•No record of deceased in hospital
•He was ‘brought in dead’ with gunshot wounds – Mortuary staffBy BISI OLALEYE
Saturday March 10, 2012
•He was ‘brought in dead’ with gunshot wounds – Mortuary staffBy BISI OLALEYE
Saturday March 10, 2012
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With the death of Mr. Ademola Lawrence Adedeji, a distributor of Rite Foods Limited, in detention, it seems the police have murdered sleep. The deceased’s widow, for instance, is full of lamentation. She’s also pointing fingers at the police and others.
No doubt in agony, Mrs. Cecilia Adedeji had lamented thus: “They have made my children fatherless. His aged parents are there. Who will take care of them the way he did? I want justice, the killers of my husband must be brought to book. What will I tell my children, especially, the last one, who clocked one year in her father’s absence, when she is old enough to ask: ‘where is my daddy?’ God! Prove that you are God in this case! I want justice!”
Also, the deceased’s son, Mojolaoluwa, did not mince words is saying: “Police killed our daddy. I will kill all policemen.”
Recently, when Saturday Sun visited the home of Adedeji, the widow, a mother of three, could only stare and sighing continuously. She barely managed to tell her story:
How it all began
“My husband was arrested by the police on Thursday, February 9, 2012. He had gone to Rite Foods Limited at Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos, to buy goods worth N400, 000. He had already loaded the products in his truck and about to leave when the General Manager called him back, only for him to be arrested by policemen. They accused him of issuing dud cheques to the company. He was taken to the Ikeja Police Division and from there, he called me and two of his friends, to come to his rescue. When we got there, we pleaded with the Investigating Police Officer (IPO), identified as Inspector Dave, to release him, but he refused.
“He told us that he was going to consult with Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the company before he could be released. We were relieved and happy when the CSO came and told the police to release my husband. He later changed his mind!
After much pleadings, the Officer in Charge(O/C) of the Human Rights Desk of the station came to compound the problem. She said my husband could only be released after payment of the sum of N1 million as bail. Two of my husband’s friends and I pleaded with the O/C, telling them that it was already late. His friends even said they would stand surety for him but the O/C refused. Also, one of the friends was willing to leave a brand new car in the custody of the police as security, but they refused.
The following day, I went to the police station and they told me to go look for money for his bail. After some hours, I received an anonymous call, telling me there was rumour in Rite Foods Limited that my husband was dead.
“I quickly called my lawyer, Mr. Clement Eko, who went to see the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), and confirmed Adedeji’s death. My worry is that they have refused to let us see his corpse. The company has not sent any representative to discuss with the family; even the police are being funny over the whole issue. I wonder how I am going to cope with taking care of three children, between the ages of one and seven. I am a housewife and my husband was the sole breadwinner. We have three little children in Primary School, who are now fatherless. Even, if the police cannot produce Ademola alive, they should at least, give me his corpse for burial.”
His business
“My husband’s company, Ademola Stores, is located at Mowe, on the Lagos/Ibadan expressway. The company was named after him and he was one of the highest distributors of Rite Food products in Nigeria. He had been customer to Rites since 2005, and based on the terms of his contract with the company, he distributed their products in Lagos, Ogun, Ghana and Benin Republic. Because of his efforts and diligence, the company gave him an award in 2011, as the best distributor, because he was able to make large sales for the company, to the tune of over N250 million.
“Even when Rite Foods raised his quota in 2011, he was able to meet and surpass the target. So, it was surprising when the same company came up in September of the same year, to accuse him of owing them the sum N12 million. They stopped harassing him after some months, and I thought the matter had been settled, until he was arrested by the police on Thursday, February 9, 2012.”
Premonition of his arrest and death
“There was no premonition. My husband left home, in company of two of his friends, but there was no premonition that he would not come back home. He was the one who drove the kids to school that Thursday morning. After that, he drove to Adebola House, the company’s premises. The bus is still in the company’s premises, with the goods, even till this moment. For over eight years that we’ve been married, he never complained of any illness.
“I received a call the following day, to say he was dead, but the voice was not a familiar one. Also, the phone number, which was used in calling me, was not also familiar. The family is working closely with the lawyer. My husband never told me he ever issued dud cheques. Before he was arrested, two people were sacked in the Accounts Department and since then, the company didn’t do anything. Till date, the company has refused to talk to me. The lawyer went there, but they refused to say anything. His mother does not even know that her son is dead. But his aged father has been informed. He is the last child of his mother.”
