Falana Writes Lagos Chief Coroner, Seeks Inquest Into Killing Of Police Inspector Orukpe, Torture Of 4 Others By Nigerian Soldiers
The Chambers of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana have requested an inquest into the death of Inspector Monday Orukpe who was reportedly beaten to death by soldiers in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.
In a January 5, 2023 letter signed by Taiwo E. Olawanle of Falana & Falana’s Chambers and addressed to the Chief Coroner, High Court of Lagos State, the firm requested a thorough investigation into Orukpe’s killing and torture of four other policemen by soldiers on August 3, 2022.
In August 2022, SaharaReporters reported how Orukpe was reportedly beaten to death by soldiers in Lagos.
The deceased and his colleagues were said to have incurred the wrath of the soldiers for allegedly refusing to clear the road for them.
The military officers had reportedly asked the policemen who were controlling traffic on Lagos - Badagry expressway to open the road for their bus but they were asked to wait.
This allegedly angered the soldiers who pounced on them, took them inside their bus and drove them to Ojo cantonment around Lagos State University.
On getting to the military barracks, the abducted policemen were physically tortured and abused, leading to the death of Orukpe.
He was subsequently rushed to the army hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Acting Deputy Director of the 81 Division Public Relations, Olaniyi Osoba confirmed the death of the policeman.
The letter from Falana & Falana’s Chambers requesting an inquest into Orukpe’s death reads, “We are a firm of legal practitioners committed to the defence of human rights, rule of law and public accountability in Nigeria.
“Our attention has just been drawn to the brutal killing of one Inspector Monday Orukpe and torturing of four others, all of the Ojo Division of the Lagos State Police Command.
“Precisely on Wednesday, August 3, 2022, it was alleged that about thirty Privates of the Nigerian Army while on transit at the Trade Fair section of the ever-busy Lagos-Badagry Expressway attacked five policemen for stopping vehicles along their lane to pave way for other vehicles to pass. Angered by this development, the soldiers heavily descended on the senior officer leading the team of policemen and eventually murdered one Inspector Monday Orukpe and injured four others.
“It would interest Your Lordship to know that save for the maturity and skill of the officers of the Nigeria Police Force involved, the event would have left many injured and killed including innocent civilians going about their normal business activities.
“Having regard to the avoidable tragic incident, we humbly request you to use your good offices to cause a thorough investigation into this allegation and fish out the members of the Nigerian Army who carried out this uncivilized act on the personnel of a sister security agency carrying out their constitutional mandates.
“Having regard to the avoidable tragic incident, we humbly request you to use your good offices to cause a coroner’s inquest to be conducted into the cause of the death of this police officer and make appropriate recommendations under Section 15 of the Lagos State Coroner’s Law 2007 which provides that an inquest shall hold whenever a coroner is informed that the death of a deceased person within his Coroner District is as a result of a death in a violent, unnatural or suspicious situation.
“Please Your Lordship, accept the assurances of our highest regards.”
Meanwhile, two autopsies carried out on the late police inspector Orukpe revealed that the officer died of assault, multiple injuries and blunt force trauma.
The autopsies were conducted by the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and the Nigerian Army Cantonment Medical Centre, Ojo.
Orukpe’s widow, Favour, made the reports available to the News Agency of Nigeria.
The autopsy from LASUTH, signed on October 27 by a doctor in the Department of Pathology and Forensics, O.O. Onayemi, revealed that multiple injuries and blunt force trauma caused Mr Orukpe’s death.
The Nigerian Army’s autopsy report signed by I. Agueze revealed that the primary cause of death was assault, while the secondary cause was a head injury.
Mrs Orukpe said though the autopsy reports had been released, the Nigerian Army had yet to release its investigation report to determine the culprits.
In August 2022, the Lagos State Police Command berated the 81 Division of the Nigerian Army for claiming a soldier was shot during the clash.
The immediate past General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division, Nigerian Army, Umar Musa had claimed that preliminary investigations revealed that the police officer shot at a soldier during the altercation which clipped him in the ear and narrowly missed his vital parts.
“The other soldiers reacted to the shot fired by the police officer and this led to their beating the policeman to death.
“We have paid a condolence visit to the Commissioner of Police to tell him that we will take necessary measures to prevent future occurrences of such nature.
“The injured soldier is in the hospital receiving treatment and investigation is ongoing to ascertain the next line of action to be taken,” he had said.
Reacting, Lagos Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin in a statement accused the army of attempting to twist what happened.
He accused the soldiers of murdering Inspector Orukpe and abducting others.
Hundeyin also asked the army authorities to return two AK-47 rifles and three magazines taken away by the soldiers.
-sahara reporters
