Why I refused to release the corpse of the banker-Manko

Hakeem Odumosun and Manko

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar Manko, yesterday denied that his policemen were responsible for the death of the Ecobank worker, Babatunde Oke. This was even as he stated his reason for not allowing the deceased’s family members to take away his corpse.

Speaking with journalists in his office at the Ikeja Police Command, Manko said: “The deceased had already confessed to the crime, thus there was no need to touch him, let alone torture him for anything. Nobody touched him. He died right in the presence of his family members.”

Narrating what his policemen told him, Manko said: “The deceased said that he was thirsty. A member of his family bought him soft drink. He was the person who used his teeth to uncork the bottle. He put the cork inside his pocket.

“A few minutes after that, he slumped and died right in front of his family people. The family wanted to take him away for immediate burial since they are Muslims, but I refused. I instructed the area commander not to allow them to take his corpse. I wanted an autopsy to be carried out on him, to ascertain the cause of his death.”

It will be recalled that the late Oke died under controversial circumstances after Ecobank, where he was a staff called policemen from Falomo Police Station to arrest him for allegedly embezzling N1.2 million.

But contrary to what Manko said, the family had earlier denied being around when the deceased drank the bottle of soft drink, just as his widow, Bunmi Oke, added that her husband rarely takes soft drinks.

The mother of the deceased, Alhaja Sidikatu Oke, 60, said she, her husband and the deceased’s younger brother were outside, waiting for their lawyer who would perfect Oke’s release from police custody to come when they suddenly noticed an ambulance driving away from the police station.

It was Oke’s brother who first noticed that his brother was inside the ambulance. The deceased was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. The aged mother insisted that she was not even aware that Oke was given any soft drink until she heard it at the hospital, where the deceased was confirmed dead.

The grieving mother reportedly said: “When we reached the hospital, the doctor asked, 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.

“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.”