Local News
Family Demand Justice for the Death of Salesman in Police Custody
A pharmaceutical salesman, Olalekan Oladiti was found dead in the hands of men the Nigeria Police Force. The family of Olalekan has demanded justice for hisa .. death.
It was gathered that Olalekan, who was working as a sales representative for a yet-to-be-identified pharmaceutical store in the Shasha area of Alimosho Local Government, Lagos State, was accused of stealing over N1m from the proceeds of the drugs he sold to the firm’s customers.
In a bid to escape arrest, the 24-year-old allegedly fled from Lagos and hid in the family house of his childhood friend, one Ridwan Babalola, in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Olalekan’s boss, one Uduak Ekpenyong, got his guarantor, identified simply as Iya Ibrahim, arrested and detained for several hours.
However, through his girlfriend, Omowunmi Rajasat, men of the Lagos State Police Command tracked Olalekan down to the Power line bus stop in Moniya, Ibadan, where he was arrested.
But the story took another dimension when he was asked to take the cops to his hideout in the area.
It was learnt that Olalekan led the policemen to Ridwan’s room, but was later carried out and dumped in their patrol vehicle after being allegedly tortured.
Ridwan said his friend died in the custody of the police, adding that an eyewitness, identified simply as Daddy Anu, who was surprised that Olalekan walked into the room but was being carried out by the policemen, challenged them and was also assaulted.
He said, “We were at home making plans for what to eat when Olalekan told us he was going to pick his girlfriend at the bus stop, while I also left for the market to get what we were going to eat. The policemen had left with my friend by the time I got back, but a neighbour, Daddy Anu, said Olalekan walked into the room but was carried out and when he tried to stop them, the policemen assaulted him and pushed him away.
“Olalekan was tortured in the room and after the policemen took him away; my dad’s uncle informed me that my dad, Abiodun, told him that he died in police custody.”
Abiodun said Iya Ibrahim informed him of the death, adding that he got her number from the deceased’s mum after the policemen came to his house to arrest Olalekan.
Iya Ibrahim told our correspondent on the telephone that Olalekan, while still in hiding, appealed to his boss to release her when he learnt of her arrest.
“I was at home when his colleagues, who came looking for him, informed me that he stole the money made from the drugs he delivered to customers. But on that day, he just told me that he was going to work and disappeared. I was detained in a cell at the Afoka Police Station for hours before I was granted bail,” she said.
Ekpenyong said the amount stolen was over N1m, adding learned he was dumbfounded when he learnt that investigation to unravel Olalekan’s whereabouts so as to recover the money allegedly led to his death.
He stated, “I am not happy about what happened; all I desired was to recover the money, but I was dumbfounded by the outcome, because he was a boy I loved and trusted so much. I employed him since 2017. In October 2019, when it was close to the time for cash collection for the sales made the previous day, we discovered that all his phones had been switched off.
“The money is over N1m, so, I had to report at the police station after 24 hours. But when the guarantor could not provide him in a week, we had to employ an independent tracker, who assisted us in tracking him to Ibadan, where he was arrested. I was told that he died two hours after he was arrested. But the representative I sent to identify him did not follow them to Olalekan’s house.”
The deceased’s brother, Olaide, condemned the policemen for subjecting him to inhumane treatment that led to his death without trial.
He said, “When Ridwan’s father told me that the police arrested my brother destabilized him to death, I was destabilised. They said he stole money but is there justice in killing him? Even those, who committed murder, are subjected to trial in court.
“Members of the family and I visited the police command headquarters, where we met with the IPO, who brought out his file and showed us the pictures of his corpse.
“But when we met with the state Commissioner of Police, I asked how my brother would die in their custody and they refused to inform us two days after. He calmed me down and said a post-mortem would be done to ascertain the cause of death. I realised that the IPO was hiding a picture from us and I asked if that picture would be included among the ones he would take to the court to get approval for the post-mortem and he said no.
