Autopsy reveals policeman starved, tortured to death in Kogi cell

Inspector Taiye Atobiloye, a police officer who passed away in a cell at the Kogi State Police Command's "D" Division, displayed signs of assault on his body and had also been starved to death, according to an autopsy that was performed on his remains.

According to the postmortem report, the deceased, who had hypertension, had been starved in the cell.

According to additional information on the occurrence, Atobiloye was a member of the Oke Onigbin Police Division in Kwara State. However, trouble for him began in April 2023 when he was transferred to Zone 12 in Kogi State for special duty but refused the order.

The deceased’s wife, Oluwabukola, said that when her husband’s efforts to stop the deployment failed, Atobiloye travelled to Kogi State to resume but, he was detained for late resumption at the ‘D’ Division.

Oluwabukola claimed that, after one week without anyone picking up the numerous calls she made to his telephone line, she heard from another person that, her husband had died inside a cell in ‘D’ Division.

 

When her husband's attempts to block the deployment were unsuccessful, the deceased's widow, Oluwabukola, claimed that Atobiloye traveled to Kogi State to continue but was detained for a late resume at the "D" Division.

Oluwabukola asserted that after calling his phone multiple times for a week and getting no answer, she learned from another person that her husband had passed away in a cell in "D" Division.

The widow claimed that several police officers tortured her husband Taiye, who had served in the department for 22 years, to death. She was demanding justice at the time.

The Zonal Police Public Relations Officer, Ruth Awi, however, stated that the deceased was intoxicated when he passed out in the cell in her statement over the incident.

The primary causes of the deceased's death were listed as "acute left ventricular failure" and "hypertensive cardiovascular disease" in the five-page post-mortem report, which was issued on May 3rd, 2023, and signed by one Dr. Awelimobor Daniel of the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja. The secondary cause was listed as "multiple superficial soft tissue injuries."

The victim was taken to the hospital already dead and did not slump and pass away as alleged by the police, according to a portion of the autopsy report.

“External examination: young man, not pale, axyanosed, anicteric, no pedal oedema, obvious bruising and external signs/marks of violence are seen over the forehead, face, shoulders, both wrists and on the leg and empty stomach.”