Man accuses police of killing brother at Gombe panel

A resident of Gombe State, Abubakar Muhammad, has revealed how his brother, Aliyu, died at the Kumo Divisional Police Station in Gombe State.

Muhammad, who appeared at the Gombe State Panel of Inquiry probing alleged rights violations by operatives of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and other police units, said the deceased was arrested in June last year for alleged rape.

He said: “My brother was arrested on June 24, 2019, over a case of rape, but I could not go because I was invigilating an exam in school. But I called my other brother Umaru, who was a former constabulary.

“When I visited the station on June 25, two policemen met me at the gate of the Kumo Divisional Police Station and took me to the court in Kumo. They asked me to sign that my brother would be returned back to the station. When I refused to sign, they led me to him after much resistance.

Read also: I lost my leg after police shot, detained me for 37 days, victim tells #EndSARS panel

“Then my brother was found behind the counter on the bare floor, with blood coming out from his nostrils, mouth, and ears. I noticed that his trouser was stained with faeces. After that, I called him three times, shook him to respond but there wasn’t any response.”

The petitioner, who urged the Justice Sa’ad Mohammed-led panel to grant the family justice, said his brother was later taken to the hospital.

“Prior to the arrest of my brother, he was healthy and strong. The police abandoned us with the responsibility of paying for his treatment. Aliyu Muhammad died because of rounds of beating he received from the police officers in Kumo Divisional Police Station,” he told the panel.

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