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| Bode & Wasiu |
yet to recover from being made to spend a night with the corpse of his
friend, late Ganiyu, and drink the water used to wash it, to prove he
was not responsible for his death.
It was gathered that the incident, which happened at Isheri Magodo, a
suburb of Lagos, was executed because before Ganiyu gave up the ghost
in the hospital, he kept calling Bode’s name.
Recounting his ordeal, Bode, an indigene of Ekiti State, a mechanic, who specialized in fixing Japanese vehicles, said:
“I knew the late Ganiyu and Wasiu in
January, when I was looking for someone to fix my faulty Honda car. That
was when Ganiyu introduced me to Wasiu to fix my car. After he fixed my
car, I paid him N35,000. Since then, we have had no business except
when our paths occasionally crossed and we exchange pleasantries.
On Tuesday, Wasiu called me at about 6p.m., saying they need my help urgently. He
said
Ganiyu was in the hospital and that they needed money to purchase pints
of blood and drips, which was about N19, 000. He pleaded with me to
come.
At about 7pm, without any idea that Ganiyu
was dead, I drove my car to the junction of their street, called him on
phone that he should come and collect N5,000, which was all that I had
to assist Ganiyu’s treatment at that time.
When he came to where I parked my vehicle,
he said the hospital was nearby, so we walked towards where he said the
hospital is located.
- Deceived, beaten
“As we walked, I began to notice some
strange movement in the vicinity as bad boys filled the area, so I asked
where exactly the hospital was. He said we are taking a short cut to
the hospital. Eventually, the short cut led to a compound.
Immediately we entered the compound,
people began to ask me what I knew about Ganiyu’s death. I told them I
knew nothing, but they did not believe me, and they began to beat me.
’When they were beating me, a Baale in the
area interrogated me, told them to stop beating me and to hand me over
to the police, or they might beat me to death and then have two corpses
on their hands. But they refused.
After beating me, they forced me to sleep
on the floor in the same room where Ganiyu’s corpse was laid to prove
that I had nothing to do with his death. While they were beating me, my
phone and the money in my pocket got missing.
When they discovered that I was still
alive, they washed his corpse and forced me to drink the water. I
refused but they almost killed me with another round of beating. When it
was obvious that I had no option, I drank it.
After I drank the water, someone who
claimed that he knew me called the police. The police took me to
divisional police station at Awoshika, before the case was transferred
to Area F Command.
I have nothing to do with Ganiyu’s death.
How would I be responsible for his death when I had no problem with him?
All I want is for government and Nigerians to come to my aid, and bring
those who meted this inhumane treatment to me to justice.’’
- My story—WASIU
In his defence, 33-year-old Wasiu Fadairo, the mechanic who lured Bode with the call that brought him to the house, said:
“I am from Kwara State. The late Ganiyu
is from my home town. On May 12, Ganiyu was stooling and vomiting blood,
so we rushed him to a hospital located along Oluwora Road, Isheri in
Magodo. He later died, calling a particular name— Bode.
After he died, we took him home because
none of his immediate family members or relatives was available. When we
called them, they said they were coming, so we kept his corpse inside
his room.
That same day, neighbours and people
living around were angry, alleging that the name Bode, which Ganiyu kept
calling before he died, was responsible for his death. So they began to
call Bode’s phone number.
When Bode did not come, I called him with
my phone and told him that Ganiyu was lying critically ill and needed
blood and drips, and that we need his assistance. When he came, people
began to question him concerning what he knew about Ganiyu’s death.
Before he could say a word, they pounced on him and began to beat him.
So I ran to call the police to come and rescue him.
After police rescued him, they later went
to where he parked his car and vandalized it. I was there when they were
beating him, but I was not there when they forced him to lie beside the
corpse and drink the water used to wash it.”
- Police story
Confirming the incident, Vanguard reports that Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, said:
“Two friends went out for a drink and one
of them, Ganiyu, took ill after the outing and started stooling. He was
rushed to the hospital for medical attention, but died in the process.
Angry friends and neighbours, suspecting the complicity of Bode David,
descended on him and attempted to lynch him.
He was, however, rescued by our policemen
and investigations into the circumstances surrounding the death of
Ganiyu commenced at Isheri Division. But the case has been transferred
to the Department of Criminal investigation, DCI, Yaba, for further
investigation.”
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