IGP orders police team to vacate occupied hotel in Nembe, leaving unpaid ₦625m bill
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, has responded to pressure regarding the quit notice issued by the proprietor of Euphemie Motel, directing the SWAT team to vacate the motel premises in Opu-Nembe, located in the Nembe Bassambiri community of Bayelsa.
The directive followed threats to take IGP Egbetokun to court over an alleged unpaid debt incurred by the Police SWAT team, which has been occupying the motel since August 12, 2023.
The debt reportedly arose from accommodations used by the Police Special squad, led by CSP Silas Adebayo, during a sting operation in the Opu-Nembe community in the lead-up to the recent gubernatorial elections.
The SWAT team allegedly invaded the Opu-Nembe community and occupied the Euphemie Motel, turning it into their operational base without permission from the owners.
The team was reportedly deployed to the area at the request of the former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and the All Progressive Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate in the last election, Chief Timipre Sylva.
In a letter dated October 9, 2024, the counsel for the owner of Euphemie Motel, Inemoye Maxwell Brown Esq., confirmed to reporters in Yenagoa that the Nigerian Police, “as a respectable and responsible establishment, has graciously acted on the first prayer contained in the petition, with the SWAT team vacating our client’s hotel on October 3, 2024.”
Brown, however, urged Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun and senior officials of the Nigerian Police to promptly address the second request in the client’s petition, seeking the payment of ₦625,000,000 for the period from August 12, 2023, to September 12, 2024, within six weeks of receiving the correspondence.
It is important to note that Euphemie Motel had previously informed the Inspector-General and the Chairman of the Police Service Commission that the 50-bedroom hotel, with a lodging fee of ₦25,000 per night and two conference rooms at ₦100,000 per day, was occupied by police personnel without payment for over 13 months.
According to Inemoye Maxwell Brown Esq., “Our client’s business premises and facilities are nearly in complete ruin, necessitating imminent renovation to restore them for normal business operations.”
He stated, “We therefore call on the Police IG to direct the officers who forcibly occupied our client’s hotel from August 12, 2023, to immediately vacate within six weeks of receiving this correspondence. Additionally, we request that the sum of ₦625,000,000 for the aforementioned period be paid within six weeks upon receipt of this letter.”
Proofreading by Uchechi Ojo, Sub-editor at Neptune Prime.
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