How policeman accused of killing Lagos woman over N2,000 bribe absconded after bail — Investigation

Dismissed police corporal Aremu Musiliu, accused of killing a nursing mother, Comfort Udoh, has reportedly disappeared after secretly securing bail from the Lagos High Court, TheNigerian Metro investigation reveals.

Musiliu, along with five other policemen, had allegedly flagged down a tricycle along Isheri area in 2015, driven by Comfort’s husband, Godwin Udoh.

The vehicle reportedly carried Comfort and her four children, including a four-month-old baby, as they returned home from a church programme.

Despite the family explaining they were not commuters but merely heading home after worship, Musiliu allegedly insisted on a N2,000 bribe before allowing them to proceed.

When one of the policemen at the checkpoint ordered the family to leave, Musiliu reportedly aimed and fired his weapon at the tricycle.

The shot struck Comfort in the head, killing her instantly, while other bullets hit her husband in the jaw and right shoulder.

As their children screamed in terror, the officers reportedly fled the scene.

Musiliu was dismissed from the police force on September 17, 2015, and later granted bail in 2017 without the knowledge of the grieving family.

Court records reveal that Justice O.A. Taiwo of Court 26, Ikeja High Court, granted Musiliu bail at N1m with two sureties.

In the court ruling, Justice Taiwo stated, “Section 115(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2011 empowers the court to grant bail to a defendant charged with an offence punishable by death.

“Thus, the court has discretion whether or not to grant bail to a defendant charged with a capital offence. It is the duty of the applicant to show by affidavit special circumstances which will warrant the court to exercise its discretion in favour of the applicant.”

Since being granted bail, TheNigerian Metro learnt that Musiliu’s whereabouts have remained unknown despite multiple court sittings and attempts to arrest his sureties.

Speaking to TheNigerian Metro on Saturday, Godwin Udoh expressed his frustration and disbelief.

“I was surprised when I didn’t see him (the policeman) in court before discovering later that he had been granted bail. Nobody expected he would be granted bail.

“Every time they asked the prison to present him in court, they would give excuses like a lack of fuel to transport him. That’s how I began investigating what was going on,” Udoh recounted.

Udoh explained that his enquiries led him to the realisation that Musiliu had indeed been released.

“The court handling the case is now at the TBS High Court, but they never brought him there for arraignment. The only time he was ever arraigned was at the Ebute Metta Magistrate Court in 2015 when the incident happened,” he said.

“The judge, Hon. Justice Akintoye, even wrote letters to all the prisons in Lagos State, but they refused to produce this man in court. They even issued an arrest warrant for the two sureties.

“The entire court didn’t believe he had been released on bail until I personally went to find out. That’s when I confirmed that Hon. Justice Taiwo’s court at Ikeja had granted him bail. Now, the man has disappeared. We have never heard anything about him,” Udoh lamented.

The case is still ongoing, with the next court session scheduled for April 9. However, Udoh remains uncertain whether justice will be served.

“Nobody represented him in court as his lawyer. It’s only the prosecutor from the Lagos State Ministry of Justice who said I should try to see them at Alausa so they could find a way to bring him to court,” he added.

Udoh, reflecting on his life after the tragic incident in 2015, revealed that he and his children had been left to struggle alone, despite multiple promises from the police hierarchy to support them.

“The pain from this injury is still unbearable,” he said. “There’s still an iron in my jaw that was supposed to be removed. The doctor said they needed to take it out and replace it with bone so I could chew properly. But as I speak to you, the iron keeps hurting me.

“Sometimes, I even have to drain boils from it,” he said.

Udoh also recalled how the police failed to assist with his late wife’s burial in 2016.

“I met with the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, but he told me the police don’t bury anyone and that I should handle it myself,” he said.

He lamented that despite assurances, the police had abandoned him and his family.

“They promised to care for me, cover all my medical expenses, and ensure I got the necessary surgery. But they left me to suffer.

“The cost of the operation to remove this iron from my jaw runs into millions, and I don’t have that money,” he explained.

Udoh further revealed that the police had also pledged financial support, medical care, and scholarships for his children.

“They said they would put me on their payroll so I could at least receive some financial support yearly. None of that has happened,” he said.

Even a scholarship certificate issued for his children was later recalled.

He said, “I had to return it, but I made a photocopy first.

“They said it was a mistake and that they would correct it and send it back to the inspector general for approval. Till today, I haven’t received it.”

Police brutality against innocent civilians is rampant despite efforts to rein in criminal-minded officers.

The police force sacked Inspector Usman Dikko over the death of the Baale of Lotu, the late Chief Fatai Jubril, in 2023.

Another officer was dismissed for raping a teenage girl at gunpoint inside a police station in Lagos.