The Battle For Ajiranland: Will Justice Finally Prevail In The Brutal Murder Of A Prince And A Resident?
LAGOS, Nigeria — A quiet war for the soul and safety of the Ajiran community in Eti-Osa Local Government Area is playing out in the courtroom and on the streets.
At the heart of this storm is a fierce demand for justice following two gruesome murders that shook the community to its core: the killing of Mr. Sheriff Ishola Salami on April 18, 2023, and the assassination of Prince Kazeem Ademola Akinloye—the first son of the Ojomu of Ajiranland—on August 26, 2024.
For months, the perpetrators seemed beyond the reach of the law. However, a decisive breakthrough came following the deployment of AIG Olohundare Jimoh, who took over as the Lagos State Commissioner of Police on February 18, 2025. Acting swiftly on a petition from Olarotimi Williams Chambers, the police cracked the case open, arresting two suspects whose subsequent confessions pointed directly to a prominent Lagos businessman, Hammed Tajudeen Akanbi (popularly known as Ahmed Ajiran), as the primary sponsor and orchestrator of the killings.
What followed was a high-stakes international manhunt. When local police closed in, Akanbi allegedly fled the country, prompting an international dragnet that ultimately led to his arrest by INTERPOL in Benin Republic.
A Campaign of Calumny and Misinformation
As the case moved toward prosecution, the battlefield shifted from the streets to social media. Concerned civil rights activists have fiercely raised alarms over what they describe as a well-funded “campaign of calumny” sponsored by criminal elements. This media pushback is reportedly designed to twist the arm of the law, manipulate public opinion, and discredit the integrity of the Nigeria Police Force and its investigators.
Activists who recently paid a solidarity visit to AIG Jimoh (now in charge of Zone 2 Command) have urged the public to completely disregard these “merchants of falsehood.” They emphasize that the suspects’ attempts to lobby powerful figures and relations of top police officers failed because investigators refused to compromise on the delivery of justice.
The Missing Link: Where is the Prime Suspect?
While the police have successfully brought the case to court, the path to a final verdict remains fraught with tension. Human rights groups, including the Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights (CHSR), have raised critical questions regarding the current custody of the prime suspect.
Reports emerged that the Ikoyi Correctional Centre initially rejected Hammed Tajudeen Akanbi due to severe ill-health. This development has sparked a secondary wave of advocacy, with civil society networks demanding absolute transparency from prison and judicial authorities to ensure the mastermind does not evade trial.
With the case now active before a court of competent jurisdiction, legal analysts note that while further public commentary on the evidence is restricted, the eyes of the entire nation remain fixed on Lagos. For the families of Sheriff Salami and Prince Kazeem Akinloye, and for the residents of Ajiranland, the hope remains absolute: justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be clearly done.
