‘Police begged me to keep mum on Gabriel’s death’

Mrs. Olatundun Masaku, a visitor to the MAN Centre Police Division where one Gabriel Faleye, died, says she saw his corpse inside the cell, but she was begged not to raise the alarm.

Olatundun said she saw the corpse when she went to check her son, Ibrahim Masaku, who was arrested along with the deceased around 3am on Monday outside Royale – a nightclub on Oba Akran Road in Ikeja.

This is just as Gabriel’s mother, Mrs. Iqrat Faleye, debunked the police’s robbery allegation against her son, saying the report was a  frame-up.

PUNCH Metro had reported on Wednesday that 24-year-old Gabriel and his friends had gone to the club on Sunday when a fight broke out between them and another group of clubbers.

He was said to have left the club and was heading for his residence on Obafemi Awolowo Way  when one of the aggrieved clubbers entered his car and deliberately ran into him.

It was reported that the policemen, who stormed the area afterwards, whisked Gabriel and Ibrahim to the station despite entreaties that he should be taken to a hospital for treatment. He allegedly died in custody around 5am.

The state police command had  said Gabriel died in a hospital, where he was rushed to.

But the witness, Ibrahim’s mother, who spoke in Yoruba, said, “I sell food beside Royale. Around 3am on Monday, I was informed that the police had arrested Ibrahim.

“Around 5am, I went to the Man Centre Division to see my son, but a policewoman told me to wait for the policeman handling the case. The policeman came around 6am and told me that Ibrahim fought with somebody in the club and stole an iphone, a necklace and a sum of N200,000. I told him that Ibrahim is troublesome, but he would not steal.

“The policewoman called me and said a boy who was arrested with Ibrahim had been groaning with pains and that I should help to locate his parents to come to the station and take him to a hospital. I begged her to let me see him and she agreed after I gave her N500.

“She followed me there. Gabriel and Ibrahim slept beside each other. I told Ibrahim to wake Gabriel up, but he didn’t wake up. He held him and stated that Gabriel had stopped breathing.

“The policewoman and I checked Gabriel and found out that Gabriel was indeed dead.  The policewoman called her boss. They begged me not to tell anybody, but I informed his family.”

Ibrahim’s uncle, Rafiu, said he and some other family members headed for the station immediately Olatunbosun broke the news but the police did not allow him to see the deceased or lead them to the hospital he was allegedly taken to.

Iqrat, the deceased’s mother, who is physically challenged, said Ibrahim was a hard working boy, adding that his death had dimmed her hope of regaining her sight.

She said, “My son spoke with me on the telephone on Sunday and he promised to visit me at Sango-Ota where I live the following day. He and his younger sister gained admission into higher institutions last year, but I did not have money to sponsor both of them at once.

“He said I should pay her sister’s school fee and promised to work for a year to raise money for his admission. He always assured me that I would see again with my blind right eye. My hope that I will see again is gone. My son was not a robber. He doesn’t steal, smoke or drink alcohol. The police implicated him to cover up their atrocity. They have not allowed us to see his corpse. We want to bury him.”

The Lagos State Police spokesperson, DSP Dolapo Badmos, insisted that Gabriel died in a hospital, saying, the police acted on the matter within the ambit of the law.

“There was a distress call from the owner of the hotel and the police went there to arrest the deceased and his friend, who were accused of fighting with some people and stealing from them. According to the division, the suspect had complications and he was rushed to a hospital, where he died. His corpse will be released after autopsy.”

Our correspondent, who visited the club to speak with the owner, met it shut. However, one of its workers, who identified himself only as Richard said, “ The club is closed because we are trying to fix some things that were destroyed during the fight.”