The family of Olashile Oduga, a car dealer in Ikorodu, Lagos, is seeking justice following allegations that he was tortured to death by officers at the Ikota Police Post.
The deceased’s elder sister, Abisola Bakare, who spoke on behalf of the family in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, said they learned of Oduga’s death on Wednesday after she contacted the manager of the estate where he lived in the Chevron area of Ajah.
She said, “It was my brother’s pregnant wife who called me on Wednesday afternoon, saying her husband’s line had been unreachable since Tuesday afternoon. So, I called the estate manager where he lived and asked him to check on him to find out why his phone wasn’t going through.
“It was the estate manager who then informed us that some policemen from the Ikota Police Post had arrested him on Tuesday afternoon.”
She explained that the estate manager told her that Oduga had a misunderstanding with his neighbour, Stasia Nora, which escalated into a fight.
After the altercation, the woman went to the police post and brought officers to arrest Oduga.
Bakare said the estate manager visited the Ikota Police Post that same Tuesday after Oduga’s arrest, but the officers denied him access to see her brother.
“So, I followed the estate manager to the police post on Wednesday, along with my sisters. When we arrived, I mentioned my brother’s name and told them we were informed of his arrest and detention at the post.
“But the officers on duty denied having any record of him. The estate manager confronted them, insisting that Oduga was present when their men took my brother away. It was at that moment that one of the officers called the Investigating Police Officer of the post, Modinat Alaka, who directed us to Ajah Police Station because the case had been transferred there,” Bakare narrated.
She explained that upon arriving at the station, she found several senior officers in one of the offices discussing the matter.
“They kept telling me, ‘Madam, sorry. Take it easy.’ I asked them, ‘Sorry for what?’ and demanded my brother’s release. Then, to my shock, the Ikota police IPO started crying.
“The Divisional Police Officer of Ajah Police Station shouted at her, ordering her to speak before he lost his temper. It was then that she told me my brother was dead,” Bakare lamented.
In disbelief, she asked how it happened, but Alaka claimed that when they brought Oduga into custody, he appeared very weak, so they rushed him to Epe General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
“I asked if they had any video evidence showing him being taken to the hospital, but she said they had forgotten to take pictures. I demanded to see his body, and they told me it had been deposited at the Epe mortuary.
“The officers kept begging me, but I left the station in sorrow that Wednesday night,” she added.
Bakare said she couldn’t hold back the pain and drove straight to the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Alagbon at midnight to make an official complaint before returning home.
She said she received a call on Thursday morning, summoning her to the Ajah Police Station.
“When I arrived, the officers started begging again. As I was pressing for answers, some officers from Panti arrived and demanded that the case be transferred to their office.
“They arrested the woman who fought with my brother and two policemen involved in his arrest. I followed them all to Panti that Thursday,” she stated.
At Panti, Bakare said a Chief Superintendent of Police, Abdullahi Lateef, questioned the officers who arrested Oduga, and they claimed to have detained him because he injured the woman’s hand during the fight.
“Lateef then asked if there was any bloodstain or serious injury. They admitted that there was none, only that one of the woman’s fingernails had been removed.
“He asked if she had any visible wounds or bruises, and they said no. He then demanded to know why they had detained my brother in the first place, but the officers could not answer.
“As a result, he ordered their detention along with the woman who fought with my brother,” Bakare explained.
She added that Lateef instructed them to visit the mortuary to inspect Oduga’s body.
“When we arrived at the mortuary on Friday, the attendant brought out my brother’s corpse. His body was covered in bloodstains and showed multiple marks of physical abuse. I even saw deep handcuff marks on his wrists, indicating that he had been severely restrained.
“We took photos and video recordings of his body and returned to Panti. Upon seeing the evidence, CSP Lateef admitted that my brother must have been tortured to death. Though he apologised to us and asked us to return home,” Bakare said.
The grieving woman said the deceased family wanted justice and was ready to pursue the case to a logical conclusion.
“As a family, we are determined to seek justice. We will get a good lawyer for the case. All we seek is justice,” she added.
Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, Bakare’s husband, Ayoola, who had informed the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, via X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday night, condemned Oduga’s death and demanded justice.
He said the family would ensure they get justice, disclosing that Oduga’s corpse would be retrieved from the mortuary on Monday for burial.
As of the time of filing this report on Saturday, Hundeyin had yet to respond to calls or messages from The PUNCH correspondent.
