PUNCH reported that 41-year-old Ibrahim was among nine suspects picked up by the
operatives during a raid on a shopping complex at Rainbow bus-stop, Agege-Motor
Road, Mushin.
The
policemen were said to have arrested some persons in some shops and demanded
from them the whereabouts of one Ilesanmi, who was alleged to be among the
masterminds of the mayhem that was created sometime in April 2017, in the
Idi-Oro area of the state.
The
suspects, who denied knowing Ilesanmi’s whereabouts, were said to have been
taken to the area command where they were detained.
Our
correspondent was told that the Investigating Police Officer, one Eric,
allegedly accused Ibrahim of being Ilesanmi and descended on the Lagos State
indigene.
Eric was
said to have been joined by other policemen, who allegedly told the victim to
either confess to being Ilesanmi or give information on his whereabouts.
It was
gathered that a policeman attached to the Inspector-General of Police
Monitoring Team later intervened and got Ibrahim and another suspect released.
Ibrahim was
said to have succumbed to his injuries and died on Saturday.
One of the
shop owners, who identified himself simply as Muazu, told PUNCH Metro that
Ibrahim and other customers were arrested by the policemen last week Monday.
He said,
“Some people were eating in my noodle shop, while some others were chatting
when the policemen appeared suddenly and arrested them. I don’t know their
offences. The policemen didn’t say anything.”
One of those
arrested that night, who identified himself only as Azeez, said the raid
occurred around 11pm.
He said,
“When we got to the station, they said they were looking for Ilesanmi. Ibrahim
was the one they tortured the most because the IPO, Eric, said he must tell
them where Ilesanmi was. At another time, Eric said Ibrahim was the one bearing
the name. The policemen took our fingerprints after which they took us to our
houses to search for exhibits. They found nothing incriminating and returned us
to the cell.”
Another
suspect, Isiaka Gbadamosi, a vulcanizer, said the policemen punched Ibrahim on
different parts of his body.
“We were
there from Monday till Wednesday. I think Ibrahim sustained internal injuries
from the beatings,” he added.
The owner of two shops in the complex, whose workers were also
arrested, Tunde Yusuf, contacted the policeman with the IGP monitoring team,
identified simply as Supol Ben.
Yusuf said
he begged Ben to help in securing the bail of his workers, as well as Ibrahim.
“I own a
lottery shop and a bar in the complex. My workers had closed for the day and
were relaxing when they were arrested. Ben knew Ibrahim because the rider
sometime took him free of charge to his destinations. When he heard about the
incident, he went to mediate. But the police only released Ibrahim and Isiaka
(Gbadamosi) to him,” he added.
According to Punch, the families of the other seven suspects paid sums ranging from
N7,000 to N12,000 before they were eventually freed.
Our
correspondent learnt that Ibrahim took ill shortly after returning from the
police station on Wednesday.
The widow,
Funmilayo Kosoko, 39, said Ibrahim gave up on Saturday after complaining of
pains.
She said, “I
was told that a policeman hit him on the head with a big stick during the
torture. When he returned, he complained of pains. He died on Saturday. I want
the government to arrest that IPO and give us justice.”
PUNCH Metro
was told that the father of four learnt tailoring as a trade, but ventured into
commercial motorcycle operation to get quick money to support his family.
Our
correspondent gathered that the victim was buried in Ikorodu on Monday.
The state
Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, denied the allegation
of torture.
He said,
“The Area Commander said there was no torture and that the suspects arrested
were suspected to be part of the Idi-Oro mayhem. As a result, they were
questioned and interviewed and it was discovered they had no specific place of
abode. A senior officer came for the bail of three of them, including the man
in question. He was not tortured or assaulted.”
0 Comments