Police Brutality: Man Dies in Police Custody in Abia State

A man, Onyekachi Ohalete Ugwuiro, has died while in Police custody at the Uzualoli Police Station in Umuahia, Abia State in December 2018.

The case was brought to the Abia State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Wednesday by the deceased’s mother, Mrs Charity Ohalete who is her late 70s.

According to Mrs Charity, her son was arrested at the railway at Uzuakoli and was denied access to his family members who were taken food to him.

A few days later, the man was found dead in his cell when the mother came to visit and insisted on seeing her son. She was initially told that the person with the key to the cell was absent but later, the key to the cell was broken and Onyekachi was found dead.

The Policemen quickly ushered the woman out of the cell while they took the deceased’s body to the mortuary without allowing the family members to see the corpse.

The family was made to pay N100,000 before the corpse was seen by the family.

Meanwhile, In its defence, the respondent to the Police stated that an autopsy performed on the case, which Mrs Charity wasn’t aware of, showed that the deceased committed suicide with a rope from his trouser.

The Police also claimed that the deceased was arrested for stealing a police property but the Police never produced a petition or arrest warrant to the family.