“We told him to give us a letter so that we could see my brother’s corpse at the Adeoyo State Hospital’s mortuary, but he refused. I am suspecting that he is hiding something and I am calling on the government to help my family get justice.”
The Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, Gbenga Fadeyi, said officers from the Lagos command tracked Olalekan down to Ibadan, adding that upon sighting the police, he collapsed and died of low blood pressure.
Fadeyi stated, “The police officers handling the case in Lagos State tracked him down to Moniya, in Ibadan through his girlfriend, Omowunmi, and upon sighting the police, he became unnecessarily apprehensive and collapsed.
“They poured water on him and rushed him to two hospitals on Iwo Road, where preliminary investigation revealed that he had low blood pressure; so, he was transferred to the University College Hospital, where he was confirmed dead.”
Efforts made by our correspondent to get a reaction from the PPRO in Lagos, Bala Elkana, proved abortive as his number was unreachable and he had yet to respond to a text message sent to his mobile phone number.
But a source in the Afonka Police Station said Olalekan was not tortured, adding that the result of an autopsy on the corpse was being awaited to reveal the cause of death.
The source said, “His girlfriend, representatives of his boss and the tracker were in the room with him and he was asked to wear a pair of trousers, because he was in shorts. While doing so, he took a heavy breath, fell and thick saliva started coming out of his mouth.
“So, we rushed him to the Don Hospital on Iwo Road, where it was discovered that he had low blood pressure and was later transferred to the UCH, where he was confirmed dead. We are waiting for the autopsy report to determine the cause of death.”
Omowunmi told PUNCH Metro, “He walked into the room by himself, but when they were coming outside, the officers carried him and foamy substances were coming out of his mouth. I and the representative of the company were in the car while the police went inside with him.”
On Wednesday, a 26-year-old man, Olajide Asade, was crushed to death by a commercial car, while he was making a video call to his girlfriend at the Adedero village on the Abeokuta-Siun-Sagamu Expressway.
The accident involved a Honda Odyssey car with number plate AAA 589 FV, which was conveying crates of eggs.
It was gathered that the deceased was reportedly making a video call to his girlfriend while crossing the road when the accident occurred.
An eyewitness told our correspondent that the deceased and his brother boarded a car from the Kuto motor park in Abeokuta, but the vehicle developed a mechanical fault on the road.
The eyewitness said while the other passengers were standing by the roadside waiting for the driver to repair the vehicle, the deceased reportedly concentrated on the video call.
The deceased’s brother, Azeez, said they were both travelling to their mother’s residence in the Ajah area of Lagos State.
Azeez confirmed that his brother had been making a video call to his girlfriend since they took off from Kuto in Abeokuta.
He added that they left their apartment at Ijoga in Abeokuta very early in the morning to embark on the journey.
Azeez maintained that the driver of the car, who hit Olajide, was on a normal speed.
The driver, whose car hit the deceased, Bolaji Balogun, said Olajide was the one who bumped into his vehicle.
Balogun, an employee of an agro firm, said he was going to the Obasanjo Farm to purchase crates of eggs for his company.
The driver stated that the deceased had already got to the front of his car before he could apply the brake.
Confirming the crash, the Public Relations Officer of the Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps, Babatunde Akinbiyi, said there were two male occupants in the vehicle that killed Olajide.
He stated, “There is a road diversion along the Abeokuta-Siun-Sagamu interchange due to the ongoing reconstruction; the deceased probably assumed it would be better and safer for him to cross to the other side, where road reconstruction is ongoing.
“The man, while crossing back to the other side of the road, was making a video call and was oblivious to the fact that a vehicle was coming from the Sagamu end to Abeokuta.
“The vehicle, a Honda Odyssey, hit him and he died on the spot.
“His corpse has been deposited in the morgue of the General Hospital, Ijaiye, Abeokuta, while the driver of the Honda Odyssey and the vehicle are now at the state Motor Traffic Division, Ibara, Abeokuta.”
On Monday, several security outfits intercepted about 60 men hiding in a Lagos-bound truck filled with cows at the Berger end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
It was gathered that the travellers, who reportedly came from Zamfara and neighbouring states, were heading for the Agege area of Lagos.
