Some legal practitioners in Benin and the Edo State Civil Society Organisations have condemned the death of Mr. Chibuike Edeh, an employee of the Protea Hotel, Benin, who was found dead on March 14, at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, a day after he was arrested by the police.
PUNCH Metro had last Monday reported that Chibuike was arrested by officers from the Adesuwa Police Division, after he was accused by the management of the hotel of stealing N48,000 belonging to a guest.
But his corpse was later found at UBTH by his family members, while trying to secure his bail.
The Edo State Police Command had explained that the 27-year-old boy was knocked down by a Toyota Camry car as he tried to escape. But the aggrieved family insisted that their son was tortured to death.
Some lawyers who spoke with PUNCH Metro described the circumstance surrounding the death of the boy, who hailed from the Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State, as one which “negates common sense.”
One of them, Mr. Paul Omoeke, said the excuse of an accident was “a serious subterfuge by the police to compromise the rights of the Nigerian citizens”, adding that the accident had yet to be proven by them.
He said, “They said the Camry car dragged the victim from Omoruyi junction, near NNPC Mega Station, to First junction. But there was no onlooker, no bystander, nobody saw the accident. From our field investigation, that accident is a cover-up for what they have done to that particular person.
“A person that is being taken to the scene of a crime ought to have been handcuffed. If that person is handcuffed and a police officer is by that person, how would that person be able to flee? So, it negates common sense. The excuse of accident is seriously condemned and should not be an excuse; those people should be held for murder.”
Another lawyer, Mr. Lucky Aiyububie, urged the family of the deceased to insist on the engagement of a private pathologist to ascertain the true cause of death, saying the position of the police was unsatisfactory.
“If you look at the circumstances of the death, I think the police are trying to stage-manage something here. My advice is that the family of the deceased should involve a private pathologist from a government hospital, not a police doctor, to carry out the autopsy.
“Even if it was an accident, the police should be held for negligence. Someone was already in their custody; they were supposed to be cautious,” he added.
The Edo State Civil Society Organisations, a coalition of civil societies, urged the police to take responsibility for the incident, since the deceased had died “while in their custody.”
The body’s Legal Adviser, Mr. Abraham Oviawe, also called for a forensic investigation, saying, “The information arising from the police, the Protea Hotel and those who alleged they were eyewitnesses are contradictory.
“Our position is that the police should be held responsible for the death of that young man since he died while in their custody.
“They owe Nigerians an explanation and we feel a deeper investigation must be done. A forensic analysis must also be done to determine the true cause of death. The central working committee of the Edo Civil Society Organisations, which comprises all affiliate heads, has condemned that action,” he said.
