Not funny at all, as driver d*es in LASTMA custody. Detectives at the State Criminal
Investigation Department, Yaba, Lagos State, are investigating the cause
of the d*ath of a commercial bus driver, Okechukwu Osaka. Osaka was said to have d*ed in the custody of the Lagos State Traffic Management. OUR SOURCE gathered that on the
day, Osaka had parked his vehicle by the side of the road and had gone
to a nearby canteen to eat. It was said that while he was eating, some
people told him that a team of six LASTMA officials were towing his
vehicle. It was learnt that in a bid to stop them, he had an altercation with the LASTMA officials. Eyewitnesses said despite Osaka’s
efforts, the vehicle was towed. The deceased was said to have jumped
into the vehicle, which was taken to Iponri operational base of the
agency.
Colleagues of the deceased at the Ojuelegba Motor Park told our correspondent that it was the last time they saw Osaka alive.
...
But the spokesperson for LASTMA, Bola
Ajao, had said Osaka d*ed suddenly, shortly after arriving at the LASTMA
office. She insisted that there was no foul play. Ajao in a statement, said, “A commercial
bus with number plates, XS 318 LND, was abandoned at Ojuelegba with no
occupant inside as of the time of the arrival of LASTMA officials at the
scene. The vehicle was eventually towed by the officials to the LASTMA
zonal yard, Iponri, Surulere. “The young man (Osaka) later made an
appearance and was asked to provide evidence of ownership, and thus went
to his parked vehicle. He was later discovered to be vomiting, shaking
and foaming whitish substance from the mouth. He fell down and
convulsed. The officials quickly made an emergency call to LASTMA
control room. “The medical team of the Lagos State
Ambulance Services pronounced him dead on arrival. The case was
immediately reported at Iponri Police Division, where his remains and
the vehicle were taken to for further investigation.”
It was gathered that the Iponri Police
Division tagged the matter as a case of “Sudden and Unnatural D*ath,”
while the Investigating Police Officer, Inspector Adelakun Ewunmi,
transferred the corpse to Ikorodu General Hospital mortuary. However, the deceased’s colleagues were insisting that the LASTMA officials k*lled Osaka. The Igbo community in the state has taken over the case and was also alleging foul play.
President General, Igbo Speaking
Community in Lagos, Chief Ebere Ubani, said it was the strong belief of
the group that the deceased was murdered by LASTMA officials. Ubani, in a letter addressed to the
Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, urged the police
authorities to ensure that justice was done; saying that investigation
by the Iponri Police Division was summarily conducted.
Ubani argued that the division should
have transferred the case to the SCID since divisions had no power to
investigate such cases. In response, the IG, in a letter, and signed by his Principal Staff Officer, DCP Murtala
Mani, ordered that the case be transferred to the SCID for further
investigation.
Investigations at the SCID, however, hit
a brick wall when it was discovered that nearly six months after the
alleged murder, no autopsy had been conducted. It was also gathered that the corpse had decomposed considerably. Osaka’s boss, John Nwachukwu, said he
was surprised that the police at the Iponri station did not take the
corpse for an autopsy despite the fact that he had paid for it three
days after Osaka’s demise.
He said, “Three days after his (Osaka’s)
d*ath, the IPO, Adelakun Ewunmi, collected N30, 000 from me for an
autopsy. It was not until August 15, 2013, after the matter had been
transferred to the SCID, that he hurriedly demanded that an autopsy be
carried out. “The corpse was not well preserved at
the general hospital and due to its decomposed state, we were told that
the test was inconclusive. “I strongly believe that the IPO had an
ulterior motive because he did not go to nearby government hospitals to
conduct the autopsy. He did not go to Lagos University Teaching
Hospital, or Gbagada General Hospital which are not too far from Iponri.
He chose to go to Ikorodu and dumped the corpse there, thereby
undermining investigations.”
Nwachukwu said the deceased was not sick
prior to his d*ath and alleged that LASTMA officials assaulted Osaka in
the presence of his colleagues before his d*ath. He said he suspected that Osaka was beaten up in LASTMA custody shortly before his demise. When our correspondent visited the SCID last week, it was observed that the team of LASTMA officials had been arrested. It was, however, learnt that they had been released on bail following intervention of the state government. SOURCES gathered that the corpse would be transferred to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, for a second autopsy.
When contacted on the telephone, the spokesperson for the state police command, Ngozi Braide, said she would call back.Whats your comments.
SOURCE; The Punch.
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