The Nigerian Police Force (NPF) has denied having a hand in the death of a suspected cultist simply identified as Erasmus.
Erasmus’ mother in a viral video accused police officers of beating her son to death while he was in detention.
But Police spokesman, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, on Friday said the allegation was not true.
“My attention has been drawn to this video. The matter is an old one and it has been decided. The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) command handled the case,” Adejobi explained.
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“The autopsy report cleared the air on this. The boy, who was a cultist and arrested for alleged raping and killing of a young lady in the company of his friend, was never tortured by the police.
“The Force Headquarters was involved in the investigation then. Erasmus was a cultist who had been fingered in many crises and alleged killings of some innocent Nigerians in the area.
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“He died of asphyxiation, according to the autopsy. Not torture, please. The autopsy was done in the presence of the doctor(s) of the deceased family. We didn’t kill Erasmus.”
Adejobi lamented that it is unfortunate that Erasmus died because the police even needed him to unravel some issues and pending cases in the area.
He urged Nigerians to always give objective perceptions, understand cases very well, and view issues objectively before running down the force.
