Controversy has trailed the death of a 63-year-old land agent who was being detained at the Nigerian Correctional Service facility in Ilorin, Kwara State.
However, the NCoS said the land agent did not die in its facility.
The deceased, identified as Alhaji Hussein Abubakar, was said to have died on Friday, May 10, after he was detained for over four months at the correctional centre.
Our correspondent learnt that Abubakar, who reportedly represented landowners in the sale, purchase, or management of their property, was detained at the correctional facility on the order of a Magistrates’ Court over a failed land deal.
He was said to have been involved in land deals that resulted in a legal dispute with some clients.
A relative of the deceased, who did not want to be named, accused the judiciary and the authorities of the facility of neglect.
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“He (Abubakar) was involved in land deals that resulted in court matters. The court released him on bail, but he could not appear in court on the day he was to attend court because he was sick. He was picked up and detained about four or five months ago, and he was not brought to court since then but abandoned.
“At least, he should have been given a second chance. How could he have got money to repay those he was involved in the land deals if kept in prison? The judge was approached and begged to release him on bail with some sureties to stand for him but all to no avail,” the source said.
Speaking about Abubakar’s death, the source said, “So, on Friday, we learnt he was rushed to a hospital; some said he died on the way to hospital while some others said that he died while receiving treatment. His health was not fine before his death and the judge knew about it.”
However, the spokesperson of the NCoS in the state, Phillip Adegbulugbe, while confirming the death of the land agent, said he didn’t die in the correctional centre.
“He was taken to General Hospital, Ilorin, where he died. I saw his hospital file stating the illness. He was taken to hospital on Thursday evening and reportedly died at about 8 am today, Friday (May 10, 2024). He didn’t die in the facility as some people were saying. I was just coming back from the hospital,” Adegbulugbe added.
