POLICE BEGIN AUTOPSY ON CORPSE OF CULT MEMBER WHO DIED IN CUSTODY.(PHOTO).

Police begin autopsy on corpse of cult member who died in custody

…refute claims he was tortured to death, say he ran berserk, shouting, assaulting, biting others inside cell

 

Police in Ogun have begun an autopsy on the corpse of a 39-year-old cult member, Seyi Oduyiga, who died while in custody recently.

Oduyiga said to be a member of both Buccaneer and Eiye confraternities, was said to have died in police cell after he went berserk, biting, shouting and assaulting other suspects in custody.

The deceased suspect and his cohorts were arrested following an intelligence report that suspected cultists on the wanted list of the police in the state were within Atoyo area of Sagamu, on November 18, 2023, over series of cult clashes witnessed in the town and which left five other cult members dead.

Police Public Relations Officer, SP Omolola Odutola, conveyed this to newsmen in a statement in Abeokuta on Sunday.

Odutola said the command decided to do autopsy on the corpse of the deceased due to some reports circulating on social media platforms that the deceased was tortured to death by the police in the course of investigation

Her statement read, “The police swung into action on a covert operation where two suspected cultists were apprehended. Oduyiga Seyi Samson “m” 39 years and Gbenga Adejoke ‘m’, notorious members of Buccaneer and Eiye confraternities were arrested.

“On Interrogation, both Seyi and Gbenga made a confessional statement to being members of the outlawed Buccaneer and Eiye confraternity secret cult groups. Seyi confessed he was initiated in 2015.

“The Ogun State Police Command vehemently refutes that the deceased was tortured to death as it is being speculated in some online media.

“Ogun police command holds a strong commitment to upholding fundamental human rights laws, particularly when it comes to treatment of suspects. Torture is strictly against our protocols and principles.

“Ogun State police command is well versed in the legal framework that safeguards the rights of individuals in custody, free from all forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

“For the records, the deceased was already charged for cult-related activities and he was taken to Court on Thursday, 23rd November 2023, where he was to be arraigned before a special court on cultism case in Isabo, Abeokuta. But the honourable Court did not sit, and he was brought back to Eleweran in Abeokuta the same Thursday. Seyi was to be taken back to the court at the next available day that the Court will sit, which is on Friday, 24th November 2023.

“However, on Friday, 24th November, at about 0500 hours, Seyi went berserk, shouting, biting with teeth, and assaulted other suspects in the cell until he got exhausted. Other suspects in the cell alerted policemen on duty. He was taken to the police hospital and later to Ijaye General Hospital, Abeokuta, along with other suspects he bit in the cell for medical treatment against infection. Other suspects were treated and discharged, but Seyi, while on medical attention, later gave up the ghost.

“Every other allegation is hereby debunked as the accurate position is what has been stated above.”

Meanwhile the Commissioner of Police, ( CP) Abiodun Alamutu, said that as soon as the autopsy report about the deceased is out, the police will give further details.

He also commiserates with the family of the deceased suspect.