It was learnt that some of the men jumped down from the truck and fled on sighting the personnel of the Lagos State Task Force on Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences (Enforcement Unit), the Rapid Respond Squad, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps, Vehicle Inspection Officers and the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps at the boundary between both states.
The security personnel, however, denied them access into the state and turned them back.
The motor boy, who accompanied the truck from Zamfara State, Kabiru Haruna, said the cows were meant to be delivered to an abattoir in Agege and expressed surprise that the security agents stopped them.
He said, “We left Zamfara around 6 pm on Sunday, but not all of us here are from Zamfara State. Some are from Sokoto, Kano and Kebbi states. I am the motor boy for the truck, and I followed it from Zamfara down to where we are currently.
“We want to deliver the cows to an abattoir in Agege. I can’t really say the exact time we were stopped because I did not take note of the time. I don’t know why we were stopped.”
The truck driver was asked to go back to the point of take off after most of the fleeing men had regrouped at the pin-down point in Berger.
Confirming the incident to one of our correspondents, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, said the men could not be allowed into the state.
He stated, “Forty-two men from Zamfara State hid in a truck and were intercepted at the Berger end of the expressway. The law is very clear; if you’re escorting a vehicle conveying food items, you must not be more than seven, but these people violated the law, and they were turned back.
“We have been searching all vehicles and all food items thoroughly to be sure that nobody is being smuggled into the state and this has helped us. We have sent the truck back; it cannot come into the state.”
On Tuesday, an Ogbonnaya Daniel was arrested by the Ebonyi state police for killing the 11-year-old daughter of his co-tenant, Miss Ukamaka Nwuzor.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Loveth Odah, stated this in a statement in Abakaliki on Tuesday.
Odah said the matter was reported to the command’s ‘B’ Division, Kpirikpiri, Abakaliki by the deceased’s father, Peter Nwuzor.
She said following the beating, the victim was taken to the Alex Ekweme Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki (AE-FETHA) for treatment where she was confirmed dead.
Odah said the suspect had been arrested and an investigation was ongoing after which he would be charged to court.
The statement read, “On May 2, 2020, at 2.15 pm, one Peter Nwuzor of Omege Avenue, Abakaliki, reported at ‘B’ Division Kpirikpiri, that by 9am of the same date, his co-tenant at the address mentioned above, one Ogbonna Daniel, aged 28, a native of Asaga in Arochukwu Local Government Area of Abia State, beat up his daughter Ukamaka Nwuzor, aged 11, to a coma.
“Following the report, police detectives immediately visited the scene of the incident. The victim was rushed to the A-E Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (AE-FETHA I) for medical treatment, but was later confirmed dead by the medical practitioner on duty. The corpse was deposited at the same hospital mortuary for preservation and autopsy.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect is a next-door neighbour of the deceased’s family and there was an altercation that the deceased (Ukamaka) poured unclean water near the suspect’s apartment. As a result, he descended on her, beat her to a coma, which led to her death.”
The Imam of Ekakpamre, Mohammad Young Okotie was on Friday arrested by Delta state police officers for defying the ban on gatherings.
The Imam had defied the stay-at-home and social distancing order of the state government and led hundreds of Islamic faithful in congregational Jum’at service.
The incident happened on Friday, April 23 at Otu-Jeremi in Ughelli South Local Government Area of the state.
“Imam Okotie led hundreds of Muslim faithful, and held Jumat service at the Ekakpamre Central Mosque in Ughelli South Local Government Area, thereby violating the prohibition on gatherings in the state,” a source told our correspondent.
When contacted, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Onome Onowakpoyeya, confirmed the arrest.
He said, “The Imam was arrested about 11 am on Friday, May 1, 2020.
“He is currently held at the Otu-Jeremi Police Station for possible prosecution according to the laws of the land.
“The State Commissioner of Police, Hafiz Mohammed-Inuwa, had ordered his arrest a few days ago.”
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