Writing by ALI MUHAMMAD RABIU; Editing by BASIRAT MEMUDU
The Nigeria Police Force have been called upon to urgently investigate the alleged torture and death of a 35-year old farmer, Olatunji Jimoh while in police custody in Ilorin, Kwara state.
Addressing newsmen on the incident in Ilorin on behalf of the Jimoh Alabi family, a concern citizen and convener, Owolabi Olumuyiwa said the deceased was held by the police over debt.
According to him, on December 19th last year the deceased was lured by one Kehinde Jelili while washing clothes at his residence in Balogun Fulani area of Ilorin.
He said Olatunji was abducted by members of the Nigeria Police Force Special Investigation Bureau (SIB) on a motorcycle and kept him at the police headquarters in Ilorin.
Olumuyiwa explained that at about six o’clock in the evening of the same day, the deceased made a call to his family members who later came to the police headquarters to testify that he (Olatunji ) the deceased owed his superior, Gabriel Sunday the sum of two hundred and twenty thousand naira.
He noted that even when the family paid the money out of the total sum of 425,000 thousand naira found on deceased, the police officers Adekunle Emmanuel Ogunsola, Emmanuel Ajiboye, and Oluwole Bamiteko denied the him bail and ordered the family to come back the following morning.
Olumuyiwa said around ten o’clock at night a strange call was made to the deceased sister asking them to come to the station, adding that the deceased hung himself in the police cell and died.
He hinted that when the family demanded that body of the deceased (Olatunji ) be handed over to them, the police said the body has been taken to the mortuary and dissected his lap, with wounds on his body without the consent of the family.
Olumuyiwa appealed to the inspector general of police to order an investigation to establish the cause of Olatunji’s death.
He said the police officers who unlawfully arrested him should be prosecuted, and the welfare of his two children looked into.
In their remarks, the father of the deceased, Jimoh Alabi and the mother, Adijat Jimoh also urged the police authority to pay them damages following the shock suffered over the death of their son.
For his part, the legal representative of the Olatunji family, Barrister Olukayode Oloyede appealed to the inspector general of police to look into the cases of police excesses in Kwara state with a view to put an end to the killings of innocent citizens.
