By Timothy Agbor, Osogbo
…petitions AIG, alleges foul play
. He committed suicide inside cell after remand – Police
The police in Osun and the Agboola family are at loggerheads over the mysterious death of their son, Saheed, in custody in Osogbo.
Saheed’s journey to his untimely grave began when visited Otaefun Police Station in Osogbo, the state capital, to report a threat to his life by a suspect.
Saheed, who was in his early 30s, was said to have accused another resident of Osogbo of threatening his life and had approached Otaefun Police Station sometimes in March 2020 to report the suspect so that he could be arrested and interrogated.
It was gathered that the police had arrested the suspect, but the story was said to have changed when the suspect turned around to accuse the complainant of owing him N461,000 from a daily contribution he was coordinating.
Following the suspect’s counter-complaint, Saheed was arrested by the police and arraigned before an Osogbo Magistrate’s Court on April 15.
The court was said to have denied Saheed bail and remanded him in police custody.
But the next day, Saheed’s uncle, Mr. Rasaq Agboola, was invited to the command headquarters by the Osun State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Johnson Kokumo, and informed that Saheed had died in cell the same night he was remanded.
Rasaq and other family members were shattered by the news of their son’s sudden and mysterious death in police custody.
Meanwhile, the family members of the late Saheed Agboola of Obalogbo Compound, Ila-Orangun, did not believe the police commissioner, who also told them that their son committed suicide in the police cell.
They have already petitioned the Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG Zone XI.
The family in a letter written by their lawyer, Mr. Kazeem Odedeji, a copy of which was obtained by our correspondent, called for discreet investigation into the circumstances that led to Saheed’s death.
The family in the letter alleged that the police later turned the case of threat to life reported by Saheed against him.
They argued that Saheed was not supposed to have been taken to court in the first place because he was the complainant in the matter he reported to the police.
Rasaq said, “Our son (Saheed) was arrested and detained. He was released on administrative bail the following day. Saheed was invited to the police station on April 15, where he was quickly rushed to Osogbo Magistrate Court and was arraigned without the knowledge of any of his family.
“He was remanded in the police custody before we knew at a later hour. It is pertinent to state here that Saheed’s father saw him late on that day, April 15, 2020 and he was in a very high spirits, not suggesting any unwholesome behavior.”
The family’s letter reads in part, “Surprisingly, late Saheed Agboola’s uncle and guardian was invited to the police headquarters on April 16, where he met with senior police officers led by the Commissioner of Police, Osun State Command, who broke the news of Saheed Agboola’s death on an excuse that he committed suicide inside police cell.
“Mr. Agboola Rasaq sought to see things himself, but alas, the situation he met the deceased did not in any way suggest that of somebody who took his own life. Another question agitating the mind of our client is ‘how on earth will a suspect in police cell such as Ota-Efun Divisional Police Headquarters take his own life and nobody would be available to come to his aid?’ How a suspect/defendant die in a police cell like a chicken beats everybody’s imagination.
“It is against the above background we hereby have our client’s instruction to demand for proper and discreet investigation into the circumstances leading to the death of Saheed Agboola in the custody of the Nigeria Police.”
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Yemisi Opalola, confirmed Saheed’s death in the command’s custody.
Opalola, however, argued that Saheed killed himself by using his own trousers to hang himself, saying that he was the only person in the cell as at the time of his death.
The Point
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