prove he was not responsible for
his death.
It was gathered that the incident, which happened at
Isheri Magodo, a suburb of Lagos, was executed
because before Ganiyu gave up the ghost in the
hospital, he kept calling Bode's name.
Recounting his ordeal, Bode, an indigene of Ekiti
State, a mechanic, who specialized in fixing
Japanese vehicles, said:
"I knew the late Ganiyu and Wasiu in January,
when I was looking for someone to fix my
faulty Honda car. That was when Ganiyu
introduced me to Wasiu to fix my car. After he
fixed my car, I paid him N35,000. Since then,
we have had no business except when our
paths occasionally crossed and we exchange
pleasantries.
On Tuesday, Wasiu called me at about 6p.m.,
saying they need my help urgently. He
said Ganiyu was in the hospital and that they
needed money to purchase pints of blood and
drips, which was about N19, 000. He pleaded
with me to come.
At about 7pm, without any idea that Ganiyu
was dead, I drove my car to the junction of
their street, called him on phone that he
should come and collect N5,000, which was
all that I had to assist Ganiyu's treatment at
that time.
When he came to where I parked my vehicle,
he said the hospital was nearby, so we walked
towards where he said the hospital is located.
Deceived, beaten
"As we walked, I began to notice some
strange movement in the vicinity as bad boys
filled the area, so I asked where exactly the
hospital was. He said we are taking a short
cut to the hospital. Eventually, the short cut
led to a compound.
Immediately we entered the compound, people
began to ask me what I knew about Ganiyu's
death. I told them I knew nothing, but they did
not believe me, and they began to beat me.
'When they were beating me, a Baale in the
area interrogated me, told them to stop
beating me and to hand me over to the police,
or they might beat me to death and then have
two corpses on their hands. But they refused.
After beating me, they forced me to sleep on
the floor in the same room where Ganiyu's
corpse was laid to prove that I had nothing to
do with his death. While they were beating
me, my phone and the money in my pocket got
missing.
When they discovered that I was still alive,
they washed his corpse and forced me to
drink the water. I refused but they almost
killed me with another round of beating. When
it was obvious that I had no option, I drank it.
After I drank the water, someone who claimed
that he knew me called the police. The police
took me to divisional police station at
Awoshika, before the case was transferred to
Area F Command.
I have nothing to do with Ganiyu's death. How
would I be responsible for his death when I
had no problem with him? All I want is for
government and Nigerians to come to my aid,
and bring those who meted this inhumane
treatment to me to justice.''
My story—WASIU
In his defence, 33-year-old Wasiu Fadairo, the
mechanic who lured Bode with the call that brought
him to the house, said:
"I am from Kwara State. The late Ganiyu is
from my home town. On May 12, Ganiyu was
stooling and vomiting blood, so we rushed
him to a hospital located along Oluwora Road,
Isheri in Magodo. He later died, calling a
particular name— Bode.
After he died, we took him home because none
of his immediate family members or relatives
was available. When we called them, they said
they were coming, so we kept his corpse
inside his room.
That same day, neighbours and people living
around were angry, alleging that the name
Bode, which Ganiyu kept calling before he
died, was responsible for his death. So they
began to call Bode's phone number.
When Bode did not come, I called him with my
phone and told him that Ganiyu was lying
critically ill and needed blood and drips, and
that we need his assistance. When he came,
people began to question him concerning
what he knew about Ganiyu's death. Before he
could say a word, they pounced on him and
began to beat him. So I ran to call the police
to come and rescue him.
After police rescued him, they later went to
where he parked his car and vandalized it. I
was there when they were beating him, but I
was not there when they forced him to lie
beside the corpse and drink the water used to
wash it."
Police story
Confirming the incident, Vanguard reports that Lagos
State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth
Nwosu, said:
"Two friends went out for a drink and one of
them, Ganiyu, took ill after the outing and
started stooling. He was rushed to the
hospital for medical attention, but died in the
process. Angry friends and neighbours,
suspecting the complicity of Bode David,
descended on him and attempted to lynch
him.
He was, however, rescued by our policemen
and investigations into the circumstances
surrounding the death of Ganiyu commenced
at Isheri Division. But the case has been
transferred to the Department of Criminal
investigation, DCI, Yaba, for further
investigation."
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