By BASHIR ADEFAKA
The Police in Lagos State says a newspaper report that some victims, whose lifeless bodies were discovered in their home on Wednesday 11 August, 2021, were killed by gunmen was not true.
Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu, said this in a statement titled, “RE: GUNMEN KILL BUSINESSMAN, SON, PREGNANT WIFE, FRIEND IN LAGOS”, which he issued in Ikeja, dated 13 August 2021 and copy of which was obtained by The DEFENDER.
It will be recalled the media report of a businessman, his son, pregnant wife and a friend said to have been murdered by unknown gunmen, during a house warming ceremony of the deceased at Ori-Okuta area of Ikorodu which threw residents of the community into panic and confusion.
Rather, the police spokesman said they may have died after inhaling substance believed to be poisonous as, according to him, all findings and eye witness accounts did not indicate any incident of gunmen or armed robbery attacks.
In the reaction, he said the report “with the above caption on page 6 of the 12th August, 2021 edition of the New Telegraph” did not give the correct account of the incident he described as sad and unfortunate.
“This reaction becomes imperative to put the record straight in the interest of the deceased’s family and the general public who may not be privy to true account of the unfortunate but sad incident.
“Contrary to the newspaper report, the victims were not killed by gunmen. Eye witness account from the deceased woman’s sister who herself slept in the same house with the deceased did not mention occurrence of armed robbery or assassination,” CSP Ajisebutu, a member of of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (MNIPR), explained.
He continued, “According to account of the witness, she discovered the lifeless bodies of the victims in the morning of 11th August, 2021 and alerted neighbours.
“On close observation, there were no marks of violence seen on the victims who were immediately evacuated to the hospital where they were confirmed dead by a medical doctor.
“Another surviving victim, a brother to the businessman, was rushed to a government facility in Ikorodu where he was treated and later discharged.
“Preliminary enquiry revealed that the deceased could not have been and were indeed not killed by gunmen as no armed robbery incident occurred in the house or its environs before or after the discovery of the bodies. It is strongly suspected that victims may have died as a result of inhaling a poisonous substance.
“Meanwhile, the corpses have been released to the family for burial according Muslim rites since the family vehemently objected to post mortem examination.
“Nonetheless, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Hakeem Odumosu, has directed the State Criminal Investigation Department to carry out a discreet investigation into the circumstances surrounding the sad incident.
“Notwithstanding the circumstances of their death, the Commissioner of Police uses this medium to sincerely commiserate with the bereaved family in whose pain he shares at this moment of grief,” the Lagos State Police Spokesman said.
