Father slumps, dies trying to bail sons at police station

An elderly man, Alhaji Muftau Mohammed of Gbeganu Area of Minna, on Thursday slumped and died at Morris Police Division Minna, where he had gone to bail two of his sons, Mubarak Ahmed and Yusuf Mohammed who were reportedly arrested by the policemen of Operation Flush.

Mubarak and Yusuf told Daily Trust on Sunday that they were picked up by the police around 11pm on Wednesday where they were sleeping in front of their house due to heat.

Yusuf said: “We were lying down in the burglary in front of our house around 11:23pm when three police patrol vans passed by and went into Gbeganu Area. Few hours later, we saw them coming back and we stood up. Suddenly, the vehicle in the middle packed in front of us and they asked what we were doing outside. We told them that it was where we normally sleep because of heat. One of the officers forced the burglary open and ordered his colleagues to put us in the vehicle and take us to the station.”

He said at the station, they collected their phones and put them in the cell.

“About 20 minutes later, I was in my cell when I heard my father’s voice outside. Later, I heard him screaming, asking for water and a few seconds later, I didn’t hear anything again. It was at that point that I asked one of the officers what was happening outside. But one of the officers told his colleague not to tell us anything. I didn’t hear our father’s voice again until we were told that he was dead.”

Mr Dauda Jimo, the deceased’s neighbour who took him on his bike to the police station that night said Alhaji Muftau Mohammed had underlining health challenges and high blood pressure, and that each time he was woken up horribly, he usually developed a severe headache.

“It was in my presence that his sons were taken away by the police and Alhaji had already retired to bed. It was the noise from his daughters and neighbours that woke him up. So, when they told him that Mubarak and Yusuf were taken away by the police, he called me to bring my bike to take him to the police station. We got to the police station at about 12.33am.

“So, where we were seated, he told me he was having a severe headache and I should get him water to drink. We looked for water around the vicinity but we couldn’t get it because all the shops around had closed for the day. It was in the process that he collapsed and one of the tricycles that were arrested was released to take us to the hospital and one policeman was asked to follow us.”

When contacted, the Niger State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed the incident, saying they have commenced investigation into the matter, and to also see if there was any act of negligence for necessary disciplinary action.