The Lagos State Police Command on Thursday declared wanted the leader of a fraternal institution, Ogboni, Tajudeen Bakare, for threatening public peace and possessing guns in the Surulere area of the state.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, in a statement posted on Twitter, said policemen, while acting on actionable intelligence, stormed Bakare’s residence.

He explained that during the sting operation, Bakare narrowly escaped.

Hundeyin said, “Following the emergence of a video earlier this week showing a man wielding a pump-action rifle and threatening public peace, the CSP Yinka Egbeyemi-led Rapid Response Squad, working on actionable intelligence, carried out a sting operation on the residence of the man in the Surulere area of the state.

“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. (The PUNCH)