Mr. Benard Ogbu, a Benue State businessman has died in police custody after being detained for about four years, Nigeria Observatory for Human Rights (NOHR) has disclosed.
The NOHR had earlier reported how Mr. Ogbu was arrested by a team of policemen from the defunct Special Armed Robbery Squad(SARS).
The police officers invaded the deceased residence in the New Nyanya area of Nasarawa State on March 3, 2019, arrested and detained him until he died in the custody.
Giving the account of his death, the family recounted how he was detained at the SARS detention facility in Abuja by the police officers who demanded N5 million before he will be released. An amount the family could not provide to the police.
Although Mr. Ogbu was arrested in 2019 he was kept in police custody for about four years until he died in detention without being charged to court in a clear breach of his fundamental right.
Confirming the death of Mr. Ogbu, his lawyer Mr. Napoleon Otache, in a statement said:
“It has been confirmed that Mr. Bernard Ogbu is no more alive. Mr. Bernard Ogbu was arrested by the defunct SARS operatives led by one ASP Felix Onuoha on the 3rd of March 2019.
” The confirmation of Mr. Bernard Ogbu’s death was made by the embattled ASP Felix Onuoha at the meeting organized between the family of Mr. Bernard Ogbu and their lawyer, Barrister Napoleon Otache, and the police detectives at the office of the CRU at the Police Headquarters, Abuja on the 17th November 2022.”
The statement added that an investigation is still ongoing to unravel the circumstances of his death and the whereabouts of his corpse.