he late Lawal

Okada man slumps, dies

Posted by: MOMODU GBOLAHAN in Crime Diary 16 hours ago

IT was a tragic end for a 27-year-old Okada rider, Sulaiman Lawal, who died shortly after an encounter with some policemen on October 28, 2014, in the Oyingbo area of Lagos State. Eyewitnesses said Lawal, who until his death resided at No 90, Jebba Street, Ebute Metta, Lagos, slumped to death shortly after the brutal encounter with the minions of law attached to Denton Police Division, Ebute Metta, Lagos. The incident, according to sources, happened about 8 pm when Lawal fled as he sighted the policemen during a raid on Okada riders in the area.

He was said to have been given a hot chase by the policemen and beaten up, while his motorbike was also impounded. An eyewitness who asked not to be named said: “He was alerted by his colleagues of the presence of some policemen who were carrying out a raid on Okada riders but he unfortunately fell into their trap.

The policemen then tried to forcibly impound his motorbike; hence, he fled the scene. The policemen then pursued him and mercilessly beat him up to the extent that he became so weak and barely managed to return home, while his motorbike was impounded and taken to their station. “It was when he got home that his health worsened and he decided to have a shower in order to apply a balm on his body when he slumped and died instantly. As a matter of fact, blood was gushing out of his mouth and nostrils when he collapsed on his way to the bathroom.

” The police, in a swift reaction, however, denied that any of its men beat the Okada man. Angry youths and sympathisers were said to have stormed the police station to register their annoyance about the alleged complicity of the policemen in the death of Lawal, but they were pacified by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the station. “ We (the youths) went to the station to register our displeasure about the circumstances surrounding Lawal’s death, but the DPO of the station begged us and pleaded that we should go and bury Lawal’s corpse.

He even gave us some telephone numbers to call if we encountered other policemen while taking Lawal’s body for burial in his home town in Kwara State. His (Lawal’s) body was subsequently taken to Ilorin where his burial held on October 30,” said a resident, who simply identified himself as Adewale. A close family member, who spoke in confidence, explained that the deceased had gone out on the unfortunate day because he needed some money to defray his ailing mother’s hospital bills.

“Lawal’s mother had been sick lately and was taken to a hospital in Ilorin, where she is currently receiving treatment. In fact, he had to relocate his wife and two children from Lagos to Ilorin, because of his mother’s condition which required a lot of care. He was asked to pay about N24, 000 for his mother’s treatment but had just saved about N16,000. He had hoped that he would make some money to complete the amount requested to clear the bill when he met his untimely death as a result of the unfortunate encounter with the overzealous policemen.”

The spokesman of Lagos Police Command, Mr. Kenneth Nwosu, said: “It is not true that he was beaten by our men. Two of our men were actually on surveillance in Oyingbo, when the deceased was passing on a prohibited route for Okada. On sighting one of our men, he abandoned his motorbike and ran away following which his motorbike was taken to the station. ‘’It was the following day that some people reported that he was found dead in his room. I want to use this opportunity to warn Okada riders to desist henceforth from plying prohibited routes because violators will be arrested.”