Mrs Glory Fagbayide has accused the soldiers attached to 174 Battalion, Ikorodu, Lagos State of torturing her husband, Adeola Oyekan to death.
The Army, in a statement by its spokesperson, Brigadier General Sani Usman, however, denied the claim.
According to available information, Oyekan was resident in a building owned by a woman on Prince Jamiu Oyebade Street, Ogijo, Ogun State, which is a short distance from the 174 Battalion barracks in Its Oluwo.
Oyekan, who traded in clothes until his death, was allegedly accused by his landlady’s son, simply identified as Tunji, of owing rent and being rude to his mother.
The son therefore invited some soldiers to “deal” with him.
Fagbayide said after beating her and her husband at home, the soldiers took them to the
barracks where they were further tortured, especially Oyekan.
She told Sunday Punch: “On March 7, Tunji accused us of being rude to his mother.
“The following day, he brought four soldiers, one of whom was in uniform, into the house. They slapped and punched my husband.
“They injured my finger while I was trying to get him out of their grip. They took us to their barracks in Ita Oluwo and started beating him again.
“When some of their bosses were passing by, they stopped the beating and shielded us from them. When the bosses left the scene, they continued to beat him.
“He could not eat solid food because his teeth were badly affected and he was in pain. On Friday, his condition worsened and I rushed him to Healer Hospital again.
“The doctor gave him injection and prescribed some drugs for him. We just got married in September 2016.
“We neither abused the landlady nor owed her rent. Our rent is supposed to expire on March 28.”
The deceased’s elder sister, Damilola Odufaya, not only confirmed the development, but it was also incidented at Ogijo Police Division after initial treatment at Healer Hospital, where he received treatment until he died on Friday.
Odufaya said: “After the torture, a lawyer to the landlady begged him for settlement because he wanted to sue her and the son.
“They promised to give him N60,000 for the treatment. The landlady was inside when his corpse was brought home yesterday (Friday), but she didn’t come out.”
The Police Public Relations Officer of the Ogun State Police Command, ASP Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the incident.
Oyeyemi said all the perpetrators would be brought to book.
But Usman in a statement late on Saturday denied the involvement of soldiers in the killing, demanding for a withdrawal of the posts on social media.
He wrote in the statement: “The attention of the Nigerian Army has been drawn to media reports and photograph of the corpse of one Mr. George of Ogijo, Ogun State, allegedly “murdered” by troops of 174 Battalion Ikorodu. The story and the photograph were ostensibly shared by one Mr. Kenny Abel Adesanya through his twitter handle. However, investigation have confirmed that the allegation is not true, rather it was figment of Mr. Adesanya’s imagination borne out of mischief, hatred for the Nigerian Army and attempt to divert attention from those that committed the dastardly act.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the location where the incident took place, Ogijo, is in Ogun State and 174 Battalion does not have any deployment there, neither do any of our troops patrol the area.
“To further buttress this fact, a team was despatched to Ogijo Divisional Police Station, Ogun State, to investigate the matter. It was confirmed that the incident dates back to 8th March 2017, one Mr. George (now late), was threatened by the son of his landlady that he will invite his soldier friends to come and beat him for failing to pay his rent which was long overdue. On the said day, the tenant was taken from the compound by three young men and beaten up. The case was reported to Ogijo police station. The parties involved were arrested and their statements taken.
“Thereafter, the police wanted to charge the matter to court for which the tenant and the landlady opted for out of court settlement. The young men who carried out the beating were neither arrested nor their identity ascertained by the police. The police claimed the landlady son said he used his friends. The case was however treated as assault and discharged. No report was sent to the military authorities because no soldier was involved.
“On 24th March 2017, the said tenant Mr. George died in his house and his corpse was taken to the frontage of the landlady who quickly reported to the Ogijo Police Station. She was arrested and the corpse was deposited at the mortuary. The son of the landlady who is currently at large, is being hunted by the police authority.
“Consequently, we wish to call on Mr. Adesanya all other persons that shared the story and the media to understand that Mr. George was not murdered by any soldier, let alone those serving in 174 Battalion and should correct this erroneous impression. Additionally,
Mr Adesanya should render an unreserved apology to 174 Battalion in particular and the Nigerian Army, over this false allegation, failure of which would attract legal action against him.
“We would like to seize this opportunity to advise that the media and indeed people to always cross check their facts before publication, posting on the web or broadcast.”
