The photographer, Kola Aderogba who was allegedly tortured to death by
men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Ibadan, Oyo state has been
buried.
It was sadness, anger and mournful atmosphere in Ibadan as a
photographer, Kola Aderogba was buried in Sango Cemetery, Ibadan, Oyo
State, on Thursday.
Aderogba was allegedly tortured to death by
operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad. At the ceremony, family
members and friends of the victim rained curses on the suspected killers
as they called for justice, saying his death must not be in vain.
Punch
reported that Aderogba was buried in a wooden coffin around 2pm. His
younger sister, Seyi, who spoke with PUNCH Metro amidst tears, said the
55-year-old was never married due to disappointments he had from women.
She
said, “We want God to hasten judgement on the killers of my brother. If
the judge of the world is slack and unjust, God does not use pen and
paper and does not wear robes. He looks at people’s works and I want God
to examine the works of these men. From this moment, I don’t want them
to have rest. Although he was 55, he was never married due to
disappointments he got from women. Our parents are late. He was the
eldest of three children. My brother did not smoke hemp or cigarette. He
was a quiet man.”
PUNCH Metro had reported that Kola was taking
a concoction of herbs at a joint in the Challenge area, Ibadan, around
8.30pm on April 21, when a team of policemen raided the spot.
He
was alleged to have been arrested together with four others. The men
were taken to the SARS office at Dugbe, where they were allegedly
tortured. They were said to have been interviewed by a senior officer,
who reportedly cleared them of wrongdoing and asked that they be
released after paying for bail.
It was learnt that the suspects
paid between N25,000 and N40,000 before they were released. The victim,
who, however, could not raise any money and had no one to come for him,
was detained for seven days. On the seventh day, a member of his church
negotiated who N5,000, paid N3,500. He later went to look for the
balance of N1,500.
While the church member was away, the
policemen were said to have ordered a motorcycle rider to take him home.
He was reported to have slumped and died on the motorcycle.
A
family member, Olaolu Adeyeye, told PUNCH Metro on Thursday that after
Kola’s death, he reported the case to the police at the Orita division,
adding that the policemen did not give him attention.
He said
another family member contacted the police spokesperson in the state,
who ordered the Orita division to issue the family a police report. He
said, “When we returned to the station, the policemen gave us the report
with which we deposited the corpse in a morgue.
“The next day,
we returned to the station and they took our statements. They later
transferred the case to the area command at Iyaganku. At the command, we
were asked to make another statements after which we were asked to go
and conduct an autopsy.
“We contacted the doctors at the
University College Hospital, Ibadan, and we were asked to pay for the
autopsy. When we called a few days later, we were told that the result
was ready. They, however, refused to issue us a copy, saying they had
sent it to the police.”
Adeyeye said he confirmed from the
police that the report was indeed ready, adding that the command asked
him to make a formal request for a copy from the hospital.
According
to Punch, a mild drama ensued at the command when some suspects, who
were purportedly in the same cell with the deceased, were brought out to
deny the report that he was tortured.
The suspects reportedly
stated that Kola injured himself in the cell by putting his legs in a
shackle. A cousin of the victim, who did not want to be identified due
to the presence of some cops at the scene of the burial, called for
justice.
She said, “No man can escape death and that is the
reason we should all fear God. We may have buried him now, but I know
God does not sleep. He will give the right judgment.”