The victims. |
An
Abuja-based medical doctor, Daniel Eitokpah, who was detained after trying to
revive a suicide victim, Michael Arowosaiye, has described his exoneration as
providential.
According
to him, “We explained to the DPO everything that happened, how we heard a guy
shouting for help and went there to help, as I thought it was something that
had just happened and tried to resuscitate him. Told him everything I did to
him and his response was, ‘You are a doctor. You should know that you are not
meant to tamper with the evidence.’ I tried to explain to him that the
information we got was that the guy was in the act; if there was an iota of
life in that guy, at least, we should give him a chance.”
Daniel
noted that the DPO, from the moment he appeared on the scene, kept addressing
him in a demeaning manner.
He
said they were taken to the police station from there; and while at the
station, he overheard the DPO tell the Commissioner of Police that three
suspects have been arrested in connection to the incident.
“Shortly
after, the commissioner of police came in and I heard the DPO telling the CP,
‘We have arrested three suspects.’ I felt that the statement meant a lot. The
DPO, the CP, my father, my pastor and church members of the deceased went back
to the scene of the suicide.
“God
just had it that there were CCTV cameras around the house. There was one
directly facing the entrance of the boys’ quarters where the guy had hanged
himself. That was our saving grace.
“It
showed everything—how the suicide took place. Immediately they saw we were not
guilty, they made a call to the police station to prepare for our release,” he
said.
Asked
if the experience would discourage him from helping victims in the future, he
said, “Definitely. I have spoken to many of my colleagues after this and the
advice they gave me was, ‘Daniel, this is Nigeria. When you see something
happening, just keep walking.’”
When
contacted, the acting Police Public Relations Officer in Abuja, Danjuma Gajere,
said, “There was a CCTV in the house. When the policemen watched the CCTV, they
saw that nobody (besides the victim) participated in that suicide, so they released
them immediately, on the same day.
“After
the police asked them to write their statements, they removed the corpse and
started investigation immediately. When they saw the CCTV footage, they
released them immediately.
They
did not even arrest them; they asked them to go. It was just an invitation.”
Source:
Punch Newspapers.
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