Drama Looms As Kwara Community Demands Justice After Young Father Died In Police Detention Under 24hrs

The death of Tunji Abdulquadri Jimoh, a 35-year-old man while he was in police custody in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, has taken a new turn.

The Erubu-Asunnara community where the deceased hails from has narrated the graphic account of events leading to his arrest and detention and demanded justice for his alleged unlawful detention and murder at the state police command headquarters over a N220,000 debt.

A statement by the Chairman and General Secretary of the community, Ibrahim Mujeeb and Hassan Taiye Erubu in Ilorin on Sunday expressed sadness and heartbreak over the tragic incident.

“With sadness and heartbreak, we the entire members of the Erubu-Asunnara Community, Balogun Fulani Ward I of Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State are deeply in sorrow and grief over the death of one of our brothers and a member of the community, Jimoh Tunji AbdulQodir, who was believed to have been killed inside police net, at the headquarters of the Nigeria Police, Kwara State Command.

“On the day of the unfortunate incident, Friday, 20th December 2024, Tunji was hale and healthy. He was seen in front of his family compound washing his clothes, and that of his mother. As a matter of fact, he joked with many people as he is known to be more jovial, gentle and loved by people in the community.

“Tunji was very well known for his hard work, he went into farming and animal husbandry business until recently when he was employed at one popular poultry farm in Offa.

Tunji was said to have owed one Mr Peter who worked with him as a poultry worker, a sum of ₦220,000 and had since been threatening to kill him if he didn’t pay before Christmas.

“As a result of the threat, Tunji informed some members of the family and friends about the incident which made him stay away from work for days. But on this day, after he finished washing the clothes, he relaxed at a public assembly, sat with friends and families and later bathed, until he received a phone. The caller asked him to meet up at the frontage of Balogun Fulani Compound, not more than five poles from his home and he told those he sat with.

“Surprisingly, one of the elderly women in the neighbourhood received a distress call that he had been arrested. It was the woman who related the information to Tunji’s mother. Afterwards, the family made several efforts to see him at the police headquarters but they were denied.

“All efforts to meet Mr Gabriel, whom Tunji was owing, was also to no avail. At about 7pm on the same day, a call was received from the Police that, the family should come and bail him out after it was denied on the excuses that the complainant had travelled to Ibadan, Oyo State but they should come along with money which the family are making efforts to get.

“At 9pm, another call was put to the family, requesting the family to come to the hospital because of Tunji. The family members went there, only for them to be told about 2am on Saturday that Tunji had passed away. Shocked by the development, some family members and members of the community visited the Nigeria Police Headquarters, Kwara Command and the unfortunate incident was confirmed with the claims that he killed himself by hanging in the small cell.

“This is bizarre and unacceptable. The cell was visited and obviously, there was no way anybody could have committed suicide with the way the cell was constructed. Besides, there was no rope to suggest that and the cell was not spacious enough to engage in such. Tunji was a tall person, who could not have stood straight inside the cell.

“Similarly, the family asked for his corpse and was told it had been deposited at a mortuary without the family’s knowledge.

“On the same day, immediately after the visit to police headquarters, the family visited the mortuary and the lifeless body of Tunji was confirmed,” the statement added.

The statement disclosed that “Tunji was a 35-year-old man, with kids and a struggling man, assisting the family and also known for his generosity and kindness.”

The community has now appealed to members of the press and the general public to assist in the demand for justice for Tunji.

They have also asked Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, members of the National Assembly and the State Legislators, Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, Human rights groups, and other Civil Society Organisations to come to its aid.

The family has also asked the Inspector General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, and the Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Victor Olaiya, urgently launch investigations into the incident to ensure justice for the deceased.

“We are grieved and only the Almighty can console us for this departed soul,” the community stated.