Ekiti State police command has denied allegations that a suspect, Shittu Rasaq Adeola, was brutalised to death while being tortured by the command as false and misleading.
Youths in the state are demanding justice for Adeola, alleging that he died during interrogation in police custody.
“We are calling on @EkitiPoliceNG @ekitistate.gov.ng to investigate this matter properly and the officers involved should be held accountable,” Ekititrends had said on Instagram with many youths calling for the abolition of the Rapid Response Squad, RRS, in the comment section.
However, DSP Sunday Abutu, the Ekiti command spokesman, said the allegations were fake and a conscious calculated attempt to cripple the morale of the operatives of the RRS, who are terrors to hardened criminals in the society.
“Shittu Rasaq Adeola did not die in RRS detention. Rather, he died while receiving treatment at the hospital,” he said.
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Abutu said the victim was arrested on September 13 and is being investigated in connection with a case of armed robbery, attempted murder, unlawful possession of firearms, and cultism.
He said while in a police cell on September 19 with other suspects, Adeola was attacked and beaten by one of the suspects, Mohammed Lawal Abass.
“Shittu developed complications as a result of the serious bite and attack and was immediately rushed to the police hospital in Ado-Ekiti for treatment.
“He was further referred to Ekiti State Teaching Hospital, EKSUTH, Ado-Ekiti, and admitted for treatment but later confirmed dead by the medical doctor”, the police said.
“The suspects in the cell at the time of the incident narrated how Mohammed Lawal Abass attacked Shittu Rasaq Adeola.”
He said the gang members arrested, including Adeola, all confessed to many robbery attacks and murder of POS operators in Ado-Ekiti, Ikere, and Ilawe-Ekiti.
His corpse has been deposited at the morgue for preservation and autopsy.
