The Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has removed Adebowale Lawal as the Commissioner of Police in Ondo State, bringing an end to a tenure that became increasingly overshadowed by allegations of extortion, intimidation, and abuse of office.
Lawal, who was confirmed as the 46th Commissioner of Police in Ondo State in June 2025, has now been replaced by senior police officer Ohagwu Felix Ndukwe.
Before his removal, Lawal had overseen several security operations in the state, including a crackdown on cult-related activities in May 2026. He had initially assumed office following the redeployment of former Commissioner of Police Wilfred Afolabi.
Afolabi himself was removed by the then-Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, after opening an investigation into the violent attack on June 12 protesters in Akure. Police sources at the Force Headquarters in Abuja later claimed his removal was also connected to his decision to receive human rights activist Omoyele Sowore and other protesters who had visited the state police headquarters to report the assault.
However, Lawal’s own tenure soon became controversial after allegations emerged from officers within the Ondo State Police Command accusing him of imposing monthly financial levies on subordinates.
According to reports, several officers alleged that the commissioner operated a system of compulsory remittances running into millions of naira every month, with some sources claiming officers were pressured to remit between ₦1 million and ₦2 million regularly.
Multiple police sources reportedly described the financial demands as overwhelming and psychologically draining, with claims that the pressure contributed to the deteriorating health of some officers within the command.
One of the cases frequently mentioned by officers was the death of CSP Nimrod Anaka, the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Kajola Police Station in Odigbo Local Government Area. Sources alleged that he suffered from high blood pressure worsened by the intense financial pressure associated with meeting the demands placed on officers.
His death reportedly triggered quiet outrage among personnel within the command, although many officers were said to have been reluctant to speak publicly out of fear of reprisals from senior authorities.
The controversies surrounding Lawal deepened further in March when a group of clerics accused the police command of extorting ₦2 million from them following their arrest in Akure.
The pastors, identified as Olarewaju Fadahunsi, Gbadura Marvelous, Arijesulola Kayode, along with two others identified as Tijani and Kolade, were reportedly arrested on February 11, 2026, at Saint Paul Anglican Church in Odode-Idanre.
According to the allegations, a police team led by Inspector Sunday Aluko and operating under the authority of the commissioner stormed the church premises with about 16 officers in three Toyota Hilux vehicles before arresting the clerics and taking them to the state police headquarters.
The pastors alleged that they were detained for several days and later brought before Commissioner Lawal, where they claimed he threatened them and warned that they could be secretly killed and falsely presented to the public as kidnappers or fraud suspects.
One of the clerics said they questioned the basis for their arrest and asked whether any formal petition or complaint had been filed against them, particularly since the religious programme they were preparing for had not even started.
According to the pastor’s account, their response angered the commissioner, who allegedly interpreted it as a challenge to his authority before handing them over to another senior officer, CSP Emmanuel Oluyemi Fabiyi.
The clerics further alleged that they were later advised to “settle” the matter to avoid more serious consequences. After internal discussions among officers, they were allegedly informed that ₦6 million had initially been demanded for their release.
Unable to raise that amount, the pastors said they eventually sourced ₦2 million, although they claimed officers initially rejected the sum as insufficient for the commissioner.
They alleged that after further negotiations, the money was accepted through a Point of Sale operator linked to a MoniePoint account registered under the name Mama Shade Ventures.
According to one of the pastors, officers escorted the wife of one of the detainees to the POS operator’s shop near FUTA in Akure to withdraw the money in cash because, according to the woman, “the CP wouldn’t take a transfer.”
A recorded conversation cited in the report allegedly captured the POS operator explaining that cash was required because the commissioner was aware of the case and the payment had to be delivered physically.
The clerics claimed they were eventually released after paying the ₦2 million, alongside an additional ₦300,000 allegedly demanded separately by Inspector Leke Aluko as fuel allowance.
However, they alleged that they were rearrested days later and had their vehicles impounded after their lawyer submitted a petition to police authorities in Abuja.
