by air), as well as where he stayed in Lagos and/or the people he met there who could confirm his alibi;
Another suspect called Michael Eze, who was known to many of the eye witnesses to the attack, also claimed in his statement to the Police that he travelled to Eza Village in Ebonyi State in January 2024 and was there throughout the year 2024. As serious as this alibi appears to be in negating the evidence of the eye witnesses who mentioned him, the Police equally failed to investigate same.
The Police even failed to carry out a simple phone tracking to ascertain the locations of the suspects at the material time to the alleged crime and/or possible telephone conversations amongst them, in order to rebut their alibi and/or discover the subject matter of such communications amongst them, if any.
Even when the suspects were in Police custody at Zone 17, Akure, according to our client, they were allegedly given exceptional treatment, including unrestricted telephone and/or social media access, despite the seriousness of the allegation of attempted murder against them and the well-known fact that no suspect enjoys such preferential treatments in police custody, except those under some form of police protection and fraternal relationship with the police.
Our client had earlier written a petition to the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (I.C.P.C) Headquarters in Abuja, alleging series of extortions by the Police in the course of the purported but puerile investigation and alleged a deliberate move to sabotage the case, a copy of which is attached as Annexure.
The Petition was referred to the Police Force Headquarters in Abuja for action, sequel to which the Police at the Force Headquarters were making arrangements to take over the investigation of the case and had reportedly prepared a signal to that effect to Zone 17 in Akure. However, the same Police alleged to have compromised the case at the said Zone 17 hurriedly arraigned the suspects at the Ondo State Magistrate’s Court, where they were immediately released on bail for want of serious Police investigation and/or cogent evidence.
Instructively, the Police did not even prepare any Police Investigation Report for the case file with which the suspects were hurriedly taken to Court. This unusual omission speaks volumes about the absence of any serious Police investigation into the case.
Many of the suspects positively identified by our client during the attack and named in his statement to the police were never arrested and are still walking freely in Idanre till date. Those suspects, according to our client, include Adeusi Rowland (A.K.A Adewitty), Akinrinnaye Bola (A.K.A Prof.), Akinmyemi Akintoye (A.K.A Alakin), Orisafemi Dele (A.K.A Oosa), Omosebi, Odidi, Ajadi , Monday, Gbangba Lewis and Oteba.
The fact that the attempted murder has a political coloration, the failure of the Police to arrest and/or take some of the suspects into custody for about nine months after the attempted murder, the alleged strange pampering of the suspects whilst in police custody (including access to phone and social media) despite the gravity of the allegation against them, the impromptu arraignment of the suspects in Court in order to prevent the Force Headquarters in Abuja from taking over the case, and their immediate release upon arraignment for want of evidence whilst our client and other victims of the attack are still traumatized and living in fear, symbolizes a monumental failure of the State to seek and uphold justice against one of the worst acts of brutality against her own citizens. Our client is aware that the case file is currently awaiting the Legal Advice of the Attorney-General.
It is, however, certain that the case was programmed, packaged and pushed to the Court by the Police for it to fail and/or be dismissed. It would appear that the Police deliberately compromised the investigation but now wants the office of the Attorney-General to take the blame or be the scapegoat when the Attorney-General eventually recommends that the case file discloses no case against the suspects, for want of cogent evidence.
On the premise of the foregoing, our client is calling on the Honourable Attorney-General to issue a Legal Advice to the Police to withdraw the case from the Magistrate’s Court and properly investigate same. This would not only serve the interest of justice and the rule of law, but would equally dispel the allegation that the attempted murder of our client was sponsored by the All Progressives Congress (APC) as revealed in the bold written Statement of our client’s Police escort (codenamed Page A6 in the case file), particularly considering the recent unfortunate court judgment in Canada branding some political parties in Nigeria as terrorist organizations.
We need to let the whole world know that we have nothing to hide, and the Honourable Attorney-General has a litmus test to discharge that patriotic duty in this case.
Yours faithfully
Femi Emmanuel Emodamori.
Cc:
The Chairman
Independent Corrupt Practices & Other Related
Offences Commission (I.C.P.C)
Plot 802, Constitution Avenue
Zone 9, FCT, Abuja.
The Inspector-General of Police
Nigeria Police Force Headquarters
Loius Edet House, Shehu Shagari Way
Abuja. The Assistant Inspector General of Police (A.I.G) Zone 17 Command Headquarters
Nigeria Police Force, Akure. The Ondo State Director State Security Service
State House Annex, Alagbaka G.R.A
Akure.
Dear Sir,
The above is for your information and necessary action, please.
Yours faithfully
Femi Emmanuel Emodamori.
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