*Insist body must be examined by doctors for COVID-19
By Linus Akomolafe and Onyinyechukwu
Following the alleged murder of 18-year-old Monsurat Ojuade by a police sergeant, Samuel Philips on Friday, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police has revealed that Monsurat was hit by a stray bullet during a chase to apprehend hoodlums in Ijesha. Odumosu made this known today during his visit to the bereaved family.
He said investigation has been concluded and Philips, currently being held at the State Criminal Intelligence Department (CID) , would be charged to court after police orderly room.
“The death was caused by an unprofessional act of a police officer and we have found out the person that caused the death but we still have protocol to go through and this orderly trial so when that one comes the final pronouncement would be made and thereafter prosecution will come in. In order to get justice we have to go through medical investigation and do Coronavirus test, postmortem to actually get the cause of the death. We have nothing to hide when he is no longer part of us he will face the law” he said.
“Justice is a long journey. Most times when we talk about justice it starts with the police and ends at the correctional centre. We will investigate and present the case before the court. We have gotten our own preliminary investigation and we have found him culpable. We cannot say it will be concluded in three months’ time.”
He also insisted that autopsy must be carried out on the remains of Monsurat before concluding on the cause of her death adding that justice may not be served until the autopsy is not done.
The Zone D Area commander, Aliko Dankoli also stated that family members should be patient and allow the doctors report to confirm the true cause of the death.
“The commissioner of police has the power but let me use this opportunity to explain in simple language, in matters like this if the person that commits the offence is charged to court one of the things the court will see is the medical report from a doctor. If you don’t allow the body to be examined by a doctor and write a report, the court will throw away the case and say there is no evidence, but the doctor must examine the girl and confirm. That is the reason why we are insisting that you must exercise patience for the autopsy to be carried out before being buried. But if you insist that you want to bury the body there is no problem,” he said.
Meanwhile, Monsurat elder brother, Ahmed Ojuade while demanding for justice stated that his sister was shot in front of his mother and siblings who tried to resist the cops from shooting.
“I have always heard about the excesses of police officers but now that it has happened to us we know how the justice system operates and there seems to be no hope for us but we pray we get the justice that we deserved for the death of our sister,” he said.