What the police said about his death
The police told Saturday Sun that the suspect suddenly took ill shortly after his wife left the police station that fateful night. He was allegedly rushed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, where he was attended to by a doctor before he eventually died.
The police also claimed they deposited Adedeji’s corpse in the mortuary, assisted by one of the deceased’s relatives known as Christopher. But the widow maintained they have no relative bearing such name. She also said she left her husband that night, hale and hearty, without any sign of ill health.
PPRO’s version
The Lagos State Police command’s spokesman, Mr. Joseph Jaiyeoba, a Superintendent of Police (SP), spoke to the reporter on phone, after three failed scheduled meetings in his Oduduwa, Ikeja GRA, office because of his busy schedules.
Jaiyeoba , who earlier told journalists that Adedeji died of food poisoning, said: “The suspect was owing the company the sum of N12million and the company invited the police. According to the Divisional Police Officer(DPO), his wife was there when they were discussing his release, before he was locked up. The wife was said to have left at about 9pm. It was shortly after that, that a noise was heard in the cell and he was quickly rushed to the hospital, where a doctor attended to him. Shortly after, he was pronounced dead by the doctor. There is no hide-and-seek game about it. You can crosscheck the facts from the hospital management.”
Shocking discovery
When our reporter visited LASUTH, there was no record of Mr. Adedeji. Nobody with such name was admitted in the hospital the night in question. At the private morgue attached to the hospital, (Olalekan Memorial House), owned by TOS Funeral Undertakers, a light -complexioned and slender lady referred Saturday Sun to the receptionist, who simply identified herself as Funmi. When asked if a corpse bearing Ademola Adedeji was deposited in their morgue, she said: “Yes, the one police brought in, with gunshot wounds. He was BID (Brought in Dead). He was shot. Are you his family member?”
On why they accepted the corpse, the lady said: “We accepted his corpse because it came with a Coroner’s form. Without the form, we don’t accept such corpse, more so, we are a private mortuary that accepts corpses from outside. So, it is not necessary that such corpse has to be registered with LASUTH.”
Visit to Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine of LASUTH
The Head of the Department, Professor Mordi was said to be in the autopsy room when the reporter visited. Saturday Sun was, however, directed to see Dr. Soyemi at Mayo Heights Laboratory, within LASUTH premises, who allegedly issued the coroner’s form and prepared Adedeji’s body for the morgue. When asked the basis on which the form was issued, and if he could tell the cause of Adedeji’s death, Soyemi said: “It is unethical to disclose the cause of death or divulge any information regarding his death to you. Only the magistrate can demand the autopsy report or police that can hand over such report. But you can see the Head of Department (HOD), Prof. Mordi, who I am sure, will never tell you.”
Rite Foods’ position
Our reporter made several attempts, even in disguise, to see the Managing Director of the company, Alhaji Seleem Adegunwa, but the efforts proved abortive. On Tuesday, February 28, the reporter had waited for close to five hours to see the MD, having filled the visitors’ form as a potential distributor. The lady on the information desk simply said: “Since the MD didn’t say anything about the form, it means he does not want to see you.”
The reporter was asked to see a man identified as Tunji, since she disguised as a potential distributor. She was later directed to another department, where she now revealed her identity. The company’s staff, on discovery that our reporter was not a potential distributor, fumed: “Are you here because of Ademola? For your information, we will sue you. I am just trying to help you because, if you go and write rubbish… We had a press conference, where four newspapers published our own side of the story.”
The controversy continues
How did Adedeji die? What’s the cause of his death? Why have the police refused the family access to the corpse? Who’s Christopher, who’s said to be Adedeji’s relation that accompanied the police to hospital when he developed health problem? How did the police contact the said Christopher and left his wife and those who were at the station earlier that night to effect Adedeji’s release? These are questions on the lips of members of his family.
The family’s lawyer, Barrister Clement Eko, from Chief Lanre Adeniyi & Co chambers on Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, described Adedeji’s death as injustice by man to man. The lawyer explained that even if he issued a dud cheque, as the company wants the world to believe, it is an offence that required bail.
He said: “The man was brutally murdered. It is a conspiracy. The police have refused to contact us or his family. They have to produce him. The law does not confer on the Nigeria Police the power to recover debt. No, they can’t do that. They are not given the power to recover debt. They may say they have the right to arrest, but when you effect arrest, you are given the power to prosecute.
