Family raises alarm as 24-yr-old dies in police custody hours after arrest

Gabriel Faleye, a 24-year-old who was arrested for robbery after a police raid on a night club on Oba Akran Road in Ikeja area of Lagos State has reportedly passed on a few hours after he was apprehended by the police.

According to the family of the deceased, Gabriel was tortured by the police and was not taken to the hospital when he became unconscious and was left to die from wounds he sustained from torture by the police.

However, SP Dolapo Badmus refuted such claims by Gabriel’s family saying he died after he was attacked by a mob when he tried to rob in the area, and was promptly rushed to a nearby hospital where he gave up the ghost.

According to another account, Gabriel and his friends were involved in a fight with another group following which one violent night crawler of the opposing group ran over him with his car following an altercation, the owner of the night club later made a distress call to the police and on arrival, Gabriel who was seriously injured after he was ran over by the car and his friend were arrested on the grounds that they attempted to rob in the area.

On arrival at the police station, a plea was made by Gabriel’s friend asking that the deceased be taken to hospital but his plea fell on deaf ears as Gabriel went into a coma and later died.

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Ibrahim Faleye, the deceased father said he only got a call informing him that his son was involved in an accident.

“Gabriel was staying with his mother in Ikeja. He usually went to nightclubs once in a while. He was seeking admission to the University of Lagos.

“This morning, I was called by my wife’s younger sister that Gabriel had an accident and the police took him to a cell. I was later told he had died. The police said they wanted to see me urgently at the station. I was shocked when I was told that he had died.”

Alex Okpako, the family’s lawyer said the police did not grant Gabriel’s family the right to see the corpse of their son.

“This incident happened when Gabriel and his friends were about leaving the club around 2.30am to come home. The other group is suspected to be Yahoo boys (scammers). They were drunk and one of them urinated on the deceased. They wanted to fight, but they were immediately separated. Later, the boy brought a car and deliberately rammed into Gabriel by the roadside.

“When the police came, Gabriel’s friends begged them to take him to a hospital because he had been injured. The police refused. The Yahoo boys were later released when they bribed the policemen.

“The policemen beat up Gabriel inside the van. He was not given urgent medical attention. They said he was pretending. He died around 5am in their cell. We want justice done in this matter.” Okpako said.

But the police spokesperson Dolapo Badmos said there was really no reason to torture the deceased.

“The suspects were earlier attacked by a mob while they tried to rob their victim. During preliminary interrogation, Gabriel complained of pains and he was rushed to a hospital where he was later confirmed dead. There is no reason to torture the deceased. The case has been transferred to the State Department of Criminal Investigations, Yaba ” She said.

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