The Nigerian Army through its
counsel, Mr Bola Oyebanji, has apologised to the family of a commercial
motorcyclist, Mr Abubakar Alhaji, who was allegedly beaten to death by
Sgt. Taiwo Owoeye in Lagos.
Oyebanji, who tendered the army’s
apology at the Presidential Panel investigating alleged human rights abuses by
the Armed Forces said the culprit has been arrested and detained for murder.
He said, “The Nigerian Army has
detained Sgt. Owoeye for murder, we find the matter reprehensible and
condemnable.
“However, this is a single act
which showed that the sergeant was on his own.
“We apologise and sympathise with
the family of the deceased.”
Head of the panel, Justice Biobel
Goodwill, of the Court of Appeal, also condoled with the brother of the
deceased who was present at the hearing.
Goodwill after tendering the
apology, told Mr Lucas Koyejo, a counsel for the National Human Rights
Commission to follow up with the military trial of Owoeye to ensure that
justice was done and to liaise with the victim’s family.
Alhaji’s brother, Mr Salihu
Mojahid, in his testimony before the panel, shed light on the series of events
leading to his brother’s death.
Mojahid said, “On Feb. 27, my brother
called Abubakar Alhaji, a commercial motorcyclist, took a passenger to Maroko
Roundabout beside Myhoung Barracks, Yaba, Lagos.
“He parked at the back of a
vehicle and unknown to him someone was in the vehicle, the person in the
vehicle reversed and bystanders shouted that a commercial motorcyclist is
behind him.
“My brother knocked on the car to
alert the owner that he parked behind him, the owner of the car came out and he
was Sgt. Taiwo Owoeye.
“Owoeye, who was in full military
uniform, slapped my brother twice and after he fell down, and he started
kicking my brother several times in his stomach while he was on the ground.
“Bystanders tried apologising to
him but he refused to listen to them till my brother fell unconscious.
“When my brother became
unconscious, he wanted to leave and the bystanders said ‘do you not see the
state of the person you have beaten up?
“Sgt. Owoeye told them ‘let him
die, even if he dies, nothing will happen’.
“Fellow commercial motorcyclists
and military men took him to a hospital in the barracks, he was vomiting blood
till the next day.
“My brother died on Feb. 28 and
the Commandant ordered the arrest of Sergeant Owoeye.”
Mojahid claimed that his
brother’s corpse was not released to the family until May 25 which was four
months after the incident.
“Anytime we asked the military
for his corpse, they said that they needed to do an autopsy, till now we have
not received an autopsy result.”
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