{"id":8677,"date":"2013-08-20T07:41:10","date_gmt":"2013-08-20T07:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/disnaija.com\/nigerian-newspapers\/friends-protest-drivers-death-in-police-cell\/"},"modified":"2013-08-20T07:41:10","modified_gmt":"2013-08-20T07:41:10","slug":"friends-protest-drivers-death-in-police-cell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disnaija.com\/friends-protest-drivers-death-in-police-cell\/","title":{"rendered":"Friends protest driver\u2019s death in police cell"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Friends of a 25-year-old driver, Babatunde Apoche, are crying foul over the manner of his death at the Denton Police Station, Ebute Meta, Lagos State.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Apoche was said to have been tortured by the police while in custody over claims that he stabbed his brother-in-law during a fight in June 2013.<\/p>\n

\u00a0One of the friends of the deceased, who identified himself as Babatunde Adeleye, said, \u201cAlthough Apoche was married, he lived separately from his wife. The couple had no children and had been quarreling for a while over Apoche\u2019s drinking problem.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cOn that fateful day, Apoche had gone to his mother-in-law\u2019s house to ask his wife for money. His wife had earlier complained to Apoche\u2019s boss that he often spent his salary on drinks and gave her no money for her upkeep.\u00a0 As a result, the boss began to pay her Apoche\u2019s salary. \u201c<\/p>\n

\u00a0PUNCH Metro<\/i> gathered that Apoche\u2019s wife declined her husband\u2019s request, which led to a quarrel. It was said that the rift was eventually settled by neighbours.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Adeleye said, \u201cUnknown to Apoche, his wife\u2019s brother got wind of the quarrel between his sister and Apoche and trailed him to Evans Square.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cA fight ensued between Apoche and his brother-in-law after the latter accosted him. In the process, both men stabbed each other with a broken bottle. After both men had been separated by bystanders, his brother-in-law went to the Denton Police Station to report the incident.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThe police arrested Apoche, who was also bleeding from a side wound which he sustained in the fight. They threw him in a cell and denied him medical attention for three days. We suspect he was also tortured too because the next thing we heard was that he was dead.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile Apoche was in detention, he was denied access to his family and friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0Apoche\u2019s family was said to have been denied his corpse until sometime in July 2013, when it was eventually released. The policemen reportedly said Apoche hung himself in the cell.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Another friend of the deceased, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of backlash from the police said the policemen lied<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cNobody believes that allegation; Apoche never committed suicide.\u00a0 But Apoche\u2019s family members are being harassed by the police to keep silent. The matter is gradually being swept under the carpet,\u201d he lamented.<\/p>\n

\u00a0PUNCH Metro<\/i> gathered that the Divisional Police Officer\u00a0 of\u00a0 the station had been summoned by the command over the incident.<\/p>\n

There was no response from the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ngozi Braide when PUNCH Metro <\/i>contacted her.<\/p>\n

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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. <\/a>A DisNaija.Com<\/a> network.<\/p>\n

Source: Punch Newspaper<\/p>\n

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