- Boy’s body held by police since May 1
The father of a teenager, Gafar Ayoola, allegedly tortured to death while in police custody, has appealed to the Federal Government to prevail on the force to release the corpse of his late son to the family.
Mr. Sulaiman Ayoola alleged that his son was tortured to death inside the cell, where he was detained at Denton Police Station, Ebute Meta, Lagos, by one Corporal Taiwo Jimoh.
Ayoola said his son was arrest- ed on April 30, while the police informed the family of his death on May 1, a day after, and claimed that he died of heart attack in their custody.
Our correspondent gathered that Gafar, who was arrested at about 8am by Jimoh at Oyingbo Bus Stop in Lagos, was on his way back home from an errand his mother had sent him.
The father of the late 19-year-old Gafar, however, insisted that his son was killed in cold blood by a policeman attached to the Denton Division, which has also held on to his corpse “for reasons best known to them.”
The distraught Ayoola, while narrating the circumstances surrounding his son’s alleged murder in custody to our correspondent, said, “Police killed my son and also seized his corpse. He is still in the hospital mortuary, where the police dumped him.
“He was tortured to death by one Corporal Taiwo Jimoh, who arrested him on his way back home from an errand that his mother sent him. Corporal Jimoh arrested him around 8am, and took him to their station, where they hung and tortured him mercilessly.
“Later, when they discovered my boy was already gasping for breath, he and his other colleagues quickly rushed him to Dunik Hospital at Ebute Meta, where Gafar later died.”
Now sobbing and shedding tears, Ayoola managed to further say, “When I got to the police station the following day, the police officers on duty couldn’t say he (Gafar) did anything, because they knew the import of what had happened in their custody. Even the DPO was telling me that he was sorry over the case; that it was a painful case to him.
“The police said three of them were pursued, but my son was the only one arrested. But I know that all they were saying could not be true.”
He said he received the sad news of his son’s death on the phone, while still at work.
“I was at work on that day when someone called me that my son was arrested by the police. While I was still asking why he was arrested, the person also told me that he had died due to torture by the police. So, I immediately took permission from work to quickly go and see what was happening.
“On getting to the police division, I confirmed the sad news and I immediately proceeded to the hospital where he died.”
Ayoola, said he, however, got the shock of his life when he was told by the doctor at the hospital where his son died that the police had instructed him not to allow anyone to see the teenager’s corpse.
“On getting there, the doctor on duty showed me the file and his corpse. He also told me that he only allowed me to see him because I was the father, because the police have instructed him not to allow anyone have access to the corpse. “He also confirmed that the police officer that brought him, Taiwo Jimoh, has also collected his death certificate from the hospital and since that day, they have kept his corpse away from us without saying anything,” he said. The father of the dead teenager, therefore, appealed to the government and other appropriate authorities to come to his aid in his desire to get justice over the extra-judicial killing of his young son in custody by a policeman. Ayoola added that the death of his young son had affected the fam- ily so badly. He said his wife had yet to recover from the shock since she learnt of the alleged killing of their son by the police. 
Meanwhile, the mother of the late boy, Mrs. Lateefat Ayoola, who managed to speak with our correspondent on the phone, said she would never forgive the police for killing her young son. Lateefat, who said she had yet to resume her business since her son’s death, regretted sending Gafar the errand that “turned him to a prey in the hands of a mindless police officer who took his life prematurely.” She said, “I sent my son, Gafar, to deliver a message at 16 Bridge Road, Otto, Lagos Mainland, Ebute-Metta, to my sister. Gafar was a barber and had his shop at Okoafo, Badagry area, where we all reside.
“The following day in the morn- ing, we were called that he had been arrested by a police officer named Taye from Denton Police Station at Oyingbo Bus Stop while on his way to board a cab back home.
“My husband and I went to the police station to confirm Gafar’s arrest, but we were not alzlowed to see him. They also refused to tell us the reason for his arrest. But later, some of the policemen told us that Gafar died in their custody as result of a heart attack.
“Later, my husband was invited by the divi- sional police officer, who pleaded with us to accept the matter in good faith and refused to admit that my son was tortured. He said he had car- diac arrest while in their custody.”
A resident of the area, Mr Wasiu Afolabi, condemned the alleged killing of the teenager by the police while in their custody.
Afolabi said, “I am yet to know when our police in this country will stop their extra-judicial killing that has become their tradition. The young boy’s live was just wasted.” Efforts made by our correspon- dent to get the reaction of the police authority on the incident proved abortive. Lagos State Police Public Re- lations Officer, Dolapo Badmos, did not answer calls made to her phone. Badmus, a superintendent of po- lice did not also reply text messages sent to her.