“This man was alleged to have died, according to the police, in the hospital, but there was no record to show that he was taken to the hospital. The only record we have is that he was brought to the morgue by a police Inspector. Nobody has shown us the record of the time he was brought in. A record only claimed that the body was brought by his supposed relative, but there is nobody in his family or that of his wife that bears the name, Christopher. We stand to be corrected again. There was nobody, and that is why we are holding the company responsible for his death. Come to think of it, a man issued you a cheque of N9 million, let’s assume it happened, what have you done to stop the business or trading with him? As we are talking now, neither the police, nor the company has contacted us, to give us an official report that this man truly died, whether in their custody or hospital. But there is a record, which shows that he is dead. The company has not told us officially that he is dead and that is the reason they must produce Ademola.”
Looking up to the IGP office
It is over three weeks now that the incident occurred, but no word from the office of the Inspector General of Police. According to the lawyer: “We have already forwarded our petition to him; a second one will be sent to him to that effect. We are also petitioning the Attorney General of Lagos State. They hacked down an innocent man and think they will go on with their business. A day after Ademola was killed, they immediately assigned another distributor to the areas he used to cover. They have a right to go ahead and continue with their business, but don’t they think it was necessary to get back to the widow? At least, show up, even if they are playing to the gallery. Nobody has come! We are hoping that the state government would take the right steps, to ensure that justice is done. We already know that this man was murdered in cold blood.
“Every day, the children of our client are asking their mother one question or another. And as they ask these questions, the woman is being psychologically tormented and traumatised, for lack of what to tell the children. The man walked out of his house on a good day, expecting that he would return to his family only to be killed. We are yet to know those who masterminded his death. The IPO, Inspector Dave, the officer in charge of Human Rights and the DPO must be held responsible, including the management of Rites Food Limited. They have to produce Ademola. They may deny knowledge of what happened to him now, but it is just for a while. We are sure that the law will catch up with them. We have confidence in the new IGP; we believe he won’t compromise. Our mandate is the production of our client’s husband, by the Nigerian Police. Whether or not there was an allegation of issuance of a dud cheque, the law is very clear on that. The issue has gone beyond that now. Our client’s husband ought to have been prosecuted. The courts are there; the police are not the final arbitrators. Extra judicial killings must come to an end in the country. The era, where the police would pick up a gun and cut down someone has gone.”
No doubt in agony, Mrs. Cecilia Adedeji had lamented thus: “They have made my children fatherless. His aged parents are there. Who will take care of them the way he did? I want justice, the killers of my husband must be brought to book. What will I tell my children, especially, the last one, who clocked one year in her father’s absence, when she is old enough to ask: ‘where is my daddy?’ God! Prove that you are God in this case! I want justice!”
Also, the deceased’s son, Mojolaoluwa, did not mince words is saying: “Police killed our daddy. I will kill all policemen.”
Recently, when Saturday Sun visited the home of Adedeji, the widow, a mother of three, could only stare and sighing continuously. She barely managed to tell her story:
How it all began
“My husband was arrested by the police on Thursday, February 9, 2012. He had gone to Rite Foods Limited at Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos, to buy goods worth N400, 000. He had already loaded the products in his truck and about to leave when the General Manager called him back, only for him to be arrested by policemen. They accused him of issuing dud cheques to the company. He was taken to the Ikeja Police Division and from there, he called me and two of his friends, to come to his rescue. When we got there, we pleaded with the Investigating Police Officer (IPO), identified as Inspector Dave, to release him, but he refused.
“He told us that he was going to consult with Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the company before he could be released. We were relieved and happy when the CSO came and told the police to release my husband. He later changed his mind!
After much pleadings, the Officer in Charge(O/C) of the Human Rights Desk of the station came to compound the problem. She said my husband could only be released after payment of the sum of N1 million as bail. Two of my husband’s friends and I pleaded with the O/C, telling them that it was already late. His friends even said they would stand surety for him but the O/C refused. Also, one of the friends was willing to leave a brand new car in the custody of the police as security, but they refused.
The following day, I went to the police station and they told me to go look for money for his bail. After some hours, I received an anonymous call, telling me there was rumour in Rite Foods Limited that my husband was dead.
