Yusuf Ogundare, the Baale of Shangisha, Magodo, Lagos State suspended earlier in the week by the Lagos State Government for faking his own kidnap on July 5 has been deposed.
According to the state government, Ogundare faked his abduction along the Centre for Management Development (CMD) Road in Ikosi-Isheri Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of the State.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Muslim Folami, said in a statement on Sunday that Governor Ambode ordered Ogundare to stop parading himself as the Baale of Shangisha.
He added that the governor also authorised the prosecution of Ogundare.
“This is in accordance with Section 38, subsection 1 of the Obas and Chiefs Laws of Lagos State inter-alia “The Governor may suspend or depose any Oba or Chief whether appointed before or after commencement of this law, if he is satisfied that such suspension or deposition is required according to customary law or is necessary in the interest of peace or good government,” the statement read in part.
According to Folami, the deposition follows the formal confession of the Baale to security services that he staged his own kidnap to blackmail the State Government.
The traditional ruler along with his suspected accomplice Mohammed Adam was paraded by the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, at a press briefing at the Lagos House in Ikeja earlier in the week.
Owoseni had, while parading the suspects at the Lagos House in Ikeja, narrated how they conspired to perfect the fake kidnap, all in a bid to implicate the Oba of Magodo, as well as rubbish the State Government and security agencies.
He said six days after the alleged kidnap, some men of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) on patrol in Alausa area at about 10 pm apprehended Ogundare after he was dropped in a suspicious manner by a car which sped off immediately.
The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem; as well as his counterpart for Local Government and Community Affairs, Mr. Muslim Folami were among those present at the press briefing.
Press Release