Pump-action guns found in Ogboni leader’s Lagos house

Tajudeen Bakare, the head of the fraternal organization Ogboni, was listed as wanted by the Lagos State Police Command on Thursday for posing a danger to the public’s peace and carrying a firearm in the Surulere district of the state.

In a statement shared on Twitter, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, the state police public relations officer, said that police officers broke into Bakare’s home while acting on useful information.

He revealed how Bakare just barely evaded the sting operation.

According to Hundeyin, “The CSP Yinka Egbeyemi-led Rapid Response Squad conducted a sting operation on the guy’s house in the Surulere region of the state after the release of a video earlier this week depicting a man brandishing a pump-action rifle and endangering public order.

“Found in the suspect’s residence were three pump-action rifles, one Beretta pistol magazine, one expended 9mm ammunition, one expended and three live cartridges, and a picture frame of the suspect.

“The suspect, Tajudeen Bakare, narrowly escaped arrest and is hereby declared wanted. Any useful information leading to his arrest would be highly appreciated and treated with utmost confidentiality.”

According to the message inscribed on the picture frame recovered from Bakare’s residence, he was described as a monarch of the Ogboni fraternity.

Recall that Bakare was among 49 suspects arrested during the Yoruba Nation rally in the state sometime in 2021.

He was paraded alongside other suspects at the police headquarters in Ikeja.

Speaking during the parade, Bakare claimed he was on his way to a destination in the state when the police stopped him, adding that he was not among the protesters.