Family, friends mourn Rite Food distributor, demand justice

Adedeji’s wife, children and sympathisers at the burial

Ademola Adedeji, the 39-year-old Rite Foods distributor, who died in police custody nine hours after being detained at the instance of the company, has been buried.

Adedeji was buried at his Mowe resident on Thursday over a year after his death.

Our correspondent, who witnessed the burial, reported that he was survived by his wife, Cecilia, and three children.

The funeral, which lasted for over two hours, was emotion-laden as family and friends recalled fond memories of the deceased.

An in-law of the deceased, Kemi Alagbe, described him as an easy-going and loving man whose death could have been prevented.

“He (Ademola) and I had a very good relationship. Although he was an in-law, my mother called him her son and we were all fond of him. I knew him for at least nine years,” she said.

Rite Foods had accused Ademola of fraud, adding that he owed the company millions of naira. It reported him to the police.

When asked about the allegation, Alagbe said, “I don’t know about the allegation made against him but of course the dead cannot speak. But if he did owe the company money, then the company should have gone about it the right way and they would have got their money back.”

One of the officiating ministers, Pastor Steve Karrim, said during the sermon that it was necessary for all to live right before God as no one knows when he or she would die.

Karrim, who took the Bible reading from 1 Thessalonians 4vs13-18 prayed for the immediate family of the deceased and condoled with them.

“We will all die one day irrespective of religion, creed or belief and if we are conscious of this, then we should all live right before God,” he said.

The most emotional moment of the funeral was when the deceased’s children, Temiloluwa (8), Monjolaoluwa (5) and Christiana (2), were called upon to perform the dust- to- dust rites. Nobody was able to keep dry eyes, including the deceased’s wife.

Sympathisers and relatives, who were at the event, demanded justice.

PUNCH Metro had reported that Adedeji died in custody at the Ikeja Police Division after being arrested for allegedly issuing dud cheques to the company.

Adedeji’s wife and colleagues had pleaded with policemen on duty to release him, but the policemen insisted that unless he provided N1m that very night, he would not be freed. Adedeji died a few hours later.

It was revealed during a coroner’s inquest that the deceased died of suffocation as a result of intake of irritant gas while in custody.

PUNCH