Death Of Suspect In Police Custody: Family Of Deceased, Lawyers React, Fault Police On Autopsy Report
As the controversy and counter accusation about what actually led to the death of Chima Ikwunado in police detention (Eagle crack) Rivers State, continue to rage, family of the deceased victim and some lawyers have faulted the Police on claims that the report of autopsy conducted on the man showed he died of high sugar level.
A Port Harcourt based human rights lawyer, Arochukwu Paul Ogbonna in a chat with National Network disclosed it is abnormal for an autopsy to be carried out without the knowledge of the family of the deceased.
The legal practitioner explained that for you to ensure fairness in an autopsy test, especially in a situation where the Police are the alleged perpetrator, the autopsy should be done in a government hospital and the family of the deceased as well as the Police will be represented during the test, after which the Medical Doctor will write his report .
Barrister Arochukwu stated that the family of late Chima has the right to dispute the claims of the Police since reports suggest that the Police did not involve the family during the autopsy test.
On his part Barrister Victor Okilom, stated that it is shameful that despite several petitions and complaints made to the Commissioner of Police, Dandaura Mustapha on inhumane treatment meted out to citizens of the state by the Eagle Crack Unit, the unit has continued torturing suspects which led to the death of Chima Ikwunado.
The Elder brother to late Chima in a telephone interview with National Network dismissed claims that his brother died of high sugar level.
He explained that his brother did not have history of diabetes while maintaining that the Police tortured the suspect to death.
The spokesperson of Rivers State Police, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Nnamdi Omoni had in a statement said the commander of Eagle Crack, Superintendent of Police (SP) Benson Adetuyi told him the man died of high sugar. DSP Omoni in the statement further pleaded with the family of the victims to have confidence in the Police team led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID) handling the matter while urging them to exercise patience.
Checks by National Network showed that Chima was arrested on 19th December, 2019 alongside four other occupants in the vehicle for driving against traffic.
The Police were said to have accused them of robbing the car they dove on. The Eagle Crack unit after releasing the vehicle to the owner who confirmed he gave the car to late Chima to fix, held the suspects back on claims that they were being investigated for cultism.
We learnt the other four suspects were arraigned in a court after Chima’s death on charges bordering on cultism.