“I quickly called my lawyer, Mr. Clement Eko, who went to see the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), and confirmed Adedeji’s death. My worry is that they have refused to let us see his corpse. The company has not sent any representative to discuss with the family; even the police are being funny over the whole issue. I wonder how I am going to cope with taking care of three children, between the ages of one and seven. I am a housewife and my husband was the sole breadwinner. We have three little children in Primary School, who are now fatherless. Even, if the police cannot produce Ademola alive, they should at least, give me his corpse for burial.”
His business
“My husband’s company, Ademola Stores, is located at Mowe, on the Lagos/Ibadan expressway. The company was named after him and he was one of the highest distributors of Rite Food products in Nigeria. He had been customer to Rites since 2005, and based on the terms of his contract with the company, he distributed their products in Lagos, Ogun, Ghana and Benin Republic. Because of his efforts and diligence, the company gave him an award in 2011, as the best distributor, because he was able to make large sales for the company, to the tune of over N250 million.
“Even when Rite Foods raised his quota in 2011, he was able to meet and surpass the target. So, it was surprising when the same company came up in September of the same year, to accuse him of owing them the sum N12 million. They stopped harassing him after some months, and I thought the matter had been settled, until he was arrested by the police on Thursday, February 9, 2012.”
Premonition of his arrest and death
“There was no premonition. My husband left home, in company of two of his friends, but there was no premonition that he would not come back home. He was the one who drove the kids to school that Thursday morning. After that, he drove to Adebola House, the company’s premises. The bus is still in the company’s premises, with the goods, even till this moment. For over eight years that we’ve been married, he never complained of any illness.
“I received a call the following day, to say he was dead, but the voice was not a familiar one. Also, the phone number, which was used in calling me, was not also familiar. The family is working closely with the lawyer. My husband never told me he ever issued dud cheques. Before he was arrested, two people were sacked in the Accounts Department and since then, the company didn’t do anything. Till date, the company has refused to talk to me. The lawyer went there, but they refused to say anything. His mother does not even know that her son is dead. But his aged father has been informed. He is the last child of his mother.”
What the police said about his death
The police told Saturday Sun that the suspect suddenly took ill shortly after his wife left the police station that fateful night. He was allegedly rushed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, where he was attended to by a doctor before he eventually died.
The police also claimed they deposited Adedeji’s corpse in the mortuary, assisted by one of the deceased’s relatives known as Christopher. But the widow maintained they have no relative bearing such name. She also said she left her husband that night, hale and hearty, without any sign of ill health.
PPRO’s version
The Lagos State Police command’s spokesman, Mr. Joseph Jaiyeoba, a Superintendent of Police (SP), spoke to the reporter on phone, after three failed scheduled meetings in his Oduduwa, Ikeja GRA, office because of his busy schedules.
Jaiyeoba , who earlier told journalists that Adedeji died of food poisoning, said: “The suspect was owing the company the sum of N12million and the company invited the police. According to the Divisional Police Officer(DPO), his wife was there when they were discussing his release, before he was locked up. The wife was said to have left at about 9pm. It was shortly after that, that a noise was heard in the cell and he was quickly rushed to the hospital, where a doctor attended to him. Shortly after, he was pronounced dead by the doctor. There is no hide-and-seek game about it. You can crosscheck the facts from the hospital management.”
Shocking discovery
When our reporter visited LASUTH, there was no record of Mr. Adedeji. Nobody with such name was admitted in the hospital the night in question. At the private morgue attached to the hospital, (Olalekan Memorial House), owned by TOS Funeral Undertakers, a light -complexioned and slender lady referred Saturday Sun to the receptionist, who simply identified herself as Funmi. When asked if a corpse bearing Ademola Adedeji was deposited in their morgue, she said: “Yes, the one police brought in, with gunshot wounds. He was BID (Brought in Dead). He was shot. Are you his family member?”
On why they accepted the corpse, the lady said: “We accepted his corpse because it came with a Coroner’s form. Without the form, we don’t accept such corpse, more so, we are a private mortuary that accepts corpses from outside. So, it is not necessary that such corpse has to be registered with LASUTH.”
Visit to Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine of LASUTH
The Head of the Department, Professor Mordi was said to be in the autopsy room when the reporter visited. Saturday Sun was, however, directed to see Dr. Soyemi at Mayo Heights Laboratory, within LASUTH premises, who allegedly issued the coroner’s form and prepared Adedeji’s body for the morgue. When asked the basis on which the form was issued, and if he could tell the cause of Adedeji’s death, Soyemi said: “It is unethical to disclose the cause of death or divulge any information regarding his death to you. Only the magistrate can demand the autopsy report or police that can hand over such report. But you can see the Head of Department (HOD), Prof. Mordi, who I am sure, will never tell you.”
