How My Husband Was Chased To Death By Police Over Tattoo –Wife

..widow demands justice

The wife of a Computer Engineer, Temitope Oyetade, who fell into canal when he was fleeing from Police arrest at the Ipaja area of Lagos State, has said that her husband was chased to death by the police because of tattoo.

The distraught widow, Adedoyin Oyetade, has therefore called on the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun to help her get justice and bring the killers of her husband to book.

The widow who spoke with our correspondent, said it was unfortunate that her husband was killed when they were preparing for the one year anniversary birthday of their daughter. She also denied the allegation that her husband was an Internet fraudster, but said he work at the Computer Village as Computer Engineer and also repairs phones.

Genesis

Adedoyin said she was at home when she received a phone call from a stranger with her husband’s phone on October 15, that he has sustained injury during an accident, she immediately dashed to the scene leaving her daughter behind.

She said on the fateful day when her husband was going out he told her he was going to Oshodi to see her grandmother and he also wanted to collect phone from someone in same Oshodi, and he boarded a motorcycle and she bided him goodbye before returning home, not knowing that was the last she was going to see him.

“About thirty minutes later, I received a phone call with my husband’s phone from a stranger that he fell into a canal when he was being chased by the police. I told the person who called me that they should please help me give him first aid.

“Before I got to the scene, my Dad was already there and he was rushed to a private hospital in the community, it was at the hospital that I was told it was some Police in mufti that stopped his motorcycle and asked him what he does.

“I was told he told them he works at the Computer village as an Engineer, that he even showed them his identity card, the police was said to be probing further and asked him why had tattoo on his body and accused him of being an Internet fraudster, when all these was going on the bike man had left him and argument then ensued between him and the Policemen when they called him an Internet fraudster.

“I was also told that the Policemen in mufti were asking him questions and shouted at him that he was an Internet fraudster, which he denied and I was told the Policemen insisted that he was an Internet fraudster which he denied that he was not and the argument persisted between him and them.

“It was at that point that one of the policeman threatened to shoot him and he also tried to move away from them, but the Policeman insisted on shooting him.

That was when he started running from the Policemen from being shot and they went after him and shouting at him to stop. “One of the Policemen then kicked him from behind and he fell into the canal, immediately they noticed he had fallen into the canal they escaped from the scene.”

The canal

“When he was running, the footwear he was wearing slipped off from his leg and his money also fell from his pocket, the Policemen took everything away. He continue to run until he got to the canal area and he was kicked by one of the Police and he slipped into the canal, it took an hour before he was rescued and brought out unconscious.”

She added that immediately the Policemen noticed he had fallen into the canal, the Policemen were said to have rushed into their operational vehicle and left the scene, apparently afraid of being mobbed.

“When my husband was brought out from the canal he had sustained injuries on his kneels, there was also bruises all over his body, even his arm was broken too. It was an unfortunate incident that my husband was killed by the Nigeria Police because of tattoo.

How has having tattoo on one’s body become crime in Nigeria again? I want to know. “It was because of the tattoo that was why he was accused of being an Internet fraudster.

I have not seen him doing such since I married him even when we were dating. I don’t know where the police got their information from that he was an Internet fraudster. All I want is justice for him.

“I want Nigerians to help me. I am a young girl, I don’t know where to start from. Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu should help me and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Olarewaju Ishola should come to my aid.

“I want the Policemen who committed the act prosecuted, because my husband was killed at his prime age. I need justice, I don’t want him to die in vain, he eventually died at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), on Friday, October 18.

“Some of the test conducted on him shows he had skull fracture and chest injury, at a point he couldn’t breathe again, he used oxygen till he died.

That was how Nigeria Police wasted the life of my husband because of tattoo, it’s painful, I can’t see him again, I want well-meaning Nigerians to help me.”

Witness

A businessman who didn’t want his name in print told our correspondent that he witnessed what transpired between the deceased and the Policemen at the scene.

The source said what he noticed was that he saw the deceased on motorcycle probably going somewhere when he was stopped by the Policemen at Ayobo area of the state.

“It was when his wife arrived at the scene that she said he was going to Oshodi, that was when Policemen flagged the bike taking him down, I noticed the police were asking him questions.

“When he was asked to stop the bike man was told to go and the Policemen threatened to shoot him if he didn’t cooperate with them. The incident occurred at Water bus stop, at Tipper garage, Ayobo area of the state.

“After he came down from the bike, I believe they were asking him questions and argument ensued between him and them, it was in the process that one of the police in mufti threatened to shoot him, to avoid being shot he started running.

“It was in the process that his money fell from his pocket and his sleepers also slipped off from his legs and the same policemen who were chasing him picked it up and went away with the items. Suddenly I just noticed someone had fallen into the canal.”

He further said that immediately he noticed it, he called some elders and young boys in the area and they all rushed towards the canal.

“When we got to the canal nobody could enter, until when an elderly man came and entered the canal with the support of some people, he brought him out unconscious and rushed him to a private hospital in the community where he was later referred to the General Hospital at Ikeja, the wife called me that he passed away on Friday at the hospital.”

The source said when they confronted the Policemen that they have chased someone into the canal, they begged us to allow them go, because we don’t want chaos in the area we allowed them and went to the Area P Command.

“The Policemen came to the area with a mini bus, five of them were in mufti except one of them who is armed with a gun. We were able to identify two of the policemen at Area P Command.

The Area Commander then handed over them to Area M who later transferred them to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti for further investigation.”

Assistance

“It is not that I and others knew the victim from anywhere before now, we only tried to help him and get justice for him, because the Policemen killed the man unjustly because of tattoo.

“When we got to Area P Command, the Area Commander attended to us well, he said we should go through the compound and identity the Policemen involved in the act.

“We went round the compound, we saw one of the police shaving his beard and we pointed at another one and the Area Commander said they should be locked up in the cell, the police station that covers the area where the incident occurred is Moshalashi Police Station.

“The Area Commander immediately sent for the DPO of Moshalashi Police Station to come pick them and take them to Area M Command.

Few hours later, the Area P and M Commanders and the DPO later went to the scene and inquired from people about what happened, they were also told same thing we told them. We were asked to come back on Saturday for further development.”

Police

The Lagos State Command Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said the police officers did not speak with him, did not touch him, did not chase him, did nothing.

The young man simply saw them and bolted. Hundeyin said immediately after the incident police visited the scene and met eye witnesses on ground who voluntarily gave their statements regarding the unfortunate incident.

Meanwhile on the fateful day at about 10am on Wednesday, October 16, somewhere around Gowon Estate, the young man was a passenger on a motorcycle riding against traffic.

Immediately they sighted the police approaching in their vehicle, the rider made a sharp u-turn while the passenger jumped off the motorcycle, crossed the road and ran through the nearby tipper garage.

He further said people in the garage who saw him running towards the canal and at the same time emptying the contents of his pockets agitatedly warned him about a canal ahead.

The victim did not stop, but unfortunately jumped into the canal. The police officers, startled at his knee-jerk reaction, stopped their vehicle, alighted and went in the direction of the canal.

The people around informed the police that the young man jumped into the canal. They all went to look, waited some minutes, did not see him, upon which the police left, believing he successfully evaded them.