SARS officer allegedly caused my brother’s death, refused to release his corpse, woman tells panel

The elder sister to a man allegedly killed by an officer of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Felix Idehen, on Tuesday told the National Human Rights Commission’s independent investigative panel on defunct SARS and other police units that an officer of SARS was responsible for the death of her brother and he also refused to release his corpse for burial.

Mrs Doris Idedia stated this while being cross-examined by counsel for the respondents, G.C. Ijeoma, adding that though she was not present when event leading to the arrest of her brother happened, the deceased told her everything that happened in Kaduna before he was brought to Abuja where he died.

Idedia had alleged on November 18 while testifying before the panel that her brother was killed by one Inspector Kingsley who refused to release the corpse to the family for burial.

She narrated that her younger brother was arrested on September 3, 2016, in Kaduna by the said Inspector Kingsley after he was thoroughly beaten by the people following Kingsley calling him a thief who stole the car he was driving.

“As he went to the junction with his car to pick his brother-in-law because he relocated from where he was staying before, he saw a Golf car chasing him. He thought it was kidnappers, so he accelerated and veered off to another route.

“Yet the occupants of the Golf car were still chasing him. At a stage, my brother came out of his car and started running to avoid being caught.

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“My brother informed that as he was running, Inspector Kingsley started shouting thief, thief and mobilised people to catch and beat him to a pulp. As of that time, Kingsley was not there.

“He said Kingsley accused him of stealing the car he (deceased) was using. My brother said he did not steal the car but bought it from Onyekachi, his in-law, who also confirmed that he was the one who sold the vehicle to my brother,” she told the panel.

She added that Kingsley took the deceased from Kaduna to Abuja where he said he was going to be treated, saying that instead of doing that, the late Idehen was dumped in SARS cell without any treatment before he died on September 6, 2016.

Idedia, therefore, sought a compensation of N200 million for the family of the deceased.

Meanwhile, the police failed to open their defence before the panel on Tuesday as the panel was informed that Inspector Kingsley was seriously sick and was on admission at the Police Hospital in Abuja.

He, therefore, sought an adjournment to able the officer come before the panel to testify.

Following the application for adjournment, the chairman of the panel, Justice Suleiman Galadima (retd), adjourned the petition till February 9, 2021, for the police to defend themselves.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE