The Lagos State Police Command has arrested the Head of the Igala Community in Lagos, Chief Muhammad Salifu Shaibu, over allegations of child defilement.
Salifu was arrested on Wednesday by officers from the command’s Gender Unit following a news report.
A family source said the arrest followed a confrontation at Salifu’s residence, where some of his associates allegedly resisted the police.
“He was finally arrested today. We are currently at the Commissioner of Police’s office. The police officers were bitten and wounded. They had to call for backup from Ogudu Police Station,” the source said.
According to the source, officers from Ogudu Police Station later intervened, removed Salifu from the residence and handed him over to the Gender Unit.
Video clips and photographs showed Salifu, dressed in white native attire, in a confrontation with police officers at the entrance of his residence, while some women and youths attempted to resist the arrest.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Adebisi, asked for details of the case to be sent via WhatsApp for confirmation but had yet to respond at the time of filing the report.
On September 6, reports had it that a teenager was allegedly sexually assaulted twice by Salifu at a hotel in Ojota, Lagos, in December 2023, when she was 15.
According to the teenager’s mother, Elizabeth Yakubu, the girl subsequently became pregnant. She alleged that Salifu initially denied responsibility but later acknowledged the pregnancy and offered N50,000 for an abortion, which the family rejected.
The family’s lawyer, Kazeem Adebanjo, said in a petition that the teenager later underwent a Caesarean section, but the baby developed breathing complications and died after seven days.
The matter was reported to Ketu Police Station, the Lagos State Police Command’s Gender Unit and the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, which referred it to the police for investigation.
Police sources said the case remained under investigation and that Salifu had previously remained at large after attempts to arrest him at several locations were unsuccessful.
Salifu has denied the allegations, attributing the case to opposition to his leadership of the Igala community and questioning why the matter was reported in 2026 over an alleged incident in 2023.
Meanwhile, the Amonu Igala Ujah Ache Council appealed for calm, urging members of the Igala community and the public to allow the relevant authorities to investigate the allegations.
The council said the matter should be handled through the legal process and warned against taking the law into their own hands.
The police Gender Unit had earlier announced that it had formally taken over the investigation from the local police station following a directive approved by the Commissioner of Police.
The unit said the transfer was intended to enable a more comprehensive investigation by the specialised team.