By Dayo Johnson Akure 

The Ondo state command has ordered a probe into the mysterious death of a police inspector, Blessing Suleiman, attached to the Akotogbo police division in the Irele council area of the state.

Recall that the family of the deceased has raised allegations of foul play and complicity by the state police command.

They alleged that their son was burnt with fire before he was murdered by unknown assailants.

His lifeless body was reportedly retrieved from a nearby river two days after he was declared missing by his wife.

When his colleagues reportedly finally brought his corpse to his family for burial, they reportedly dumped the coffin and fled when the Youths and family members asked them questions about his mysterious death.

After the sealed coffin was opened, the family members raised the alarm that the body had marks of burns while the skull was broken.

The wife of the deceased said that her husband’s colleagues had earlier informed her that his remains would be brought to them, having drowned.

Reacting to the controversy surrounding the mysterious death of the officer,  the state police commissioner, Wilfred Afolabi, weekend, said that 
the death of the officer may be “sudden and unnatural.

A statement by the command which was signed by its spokesperson, Funmi Odunlami, insisted that the officer’s body was picked from the river with his clothes intact and no traces of burns.

Odunlami said that following the outcry and allegation of foul play by the family of the late Inspector and public concern over his death, the Commissioner of Police, Wilfred Afolabi, has ordered that an autopsy be carried out on the deceased.

She however said they an autopsy was earlier planned, but the deceased family had opposed it, demanding that they wanted the body for immediate burial.

According to her “Preliminary investigation revealed that on the 27th of January 2025, towards evening time, no one could give an account of the presence of the late inspector in the station, immediately the DPO directed that search party should trace his whereabouts, as he was last seen wearing a blue vest and a green track suit trousers.

“Two days later the officer in charge of the Police Marine informed the DPO of the discovery of a corpse lying face down in a river, on close observation it was discovered that the body was that of Inspector Yusuf Suleiman with his cloth intact on his body with no trace of any injury or mark of violence except a swollen observed in the centre of his head.

“Thereafter, the remains of the late inspector was evacuated and deposited at Irele General Hospital morgue.

“The family of the deceased was informed of the incident and in a bid to unravel the circumstances that led to the death of the deceased, the CP directed the state CID to take over the case.

“In the course of investigation, there was a demand for autopsy to be conducted on the body but the family vehemently opposed and rejected the idea , insisting the corpse of the deceased be released for burial, a request granted by the Police.

“As a result of the demand by the family, the body was recovered from the morgue with the police bearing the financial cost , conveyed the remains of the deceased to his home in Akure.

“It is worthy of note that the cloth last seen on the deceased was found intact on his body when his corpse was discovered ruling out any suspicion of arson, as there was no mark of burnt or physical violence on his body.

“Despite Preliminary investigation carried out by the State Criminal Investigation Department establishing a case of Sudden and Unnatural Death with no foul play suspected ,the Commissioner of Police has ordered that a full Autopsy be carried out to determine the cause of death in response to the allegation made by the family and for public interest.”