Police denies torturing suspect to death

Police denies torturing suspect to death

Abdullateef Fowewe

Abuja Police Command has denied an allegation that a suspect was tortured to death while in their custody.

A video of a woman emerged on social media on Wednesday saying her son was tortured to death by the police.

In the video, the woman could be heard saying, “My son was beaten to death in the police custody.”

Reacting to the allegation the Police Public Relations Officer, Federal Capital Territory Police Command, SP Josephine Adeh, said the allegation is faux.

She said, “The late Erasmus was not tortured to death. Discrete investigations were conducted to determine the remote and immediate cause of death of the deceased, and an autopsy was carried out, which confirmed the stance of the police.”

However, in a statement on Friday by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, claimed the young man was a member of a cult and was arrested on suspicions of raping and killing a young woman in his friend’s company, was found to have died of asphyxiation according to the autopsy report and he was not tortured by the police before his death.

The statement read, “My attention has been drawn to this video. The matter is an old one and it has been decided. The FCT command handled the case. The autopsy report cleared the air on this. The boy, who was a cultist and arrested for alleged raping and killing of a young lady in the company of his friend, was never tortured by the police.

“The Force Headquarters was involved in the investigation then. Erasmus was a cultist who had been fingered in many crises and alleged killings of some innocent Nigerians in the area. He died of asphyxiation, according to the autopsy. Not torture, please. The autopsy was done in the presence of the doctor(s) of the deceased family. It’s unfortunate he died because the police even needed him to unravel some issues and pending cases in the area. May his soul rest in peace, while we urge Nigerians to always have objective perception, and understanding of cases, and view issues objectively before running down the police. We didn’t kill Erasmus.”