Young Arebamen: The Tough Cop Who Arrested the Law, Dies at 72

The late Arebamen as Lagos State commissioner of police.

Ronke Kehinde/

As a Commissioner of Police (CP) in Lagos State, Young Emmanuel Arebamen’s handcuff was no respecter of persons, not even the LAW.

He arrested and paraded several law enforcement agents and traffic wardens for bribery and extortion, and slammed the cuffs on a magistrate who allegedly asked for bribe and was given marked money.

Newspaper report of Arebamen’s daring arrest of the judge.

The charismatic, combative, seasoned anti-corruption campaigner, who made his mark as the preeminent people’s policeman, died in his sleep at about 10 pm on Wednesday, March 14.

He was 72.

Arebamen, who was appointed as the Lagos State CP by IGP Tafa Balogun in 2002, had also served as the Force Public Relations Officer, between 1997 and 2000, and as the Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA) when Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) were governors.

A retired CP, Mr Olayinka Balogun stated in a message sent to NewsmakersNG: “My condolences to the Police… Oga Young Arabamen was a good officer.A jovial yet firm officer… I was PSO to IGP Smith when the lot fell on him to go and head Panti CID from his then FPRO seat in Abuja. He discharged his duties creditably well, and that must have led to his being posted as Commissioner of Police Lagos State some years later. May he find peace with his Maker.”

Arebamen fought and suppressed bank robbers in Lagos and suggested to banks then the need to build an observation tower within their premises to put security operatives in better stead to fight marauding bandits.

“He was a dedicated, loyal and committed officer,” says ACP Gbolahan Olugbemi, who was the Personal Assistant to Arebamen as Lagos CP.

Olugbemi added that the history of good governance in Lagos State could not be told without a generous mention of Arebamen.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Friday Toyin Ibadin, who was one of the arrowheads of Arebamen’s crime fighting squads in Lagos described him as a very good man.

Here are some memorable pictures of the Esan, Edo State born Arebamen:

CP Arebamen with Editorial team of The Comet during a visit in 2002. From left: The Asst. News Editor, Investigations, Dipo Kehinde, the Editor-in-Chief, Mr Femi Kusa; the Associate Editor, Mr Jide Ogundele, Arebamen, the MD, Mr Lade Bonuola, and the Managing Editor, Alhaji Rasaq Adedigba.

Arebamen brainstorming with Mr Bonuola at The Comet.

The Connoisseur: Arebamen beams a smile as he was appreciating paintings at an art exhibition staged by a Crime Reporter, Dipo Kehinde, at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, in 2003.

Media-friendly Arebamen with some of the journalists who covered the crime beat in his days as CP. From Left: Yewande Iwuoha, Ebele Boniface, Dipo Kehinde, Bola Ojuola, and Sesan Olufowobi.

Arebamen with Art reporters at the 2003 exhibition.

Arebamen at the exhibition

Bye Bye Arebamen! The CP leaves the stage.

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