Army insists personnel did not kill Ogun State resident

The Nigerian Army Monday said none of its personnel attached to the 174 Battalion Ikorodu, Lagos, was responsible for the death of one Mr George at Ogijo, Ogun state.

The deceased was alleged to have died as a result of the beating he received from some soldiers by one Kenny Abel Adesanya on Twitter.

But the Army spokesman Sani Usman disputed Adesanya’s account of what led to George’s death, noting that investigation showed that George was not beaten by soldiers by some people contracted by his landlady’s son.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the location where the incident took place, Ogijo, is in Ogun State and 174 Battalion does not have any deployment there, neither do any of our troops patrol the area,” Usman said in a statement.

He said the Army dispatched a team to Ogijo Divisional Police Station, Ogun State, to investigate the matter, where it was confirmed that the incident dated back to 8th March 2017, when “one Mr George (now late), was threatened by the son of his landlady that he will invite his soldier friends to come and beat him for failing to pay his rent which was long overdue.”

“On the said day, the tenant was taken from the compound by three young men and beaten up. The case was reported to Ogijo police station. The parties involved were arrested and their statements were taken. Thereafter, the police wanted to charge the matter to court for which the tenant and the landlady opted for out of court settlement. The young men who carried out the beating were neither arrested nor their identity ascertained by the police.”

The army spokesman said the police claimed the landlady’s son contracted his friends to beat George and the case was treated as an assault. He said there was no correspondence sent to the Nigerian Army since those involved were not soldiers even after the death of the tenant.

Usman said, “On 24th March 2017, the said tenant Mr George died in his house and his corpse was taken to the frontage of the landlady who quickly reported to the Ogijo Police Station.

“She was arrested and the corpse was deposited at the mortuary. The son of the landlady who is currently at large is being hunted by the police authority.”

Usman, therefore, advised Adesanya to apologise to 174 Battalion in particular and the Nigerian for his ‘false’ post or face legal action.

 

Source: The Guardian