Thirty-nine-year-old man denied bail over controversial debt, dies in police custody

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=77328:a-widows-posers-to-police-over-husbands-death-&catid=3:metro&Itemid=558


TWO hours after his wife, Cecilia, and other family members left the Ikeja Police Station where he was being detained, Mr. Ademola Adedeji, a distributor with Rites Food Ltd, a Lagos-based company was declared dead in Police custody.

Now, the police must answer simple questions begging for answers over Adedeji’s death.

There are grounds to suspect strongly that Adedeji might have died following torture and humiliation he received at the hands of the police for the failure of his family to pay N1million for his bail.

Men of the Ikeja Police Division had last week Thursday seized Adedeji, a father of three, after Rites Food Company alleged the deceased owed the company the sum of N12 million.

His distraught wife, Cecilia, told reporters amidst tears that her late husband was an honest businessman who had won an award of the company for diligence and loyalty in 2010.

Yet, he was dragged to the police station for allegedly owing the company.

She said:”Ademola was one of the biggest distributors of Rites Food products in Nigeria, which he did under the business name of Ademola Stores.

“It was based on the terms of his contract with Rites Foods that he distributed their goods in Lagos, Ogun, Ghana and Benin Republic.

“In fact, in 2010, the company gave him Best Distributor of the Year Award because he was able to make sales for the company to the tune of over N250 million.

“My husband told me that the company alleged he was owing them some money, but he told them that they should engage an independent auditor to ascertain the true position of things.

“Whenever Ademola did not pay cash, he gave them post-dated cheques and I have teller evidence.

“Last Thursday, my husband went to Rites Food Company to purchase goods worth N400,000 and had loaded his truck when the General Manager (GM) suddenly called him.

“ On getting to the GM’s office, two policemen arrested him for issuing dud cheques and owing the company. Ademola was taken to Ikeja Police Division from where he called me and two of his friends and we immediately went there to see him.”

She said: “The Investigating Police Officer (IPO) said we must wait for the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the beverage company, but now I wonder if the police ought to be on the side of the company or the law.

“When the CSO came, he said my husband should be granted bail but later had a hush-hush meeting with the IPO.”

It was gathered that at about 7.00p.m., after the CSO had left, the IPO maintained that he could not release the deceased without the permission of a superior officer.

“When the Officer-in-Charge of Human Rights arrived, she said my husband would only be released on grounds that he provided the sum of N1million and this was 8.00p.m.

“I, along with two of my husband’s friends, pleaded with the officer that it was late and his friends even said they would stand surety.

But the Officer -in-charge of Human Rights refused.

“Also, one of my husband’s friends was willing to leave a brand new car in Police custody as security but they still refused,“ she added.

The grief-stricken widow said when all pleas fell on deaf ears, she and the friends had no choice but to leave the station.

She was, however, to receive the rudest shock of her life when a few hours after they left the station as she was told her husband was dead.

She said: “The following day, I went to the police station but no one told me anything.

“But one of the policemen told my husband’s friend that he had been rushed to a hospital.

“Some hours later, I received an anonymous call that there was a rumour within the company that my husband was dead.”

It was then she ran to the family’s lawyer, Mr. Clement Eko, who went to see the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) who confirmed that Ademola was indeed, dead.

Eko said he was overwhelmed by the DPO’s behaviour.

He said: “When we asked to see the statement written by the deceased, we were not allowed to see it.

“He said Ademola developed a sudden illness on Thursday night and was rushed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital where he was confirmed dead.”

Eko noted that all attempts to speak with the management of Rites Foods Company had proved abortive.

He however maintained that since no body had been produced, it was difficult to ascertain if indeed Ademola was dead.

According to him: “When we arrived LASUTH mortuary, we were told that a corpse was brought in by the name of Ademola Adeniji on Friday night, a   day after the incident.

“Furthermore, the mortuary attendants claimed one Inspector Solomon and a member of the family of the deceased known as Christopher had brought in the corpse.

“Because of the inconsistency, we were not allowed to even see his body.”

The widow, who cried like a baby, pleaded with the Police authorities and the Federal Government to wade into the matter and unravel the mystery behind their breadwinner’s death.

Lamenting that both the company and the Ikeja Police Division treated them unfairly, she said: “Rites Food Company and the police have neither called nor come to see me.

“I am a housewife and my husband was the sole breadwinner.

“We have three little children, who are now fatherless, in primary school. “Our last child will be a year old on Friday and she will not grow up to know her father.

“If Police cannot produce him alive, then they should give me his body.”

Eko, berated the police for demanding money before bail.

He said: “In Nigeria, bail is free and the police has no right to detain someone on grounds of non-payment.

“Also, the police have no right to seek the permission of a complainant before releasing a detainee.”

When reporters visited Rites Foods Limited office at 40, Opebi Street, a worker in the Information Centre simply said: “Ademola Adedeji was not a staff of the company but he was a distributor, that is all.”

The spokesman of the Lagos State police command, Mr. Joseph Jaiyeoba confirmed Adedeji’s death.

According to him: “The deceased was arrested after the company complained that he was owing them millions of naira.

“At night, he was complaining of stomach ache and was rushed to LASUTH where he was confirmed dead. We are waiting for autopsy report before we can confirm the cause of death.”

But the widow, however, maintained that her husband was very healthy before the incident.

“My husband drove to work on that day and was very strong with no history of illness.

“He was only 39 years old,“ she said.

This is a very serious matter. Nigerians are felled everyday by Policemen. What can we do as citizens?