A 36-year-old car dealer, Adeyinka Adekunle has allegedly being murdered by soldiers at the Nigerian Army Barracks, Ibodi, Osun State.
A lieutenant, Tobi Akindapo reportedly gave the order for the torture.
According to Punch, the deceased and his friend were in a beer parlor drinking when some soldiers approached them soliciting for free drinks. However, the duo refused to indulge the security operatives on the grounds that they did not have enough money.
One of the soldiers who is In his 20s went ahead to question the reason the deceased friend was sagging his trousers.
Adekunle did not take the question lightly and challenged the soldier’s authority to question his friends dressing.
The matter was said to have led to exchange of words between the two groups.
As the altercation degenerated, one of the three men made a call to the barracks and soldiers stormed the scene.
Adeyinka managed to escape while his friend was taken to the barracks.
A Lexus 250 car belonging to Adeyinka which he drove to the beer parlour was reportedly vandalised and towed to the barracks.
While trying to recover his car with the help of Ogundare’s sister, the deceased ended up being arrested and locked up in a cell.
Speaking with PUNCH, Ogundare’s sister, Elizabeth Itunu, said she spoke to the soldiers during a visit to the barracks and they demanded N500,000 for the release of the car.
She said, “The soldiers said we would have to pay the money they used to tow the vehicle. I called Adeyinka and told him their demand. He thought the soldiers would not recognize him because the fracas happened at night
“As we were both begging the soldiers, one of them identified him and that was how they seized him and started beating him in my presence. My brother was also tortured as well.
“So, I told the soldiers that now that you have beaten them, can you allow us take them for treatment? They did not listen. Instead, the young soldier who started the fight the previous night said he had not beaten them and he would start his own the following day.
“After much begging, they agreed to take N200,000 from us. I asked Adeyinka how much he had, and he said N40,000.
“We gathered N140,000 and I begged the soldiers to take the money and release them to us that night, and when we completed the payment, they could release the car; but they refused.”
She stated that she went home and when she returned the next day she met the deceased and his friend cutting the grass while the soldiers assaulted them.
“I observed that Adeyinka was very weak. He suddenly fell. They thought he was pretending and they started hitting him. When they saw that he was not moving, they checked his body and their boss said he should be rushed to a hospital,” she added.
Itunnu explained that her brother was put in the army truck, saying she later heard that the car dealer died before he got to a hospital.
“At that point, I became afraid as I saw that my brother was not breathing well. Their commander asked us to take my brother to a hospital as well.
“My brother told me that while he and Adeyinka were in the guardroom, he (Adeyinka) vomited. The soldiers then ordered him to start eating the vomit,” she stated.
The State Police Public Relations Officer, Yemisi Opalola, confirmed that a soldier approached Ayeso division asking for help to deposit a body in the morgue.
She said, “But the police did not give him any operative to accompany him. The DPO only called the morgue and spoke to people there. That was the only police involvement.”
The spokesperson for 2 Division, Nigerian Army, Ibadan, Major Ikedichi Iweha, said investigation had commenced into the incident.
He said, “Our official position is that investigation has already commenced and appropriate action would be taken after the investigation.”
This article was originally published on Nigeria News