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From Tony Osauzo, Benin
Tragedy struck at the Federal High Court in Benin when a 52-year-old woman, identified as Titilayo, slumped and died a few minutes after she was arraigned.
The deceased was said to have been arrested for selling a substance suspected to be a hard drug by the Edo State Task Force and handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Witnesses in the court blamed the NDLEA for being complicit in her death, alleging that the deceased had been in the custody of the anti-drug agency without proper medical care.
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The Edo State Commander of the NDLEA, Mitchell Ofoyeju, however, denied allegations of negligence on the part of his men as the cause of the death.
He said there was nothing to suggest the deceased was not physically fit to stand trial.
“It is not true what they are saying. She was arraigned in court. There was no issue that she was not physically fit. She personally walked to the car, got to the court and came down herself. What happened is not something you can start trading blame.
“She was arrested by the Edo State task force and transferred to the NDLEA. She was arrested for selling Loud.
What happened was a mistaken identity. When she collapsed, it attracted a crowd, and there were other suspects. The officers had to secure other accused persons to avoid them dispersing with the crowd. The crowd thought my men were running away. My men were not attacked,” Ofoyeju explained.
