EDITORIAL : THE NIGERIAN TRIBUNE, NIGERIA

CITIZEN AREMU AND THE POLICE

HE was hale and hearty. Took his wife to school as usual on his motorbike. Just a few hours later, the man died — with his hand severely burnt and his back with visible and nauseating wound, which is suspected to have been caused by acid bath — all in daylight with the haggling market din and within the precincts of a police checkpoint. Yet, nobody could provide any information to unearth the cause of this hideous death.

THE graphic synopsis of the last hours of Mr Ayinla Olabamiji Aremu, a retiree of the Nigerian Agriculture and Cooperative Bank (NACB) captures the lurid tale of the unfortunate end of a man described by peers as divinely blessed with ecclesiastic virtues and stoical disposition.

THE deceased, according to reports, dropped his wife at the school where she teaches, around 7.30 a.m., oblivious of the lurking and consuming incubus, but a few hours later, he transited to the great beyond in controversial and horrific circumstances that have remained a real mystery.

THE late Aremu’s body, according to reports, was brought to Adeoyo Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State by the police, after it was rejected at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, because they (police) were clueless as to how the man died. At Adeoyo Hospital, however, a doctor insisted that the deceased be undressed as a prelude to accepting the corpse. This request, according to an eyewitness, resulted in open altercation between the hospital authorities and the police, with the medical staff standing their ground. The removal of the shirt on the deceased revealed a gory and unsightly bleached body of the late Aremu. Unfortunately, the police, according to a source, explained that Mr Aremu slumped, thereby dodging the issue of the burns.

THIS extensive burns on the deceased’s body vis-a-vis the explanation of the police, was no doubt a catalyst for the intense suspicion displayed by the family and the public, as to the honest intention of the police in the whole episode.

FOR instance, Mr Aremu’s corpse, according to the police, was found around 9.00 a.m. by the roadside near a police checkpoint at Mapo Hall, Ibadan. A handset including the sum of  N1,000 only, were found on him after a search, and five missed calls were recorded on the phone. This admission, no doubt, appears eloquent and straightforward.

BUT the questions being asked are: Why did the police in their ‘wise’ judgment choose to delay contacting the family till 12.00 noon when the corpse was already taken to the University College Hospital, even when they had in their possession. the telephone numbers of the relatives as enunciated in their own report? Even if it is admitted that the man collapsed, it is pertinent to ask if the fall was through a motorbike accident or did he park his bike before he collapsed, as evidence shows that the motorbike was not damaged? Again, the incident occurred at a police checkpoint, and the bike was taken to the police station for what the police will call a “protective custody,” why did the police deny the seizure of the bike in the first instance, until the deceased’s cousin brought evidence to challenge the police denial?

WITH the brutal burns all over the body of the deceased, why have the police remained passive in questioning one or two persons at the point of incident? These and other issues are poignantly agitating the minds of the public. We now call on the police to expeditiously swing into action and unravel the mystery behind the death of Mr Ayinla Olabanji Aremu. It is an open secret and we hope that the police themselves are not unaware, that the public perception of them is at the lowest ebb. This newspaper, some months ago, devoted an editorial to eulogise a hardworking police officer, whom we even recommended for a national honour for his passionate and positive contributions to the skill acquisition and therefore better life for orphans. This, we say, to show that we are not in the least, trying to be judgmental on an issue that is already in the public court.

WE need to say that the current self-exculpatory tactics of the police can only inflame the widespread scepticism about the police intentions. Justice should not only be done, it must also be seen to be done as justice delayed is justice denied.