Children Of Woman Beaten To Death By Police In Ondo Cry Out For Justice

The children of late Mrs. Aderonke Adelugba, the female politician who was beaten to death by policemen in the Sijuade area of Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Sunday, have lamented that the autopsy of their late mother was yet to be done because they could not afford the N42, 000 bill charged them by the State Specialist Hospital, Akure, where the corpse was deposited.

The deceased, who was a chieftain of the Accord Party (AP) in the state, was allegedly beaten to death by some police officers who invaded her house in search of some suspects.

The outgoing Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Isaac Eke, while receiving the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police, in charge of zone 11, Oshogo, Mrs. Kalafite Adeyemi, who was on a familiarization tour to the state, said the command had begun full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mrs. Aderonke.

Eze said he had set up an investigative panel on the matter, in order to determine the next line of action by the police.

The deceased was reportedly hit with the butt of a gun by one of the policemen attached to the Oda division, as she appealed to the cops not to arrest one of her children who the police accused of being an Indian hemp smoker. She was said to have been rushed to a private hospital, where she was confirmed dead.

The policemen allegedly fled the scene immediately the woman collapsed. The children have called on the government and human rights groups in the country to assist them to ensure that the matter is not swept under the carpet.

One of the deceased’s children, Charles, 30, on behalf of other children, Tuesday, appealed to the government to assist them in getting justice, saying they had nobody to assist them in fighting for justice.

Charles recounted the ordeal saying;

“On the fateful day, I was inside the house, when I heard my mother shouting outside. I rushed out and I saw a policeman dragging my brother, Tosa, into their vehicle. I also saw my mother begging them not to arrest him, that her child is not a criminal. 

“At that point, one of them hit my mother on the chest with the butt of the gun and she fell down. One of them said she was pretending that nothing was wrong with her. A few minutes later, my mother started foaming from the mouth. 

“On getting to the hospital, the doctor told us that she had died. By that time, the policemen had fled the area. “The corpse is still at the specialist hospital,” Charles added.

“We don’t have the money for the autopsy because they said we should bring N42, 000 and we could not afford it. 

“We are calling on the government and human rights organizations to come to our aid.

He pleaded that they didn’t want the matter to be swept under the carpet, adding that he knows and can recognize the policeman who killed his mother. “We don’t want him to go scot-free. We want justice,” Charles sobbed.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Wole Ogodo, who confirmed the incident, said seven policemen that went to the shop of the deceased had been arrested and the report of the panel set up by the CP would determine their fate. The police spokesman said the woman started panting and died after policemen had left the house.

“She was not killed by the policemen as the family claims. The policemen wanted to arrest some hoodlums who ran into the deceased’s house, she wanted to hide the hoodlums, so it was in the process of preventing the policemen from entering the house that she fell down. 

“So in the information available to me,” Wole added, “it was not the policemen that killed her. She was hypertensive. “An autopsy would be carried out on the deceased by the hospital. “We will investigate the matter,” Wole stated.