The Niger State police command are investigating circumstances surrounding the death of Muftau
Mohammed who slumped and died while trying to bail his two sons from detention at Morris Police Station in Minna.
His sons Mubarak Ahmed and Yusuf Mohammed were picked up from the front of their family home by a police patrol team and taken to the station.
Daily Trust reported that the boys were sleeping outside their house due to excessive heat when they were arrested by the police at about 11.30pm on Wednesday night.
“We were lying down in a burglary in front of our house around 11:30pm when three police patrol vans passed us and went into Gbeganu Area,” Yusuf told Daily Trust.
” Few hours later, we saw them coming back and we stood up. Suddenly, the vehicle in the middle parked in front of us and they asked what we were doing outside. We told them that it was where we normally sleep because of heat. One of the officers forced the burglary opened and ordered his colleagues to put us in the vehicle and they took us to the station.
“When we got to the station at Morris, they collected our phones and put us in the cell.
“At about 30 minutes later, I was in cell when I heard my father’s voice outside. Later I heard him screaming, asking for water and few seconds later, I didn’t hear anything again.
“It was at that point that I asked one of officers what was happening outside. But one of the officers told his colleague not to tell us anything. Later I didn’t hear our father’s voice again until when we were told that he was dead.”
Their neighbour Dauda Jimo, who took their dad in his bike to station added that Muftau Mohammed has for a long time been hypertensive and often had severe headaches.
“It was in my presence that his sons were picked by the police and Alhaji had already retired to bed,” Dauda Jimo continued.
” It was the noise from his daughters and the neighborhood that woke him up. So, when they told him that Mubarak and Yusuf were taken away by the police, he called me to bring my bike to take him to the police station. We got to police station at about 12:33am.
“So, where we were seated, he told me he was having a severe headache and I should get him water to drink.
“We looked for water around the vicinity but we couldn’t get because all the shops around had closed for the day. It was in the process that he collapsed and one of the tricycles that was arrested was released to take us to the hospital and one policeman was asked to follow us.
“We went to Imani Clinic, we were told that doctor was not around. So, we headed for General Hospital. On our way, the fuel in Tricycle got finished. It was at that point that we saw one of the police vans with which Yusuf and Mubarak were arrested .
“So, they stopped and we told them what happened and they took us to Minna General Hospital. Getting to the hospital, we dropped Alhaji’s dead body and the police left.”
Also speaking another neighbour Ahmad Abdullahi, said the wife of the deceased fainted at the station and had to be revived.
“The wife wanted to trek kilometers to Morris Police Division that night but I obliged her to enter my car. “Immediately we got to Morris Police Division, one of our neighbors who took Alhaji there rushed to me. Not knowing that his wife was sitting in the back seat, he broke the news to us and the wife jumped out of the car. As she was about running to enter the station, she fell down and fainted. It took some minutes before she was revived.”
Niger Stat Police Command spokesperson SP Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed the incident.
He said there was an active investigation into the matter to ascertain the fact, and to also look into the scenario if there was any act of negligence for necessary disciplinary action.
