Babatunde Oke
Mother of the late Ecobank worker, Babatunde Oke, has insisted that the police knew how her son died.
Babatunde died under controversial
circumstances while in custody of the Falomo Police Division, Lagos
State, over allegation of N1.2m fraud.
The man, who was attached to the bank’s
branch in Ogba, was detained for three days by the police over his
alleged involvement in the fraud.
Alhaja Sidikatu Oke, 60, fighting back tears, told PUNCH Metro on Saturday that 35-year-old Babatunde died within 20 minutes she left him.
Sidikatu explained that she had gone to withdraw money from the Automated Teller Machine in order to perfect her son’s bail.
She said he did not show any sign of weakness and had only complained of mosquito bites for the period he was with the police.
She said, “Three of us went to the
police station that Thursday to perfect his bail – his father, his
younger brother and I. The police brought him to see us. We chatted and
he advised me to get the lawyer who would perfect his bail on time
because he was being disturbed by mosquitoes in the police cell.
“I assured him that everything would be
okay. I called a lawyer that I had contacted on the telephone, who said
he was on his way. My son even spoke with the lawyer on the phone. We
had N200, 000 with us that day and we wrote an agreement on how we would
complete the payment of the N1.2m.
“The lawyer told us on the phone that we
should get additional money that we would give to the police. So, we
went outside to get the money from the ATM. On coming back, we decided
to stay outside pending when the lawyer would join us.
“While standing there, his brother saw
an ambulance and he called my attention, saying he sighted his brother
lying down in the bus. I said it was impossible because we had only
chatted a few minutes back.”
She said Babatunde’s brother rushed
after the ambulance, forcefully entered it, and after he confirmed that
the person in the vehicle was indeed his brother, went with them to
wherever they were taking him.
The bereaved mother told our correspondent that she entered her car and trailed the ambulance to the hospital.
“I also called him (Babatunde) as I was
following them. He was screaming, ‘I’m dead, mummy, I am dead, please
come’. When we got to the police hospital, the first question the doctor
asked was, ‘What drip did you give him?’
“One Sergeant Adebayo then said it was
Coke they gave him. I said how possible was that? He never told me he
needed a drink when I was with him. His shirt was soaked with blood and
he was foaming in the mouth.
“Then, the doctors at the hospital
confirmed him dead on arrival. Everything stood still for me. The
healthy boy I spoke with 20 minutes ago was no more. How come everything
just changed? I know the police did something bad to my son. I was
rolling on the floor. I was shouting,” she said.
She told our correspondent that her
son’s corpse had been transferred to the Lagos State University Teaching
Hospital, Ikeja, where a postmortem is expected to be performed on him.
Babatunde’s widow, Bunmi Oke, told PUNCH Metro that her husband rarely took soft drinks while he was alive.
The 29-year-old, who is a contract
worker with Ecobank, said her late husband worked tirelessly for the
bank and did not deserve death as payment.
“I want the government and good
Nigerians to fight for me. My husband hardly takes soft drink. He was
always working even Saturdays and Sundays. Our marriage is barely three
years. My first child is only two years, and I have a baby that is seven
months.”
The Lagos State Police Public Relations
Officer, Ngozi Braide, said, “The man was brought to the station by
Ecobank around 9pm on Wednesday, that he stole N2.8m from the ATM. It
was after they took their stock that they discovered he made away with
the money. He admitted in his statement that he collected the money on
different occasions. He begged that he did not want the matter to be
taken to court.
“The following day, his parents came and
promised to pay. The bank also accepted the arrangement. While they
were there in the station, he requested a bottle of Pepsi and they
bought it for him. He used his seat to open the drink, and did not allow
anybody to open it for him. The next thing that happened was that he
slumped. His father, mother and brother were all there. Everything
happened in their presence. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was
confirmed dead.”
A member of the Brand and Communication
unit of Ecobank, Austin Osokpor, said the bank would make an official
statement on Monday (today).
He added that the bank did what was right by reporting the matter to the police since it was a case of fraud.
“In every organisation, if there is a
case of theft, the first thing is to call the police. It is unfortunate
this has happened because he was our colleague. But right now, the bank
will wait for the autopsy to know what exactly killed him,” he said.
PUNCH
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