Tuesday, September 30, 2025 - A commercial motorcyclist has d!ed in a police cell after being allegedly tortured by officers of the Ago-Iwoye Police Division, Ogun State.
The deceased, identified only as Ganiyu and said to be an
indigene of Oke-Ogun in Oyo State, was arrested after some unidentified
assailants robbed one of his customers.
Sources familiar with the matter told Punch that
Ganiyu was severely beaten while in police custody, allegedly leading to his
de@th.
A resident who spoke on condition of anonymity said Ganiyu
had been sent on an errand on Saturday, September 27, by some persons in the
community. However, before he returned, armed robbers reportedly attacked the
people who sent him.
“Out of suspicion, they reported him to the Ago-Iwoye Police
Division,” the source said.
A former student union leader of the Olabisi Onabanjo
University, Ago-Iwoye, Oluwabunmi Awoyemi, who shared the incident on X on
Sunday, September 28, wrote, “On 27/09/2025, around 1:30 am, some guys who
lived around Mini Campus asked Ganiyu (the victim) to help buy petrol.
“While he was away, they were attacked and robbed. Robbery
has been rampant in Ago-Iwoye for a while, yet nothing has been done about it.
But when Ganiyu returned, suspicion immediately fell on him, which simply made
him feel guilty.
“The case was reported to the Ago-Iwoye Police Station.
Instead of investigating or finding the real robbers, the officers chose the
easy target.
“They tied him up. They beat him mercilessly with batons.
They slashed and tortured him with machetes until his young body couldn’t take
it anymore.
“He was rushed to the Love and Care Hospital, where he was
declared de@d. His body is now lying cold at the Ijebu-Ode General Hospital
Mortuary.”
Speaking with Punch on Monday, September 29, Awoyemi
clarified that his account was based on information shared by members of the
local motorcycle riders’ association, noting his previous role as a union
leader in the community.
A member of the Oke-Ogun Motorcycle Riders Association in
Ago-Iwoye, identified only as Temitope, confirmed the incident, adding that the
Divisional Police Officer was not at the station when it occurred.
“The incident had occurred before I was notified. Two of our
members were detained; one of them is now de@d and in the mortuary.
“We learnt that after Ganiyu was booked, the officers
informed their DPO, who wasn’t in the office at the time, that one of the
detainees had died.
“Most times, riders are seen as people without families. The
DPO can’t say exactly what happened except for what the officers told him.
Nobody would expect them to confess to what they did.”
He added: “Before things escalated, Ganiyu was supposed to
be granted bail that night, but he wasn’t released. We were told to return the
next day by 10 a.m.
“He had been beaten mercilessly since the afternoon he was
brought in, and he was bleeding before he eventually died.”
Temitope added that the case had been reported to the state
police headquarters in Abeokuta and that both the families involved and the
officers on duty had been summoned.
He further explained that the incident stemmed from
suspicion raised by one of Ganiyu’s customers, who had earlier asked him to
help buy fuel
“He bought and delivered the fuel before returning home.
Later, the customer was robbed and told the police that Ganiyu was the last
person who visited.
“When they couldn’t reach him on the phone —because he said
he had put it on silent to rest— the customer accused him of being part of the
robbery.
“The customer insisted on taking him to the police station,
and Ganiyu agreed. That was how he ended up in custody,” Temitope narrated.
The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Omolola
Odutola, said the matter is under investigation.
0 Comments