Extra Judicial Killing Of Late Benson Obode By The Police: Matters Arising

Recent development emerging from the investigations being conducted bythe Obodeh family into the murder of their son, late Benson Obodeh has cast further aspersions on the image of the police force.

It is on record that the late Benson Obodeh was gruesomely murdered by corporals Adeleke Adedeji, Abena John, Oniyo Musa, Henry Shobowole, Constable Joseph Omotosho and fully supervised by the O.C. SARS Edo State, DSP Solomon Omatseye.

The police had initially tried endlessly to frustrate the family from

discovering the details of the murder after it refused giving the

family any information regarding the boys whereabouts even after

several petitions but for the intervention of the I.G. (Solomon

Arase), the family would have still been in the dark as there was a

grand plan by the Edo State Commissioner of Police Samuel Adegbuyi,

the O.C. Legal Edo State DSP Kenneth Dika and DSP Solomon Omatseye to

frustrate the family while instructing the State Police PRO, Stephen

Onwochei to be silent on the issue.
Family investigations revealed that the policemen who committed the

murder stole an unregistered Peugeot 306 car from the late Benson

Obodeh, stole the sum of N200,000 cash from him, made away with the

wallet containing his identity cards and two ATM Cards belonging to

First Bank and Eco bank. Evidence gathered reveals that the police

forcefully obtained the ATM Card Pin from the late Benson Obodeh at

the point of torture and at gun point and went ahead to withdraw the

total sum of N330,000 from his bank account. The police criminals

killed Benson Obodeh on the 21st May, dumped his body at the Central

Hospital Mortuary Benin with a fake name to prevent the family from

identifying the body and proceeded to Port Harcourt where the police

used the First Bank ATM Cards to transfer the sum of N30,000 to one

Fasasi Adesina Kazeem with Guaranty Trust Bank Account No. 0011009936

on the 23rd of May 2015 two days after they had killed the boy at

First Bank Artillery Port Harcourt. They went ahead to withdraw the

sum of N100,000 on the 24th, 25th and 26th May 2015 at First Bank

Artillery, FCMB Rumukoro and Ecobank Rumukoro respectively with ATM

Camera footage clearly showing Corporal Adeleke Adedeji making the

withdrawals.
To further add salt to injury, the Nigeria Police is employing delay

tactics in conducting an autopsy on the corpse. An invitation was sent

to Mr. Obodeh Solomon on the 24th August 2015 from the Homicide

Section, FCID, Abuja for an autopsy on the 2nd September. I made

myself available only to be told by the police that they will not

perform the autopsy. The police told my pathologist to sign the

coroners form which the pathologist refused on the ground that he only

came to observe the process to ensure that the right thing was done.

The whole exercise ended in a dead lock, the police told me to inform

them whenever I am ready for the autopsy. I then made several contacts

and finally picked the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital

Pathology Department. I wrote to the I.G. through Festus Keyamo

Chambers on the 8th September informing the police that the autopsy

will be conducted in Calabar on the 15th of September 2015.

Consequently requesting the police to release the corpse on or before

Sunday the 13th of September 2015 as the corpse will leave Benin 6am

on Monday the 14th September 2015. We made it categorically clear that

the family had paid for the autopsy, paid for a 14 seater bus to and

fro Calabar and also cleared the mortuary bill from May 21st to Monday

14th September the day the corpse was to leave Benin. The family had

also offered to provide accommodation for the police in Calabar all in

a bid to remove any financial encumbrances on the part of the police.

But to our greatest dismay, the police has refused to turn up for the

autopsy and has also refused to advance any reason to the family on

why it does not want to appear for the autopsy. The police refusal or

delay in consenting to the autopsy has led to a shocking revelation.

The family discovery indicates that there is a grand plan by some

unscrupulous policemen to steal the corpse from the morgue, hence the

delay by the police in conducting the autopsy even after the family

has made all payments available. These policemen from the Edo State

Command are in constant touch with the murderers and they had gone

ahead to threaten the mortuary staff. The mortuary staffs were asked

why they allowed the family access to the corpse. The policeman came

to the mortuary on the 13th of August 2015 with DCP Undie Adie from

Abuja. His role was to take the DCP to the mortuary but he went behind

DCP Undie Adie to threaten the mortuary staff. The same policeman

belongs to the team of policemen planning to steal the corpse from the

mortuary.
The family has also discovered that the missing eye from my brother’s

corpse was extracted by these same policemen and sold to ritualists.

Could this be the reason why the police is afraid of the autopsy? The

family after discovering all these had made attempt to see the I.G. at

Force Headquarters Abuja on the 15th September 2015 but was told the

I.G. will see us only on invitation.
We are using this medium to intimate the I.G. and the public on the

gimmicks being employed by his subordinates to subvert the cause of

justice.