The family of the 35-year-old Olatunji Jimoh, who about a month ago died in police custody in Ilorin, Kwara State, has called for the immediate release of autopsy results carried out on the deceased by the police authorities.
The convener of Justice for Olatunji Jimoh, Mr. Owolabi Tayo, during a news conference in Ilorin on Friday, also asked the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to charge those involved in the alleged killing of Jimoh to court.
LEADERSHIP recalls that Jimoh died in police custody in Ilorin on December 20, 2024, after he was arrested and detained for owing one Gabriel Sunday the sum of N220,000.
At the news conference, Owolabi alleged that the family of the deceased had been denied a copy of the autopsy result since it was allegedly released to the Nigeria Police two weeks ago.
“They have been telling one lie after another, directing us to the doctor, who then directed us back to them. They fully know that the results do not in any way indicate that the late Olatunji hanged himself,” he said.
The family of the deceased and the Balogun Fulani community also called on the state governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, to intervene in the matter, “as a father and as the chief security officer of the state,” saying that a letter has also been written to the Emir of llorin, Alh. Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, to intervene in the matter.
“We are calling on the National Assembly to help investigate and look wholistically on this case to help in this horrible, terrible and inhuman situation. Because if we leave them without being punished, I am afraid, Nigeria is sleeping on a time bomb which will soon explode in the hands of some unprofessional Nigeria Police officers,” he said.
The family said that the late Jimoh Olatunji left behind two kids and aged parents, who they said are now receiving treatment
in the state’s General Hospital.
“As we speak, the family is mourning, in pain and traumatised, leaving them to face their fate. How long shall we allow innocent citizens to suffer in the hands of unprofessional policemen, who don’t care about citizens but rather extort, brutalize and ill-treat them?,” the convener added