BY UMAR YUSUF, YOLA

Family members and the kinsmen of a Yola based car dealer, late Mr. Christian Eze have given the Inspector General of Police a 24 hour ultimatum to unravel the circumstances leading to the death of the father of six children.

Late Christian Eze, an Igbo man of the South East extraction died penultimate Friday, the 13th of September, 2012 while undergoing interrogation at the Adamawa State Command of Nigeria Police Force.

The family of the late car dealer in a petition signed by one Mr. Evarestus Eze and made available to Saturday Vanguard accused the police of having a hand in the death of Christian. Mr Evarestus Eze, in a statement issued on behalf of the family of the deceased said the late Eze was detained while attempting to secure a bail for a suspect.

”We are calling on the IGP to use his office to cause investigation into the circumstances that led to the unlawful arrest, detention and subsequent death of the late Christian Eze in the custody of men of the Adamawa state police command”, Mr Eze stated. He threatened to sue the police if no action is taken on the matter within 24 hours of the receipt of the petition.

The statement read ‘’ it would be recalled that sometime on the 13th September 2012, precisely at about 10;00am, one police man by the name Agbaleke[other name not known] claiming to be a retired police man[but whom was  later discovered to be a serving police man in Kwara state] went to the late Christian Eze’s office along Target junction Jimeta-Yola, Adawamawa state where he [the late Christian Eze ] deals in cars [automobiles] and requested for his telephone number from his manager[one Alhaji Adamu] claiming that he[Agbaleke ] wants to buy a four[4] wheel runner Jeep from the deceased.

Evarestus explained that it was late Eze’s Manager that gave out the deceased’s number to the Superintendent of Police and the SP later called Eze and told him that he wants to buy a four wheel runner jeep and both arranged and met adding that Agbaleke instead asked the late Christian Eze to please accompany him to the police station at the state Headquarters to assist him to sign the bail  for his [Agbaleke’s ] brother who was arrested by the police.

According to Evarestus, Agbaleke told late Christian Eze that he has made necessary arrangements with the police as regards what he [Agbaleke] will pay the police and the late Eze  should not worry. Based on the assurances from Agbaleke and being someone whom the late Christian Eze had known before, decided to assist him.

Late Christian’s wife and children. INSET: Late Christian

‘’ It was during the process of signing the bail bound at the police state headquarters Yola, that both Agbaleke and the late Christian Eze were arrested. While the police were about taking them into the cell after their arrest,  Agbaleke retorted and told the police that he cannot enter the cell because he is a ‘’ serving police man.

Subsequently, Agbaleke was asked to stay behind the counter while the late Christian Eze was thrown into the cell”, Evaretus narrated. He explained that when late Eze’s wife got the wind of the information of the arrest of her  husband, she went to the police station to bail her husband  and was told to go and bring someone to bail him because their preliminary investigation indicated that the man was innocent.

Evaretus said that after the wife was assured that the husband will be released, she quickly went to the manager of late Eze and both of them went to the police station to bail the decease and were tricked  and they left the police station. And the next day, news had it that her husband, Christian Eze had died while in the custody of the police and that the corpse had been deposited at the State Specialist Hospital Mortuary.

‘’On hearing this news, the family members of the late Christian Eze, including his friends and well-wishers trooped to the State Specialist Hospital, where we found his body lying lifeless in the mortuary.”

Evarestus stated in tears that “since the death of the late Christian Eze, on the 15th day of September 2012, the police in whose custody the late Christian Eze died have not deemed it fit or necessary to come out officially to inform the family of his death’’.

Mrs. Franscisca  Eze , a 200 level student of Business Management at  Moddbo Adamo University of Technology [MAUTEC], wife of the deceased said Eze’s death has cut her off from this planet and regretted  staying in the northern part of the country.

The 50 year-old Anambra born woman narrating her ordeal to our reporter said that she has been temporary killed by the authority of the Nigeria police who she alleged murdered her husband in a cold blood. She said that the police authority was alerted on the danger ahead when her husband was detained but declined to take her advice and deliberately wasted the life of the bread winner of her family.

According to her, she visited her husband in the police station but saw the bad condition and terrible agony he was passing through and raised alarm but the police refused to salvage the situation before he was later killed and his corpse was dumped in the mortuary without the knowledge of his family members.

Police reacts
Late Christian Eze,  a  prominent car dealer in Adamawa State, father of five children  died in police custody on Friday13 September 2012, while undertaking interrogation over alleged impounded communication armoured cable worth over N100million, stated DSP Ibrahim Muhhamed,  the spokesman of the state command.

DSP Ibrahim told journalists that the late Eze and one superintendent of police (name withheld) made an attempt to bribe a police officer with the sum of N400,000 to facilitate the release of a man in connection with an  impounded truck load of armoured cables.

”Actually one suspect was arrested in connection with  the impounded cable, but the deceased and the alleged police Superintendent  who is lying critically ill in hospital were detained while attempting to bribe the police with Four Hundred Thousand Naira (N400.000) to facilitate the release of the suspect. The money was marked and will be tendered as an exhibit”, the PPRO stated.

He further explained that the late Eze whom he claimed led morning devotion while in the police cell on Friday morning slumped and died on his way to ease himself.

” After the morning devotion, Eze shouted and called the police that he wanted to ease himself. When he was being led out, he collapsed and was rushed to hospital where the Doctor confirmed him dead”.

On what might have caused the death of the man while in police custody, the PPRO, said nobody tortured him but  stated that the police have conducted a postmortem to unravel the cause of Mr Eze death adding that the result is being awaited.