Mother of the late Ecobank worker, Babatunde Oke, has insisted
that the police knew how her son died.
Babatunde died under controversial circumstances while in custody of the
Falomo Police Division, Lagos State, over allegation of N1.2m fraud.
The man, who was attached to the bank’s branch in Ogba, was detained for
three days by the police over his alleged involvement in the fraud.
Alhaja Sidikatu Oke, 60, fighting back tears on
Saturday said that 35-year-old Babatunde died within 20 minutes she left him.
Sidikatu explained that she had gone to withdraw money from the
Automated Teller Machine in order to perfect her son’s bail.
She said he did not show any sign of weakness and had only complained of
mosquito bites for the period he was with the police.
She said, “Three of us went to the police station that Thursday to
perfect his bail – his father, his younger brother and I. The police brought
him to see us. We chatted and he advised me to get the lawyer who would perfect
his bail on time because he was being disturbed by mosquitoes in the police
cell.
“I assured him that everything would be okay. I called a lawyer that I
had contacted on the telephone, who said he was on his way. My son even spoke
with the lawyer on the phone. We had N200, 000 with us that day and we wrote an
agreement on how we would complete the payment of the N1.2m.
“The lawyer told us on the phone that we should get additional money
that we would give to the police. So, we went outside to get the money from the
ATM. On coming back, we decided to stay outside pending when the lawyer would
join us.
“While standing there, his brother saw an ambulance and he called my
attention, saying he sighted his brother lying down in the bus. I said it was
impossible because we had only chatted a few minutes back.”
She said Babatunde’s brother rushed after the ambulance, forcefully
entered it, and after he confirmed that the person in the vehicle was indeed
his brother, went with them to wherever they were taking him.
The bereaved mother said that she entered her car and
trailed the ambulance to the hospital.
“I also called him (Babatunde) as I was following them. He was
screaming, ‘I’m dead, mummy, I am dead, please come’. When we got to the police
hospital, the first question the doctor asked was, ‘What drip did you give
him?’
“One Sergeant Adebayo then said it was Coke they gave him. I said how
possible was that? He never told me he needed a drink when I was with him. His
shirt was soaked with blood and he was foaming in the mouth.
“Then, the doctors at the hospital confirmed him dead on arrival.
Everything stood still for me. The healthy boy I spoke with 20 minutes ago was
no more. How come everything just changed? I know the police did something bad
to my son. I was rolling on the floor. I was shouting,” she said.
She said that her son’s corpse had been transferred to
the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, where a postmortem is
expected to be performed on him.
Babatunde’s widow, Bunmi Oke, said that her husband
rarely took soft drinks while he was alive.
The 29-year-old, who is a contract worker with Ecobank, said her late
husband worked tirelessly for the bank and did not deserve death as payment.
“I want the government and good Nigerians to fight for me. My husband
hardly takes soft drink. He was always working even Saturdays and
Sundays. Our marriage is barely three years. My first child is only two years,
and I have a baby that is seven months.”
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, said,
“The man was brought to the station by Ecobank around 9pm on Wednesday, that he
stole N2.8m from the ATM. It was after they took their stock that they
discovered he made away with the money. He admitted in his statement that he
collected the money on different occasions. He begged that he did not want the
matter to be taken to court.
“The following day, his parents came and promised to pay. The bank also
accepted the arrangement. While they were there in the station, he requested a
bottle of Pepsi and they bought it for him. He used his seat to open the drink,
and did not allow anybody to open it for him. The next thing that happened was
that he slumped. His father, mother and brother were all there. Everything
happened in their presence. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was
confirmed dead.”
A member of the Brand and Communication unit of Ecobank, Austin
Osokpor, said the bank would make an official statement on Monday (today).
He added that the bank did what was right by reporting the matter to the
police since it was a case of fraud.
“In every organisation, if there is a case of theft, the first thing is
to call the police. It is unfortunate this has happened because he was our
colleague. But right now, the bank will wait for the autopsy to know what
exactly killed him,” he said.