Rite Foods’ position
Our reporter made several attempts, even in disguise, to see the Managing Director of the company, Alhaji Seleem Adegunwa, but the efforts proved abortive. On Tuesday, February 28, the reporter had waited for close to five hours to see the MD, having filled the visitors’ form as a potential distributor. The lady on the information desk simply said: “Since the MD didn’t say anything about the form, it means he does not want to see you.”
The reporter was asked to see a man identified as Tunji, since she disguised as a potential distributor. She was later directed to another department, where she now revealed her identity. The company’s staff, on discovery that our reporter was not a potential distributor, fumed: “Are you here because of Ademola? For your information, we will sue you. I am just trying to help you because, if you go and write rubbish… We had a press conference, where four newspapers published our own side of the story.”
The controversy continues
How did Adedeji die? What’s the cause of his death? Why have the police refused the family access to the corpse? Who’s Christopher, who’s said to be Adedeji’s relation that accompanied the police to hospital when he developed health problem? How did the police contact the said Christopher and left his wife and those who were at the station earlier that night to effect Adedeji’s release? These are questions on the lips of members of his family.
The family’s lawyer, Barrister Clement Eko, from Chief Lanre Adeniyi & Co chambers on Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, described Adedeji’s death as injustice by man to man. The lawyer explained that even if he issued a dud cheque, as the company wants the world to believe, it is an offence that required bail.
He said: “The man was brutally murdered. It is a conspiracy. The police have refused to contact us or his family. They have to produce him. The law does not confer on the Nigeria Police the power to recover debt. No, they can’t do that. They are not given the power to recover debt. They may say they have the right to arrest, but when you effect arrest, you are given the power to prosecute.
“This man was alleged to have died, according to the police, in the hospital, but there was no record to show that he was taken to the hospital. The only record we have is that he was brought to the morgue by a police Inspector. Nobody has shown us the record of the time he was brought in. A record only claimed that the body was brought by his supposed relative, but there is nobody in his family or that of his wife that bears the name, Christopher. We stand to be corrected again. There was nobody, and that is why we are holding the company responsible for his death. Come to think of it, a man issued you a cheque of N9 million, let’s assume it happened, what have you done to stop the business or trading with him? As we are talking now, neither the police, nor the company has contacted us, to give us an official report that this man truly died, whether in their custody or hospital. But there is a record, which shows that he is dead. The company has not told us officially that he is dead and that is the reason they must produce Ademola.”
Looking up to the IGP office
It is over three weeks now that the incident occurred, but no word from the office of the Inspector General of Police. According to the lawyer: “We have already forwarded our petition to him; a second one will be sent to him to that effect. We are also petitioning the Attorney General of Lagos State. They hacked down an innocent man and think they will go on with their business. A day after Ademola was killed, they immediately assigned another distributor to the areas he used to cover. They have a right to go ahead and continue with their business, but don’t they think it was necessary to get back to the widow? At least, show up, even if they are playing to the gallery. Nobody has come! We are hoping that the state government would take the right steps, to ensure that justice is done. We already know that this man was murdered in cold blood.
“Every day, the children of our client are asking their mother one question or another. And as they ask these questions, the woman is being psychologically tormented and traumatised, for lack of what to tell the children. The man walked out of his house on a good day, expecting that he would return to his family only to be killed. We are yet to know those who masterminded his death. The IPO, Inspector Dave, the officer in charge of Human Rights and the DPO must be held responsible, including the management of Rites Food Limited. They have to produce Ademola. They may deny knowledge of what happened to him now, but it is just for a while. We are sure that the law will catch up with them. We have confidence in the new IGP; we believe he won’t compromise. Our mandate is the production of our client’s husband, by the Nigerian Police. Whether or not there was an allegation of issuance of a dud cheque, the law is very clear on that. The issue has gone beyond that now. Our client’s husband ought to have been prosecuted. The courts are there; the police are not the final arbitrators. Extra judicial killings must come to an end in the country. The era, where the police would pick up a gun and cut down someone has gone.”
SOURCE: The sun, 10 March 2012. http://sunnewsonline.com/
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