Posted by By GABRIEL DIKE, Osogbo on
Relations and friends of a student of the Nigeria Institute of Journalism (NIJ) and the bread winner of the Agboola family, are up in arms against the men of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) in Osogbo, Osun State over alleged extra judicial killing of the lad. Ladi Agboola,was allegedly murdered by the police after he was arrested and detained at their office.
• Osun SARS in extra judicial killing mess
Relations and friends of a student of the Nigeria Institute of Journalism (NIJ) and the bread winner of the Agboola family, are up in arms against the men of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) in Osogbo, Osun State over alleged extra judicial killing of the lad. Ladi Agboola,was allegedly murdered by the police after he was arrested and detained at their office.
His death in the custody of SARS operatives eight days after he was arrested for alleged robbery incident on April 29, 2008 has fuelled speculations that the security outfit was involved in extra judicial killing of suspects arrested for crimes, without prosecution. Within the same period, Daily Sun learnt from the family of a suspect involved in the stolen vehicle saga, in which one of the Action Congress (AC) lawmaker in the state was arrested, was also killed in similar circumstances.
The wife who protested his death in the custody of SARS in Osogbo was reportedly detained and warned to keep quite. Ladi's colleagues at the NIJ in Osogbo had noticed his absence in class and when examinations began, but thought that he travelled outside the state for business only to be hit by the sad news of his death.
According to a petition to the Inspector General of Police by his family, the late Ladi was arrested about 8pm at Oke- Baale area for alleged robbery on April 29, 2008. His family lawyer, Mr. Abdulrasak Adeoye, reportedly met with one Eniola (a.k.a Enny) a SARS operative, who narrated how the victim was arrested in connection with alleged robbery on May 2. The lawyer said Eniola asked him to call again on May 5 to know what next line action to take on the case. Despite the visit and another by his colleague, Barrister J.O.Akano on the same case, they only learnt to their dismay, that Ladi had been killed.
Adeoye said on learning of the boy's death, he immediately called Eniola to confirm the veracity of the information. Eniola reportedly said he was no more the IPO and that one Dapo Olonade had been appointed instead. 'He also told me that the reason they opened fire on the boys was that they wanted to escape when they led them for an enquiry.' Adeoye described the killing as gross violation of the victim's fundamental rights guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution, stressing that as at the time the victim was killed, he remained an innocent person, until the guilt was proven against him in a law court.
Said he: 'In this instance, investigation had not been concluded, no trial had taken place before men of SARS passed judgement by killing him. In actual fact, many innocent citizens would have had their lives cut short or terminated summarily while many are awaiting their doom each passing day in the hands of the men of SARS. The trend will continue if not nipped in the bud or put under check and control'. The lawyer prayed the Inspector General of Police to order a full scale investigation into the killing and bring the culprit to book to serve as deterrent to others.
He demanded N500million as compensation for the loss and to take care of the deceased's widow, daughter and parents. He also requested for a public apology from the police to the family and the release of the corpse to the family for burial. Investigations revealed that apart from Ladi, another Okada rider who was arrested same day for the alleged offence suffered similar fate.
Ladi's elder brother, Pastor Thompson Agboola, told Daily Sun that the family was under going trauma as a result of his death and the attempt to label him a robber by police saying his parent since the incident were distressed because Ladi was the bread winner of the family. Pastor Agboola said that the police authority had since refused to release his corpse to the family, even after they carried out an autopsy on the body noting: 'They don't want to release the body to us to give him a befitting burial. For two months, they claimed they don't have N2000 to perform the autopsy. They are scared of releasing the body to us because the report is not positive to them.'
Daily Sun's several efforts to speak with the Assistant Inspector General of Police Zone 11, Mr. Tunji Alapini and Osun State Commissioner of Police, Mr. John Moronike on the case proved abortive, while the Deputy Commissioner of Police Zone 11 who is said to be in charge of the case pleaded for time saying that he just assumed office after redeployment from Calabar The state command's Public Relations Officer, Mr. Joshua Olayemi, claimed ignorance of the petition.