A car dealer in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, Olashile Oduga reportedly died in police custody after he was arrested on Tuesday afternoon.

The family of the deceased are seeking justice for his death as he was allegedly tortured to death by officers of Ikota police command.

Abisola Bakare, the elder sister of the deceased who spoke on the family’s behalf during an interview on Sunday said they only got to know of her brother’s death on Wednesday from the real estate manager where he lived.

According to her narration, she said Oduga had a fight with his neighbor, Stasia Nora, who called the police on him and he was taken to the station on that Tuesday. This is according to the real estate manager of the deceased Residence who told it to the elder sister and said he visited on the same day of his arrest but was denied access to him.

“It was my brother’s pregnant wife who called me on Wednesday afternoon, saying her husband’s line had been unreachable since Tuesday afternoon. So, I called the estate manager where he lived and asked him to check on him to find out why his phone wasn’t going through.

“It was the estate manager who then informed us that some policemen from the Ikota Police Post had arrested him on Tuesday afternoon,” Abisola said.

In her narration, Abisola said she had gone to the police station with the estate manager along with another of their sibling but the police wouldn’t admit having Oduga in their custody.

“When we arrived, I mentioned my brother’s name and told them we were informed of his arrest and detention at the post.

“But the officers on duty denied having any record of him. The estate manager confronted them, insisting that Oduga was present when their men took my brother away. It was at that moment that one of the officers called the Investigating Police Officer of the post, Modinat Alaka, who directed us to Ajah Police Station because the case had been transferred there,” she said.

“They kept telling me, ‘Madam, sorry. Take it easy.’ I asked them, ‘Sorry for what?’ and demanded my brother’s release. Then, to my shock, the Ikota police IPO started crying.

“The Divisional Police Officer of Ajah Police Station shouted at her, ordering her to speak before he lost his temper. It was then that she told me my brother was dead.

“When I asked how it happened, Alaka claimed that when they brought Oduga into custody, he appeared very weak, so they rushed him to Epe General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

“I asked if they had any video evidence showing him being taken to the hospital, but she said they had forgotten to take pictures. I demanded to see his body, and they told me it had been deposited at the Epe mortuary.

“The officers kept begging me, but I left the station in sorrow that Wednesday night. I couldn’t hold back the pain and so I drove straight to the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Alagbon at midnight to make an official complaint before returning home.

“I received a call on Thursday morning to come to Ajah Police Station.

“When I arrived, the officers started begging again. As I was pressing for answers, some officers from Panti arrived and demanded that the case be transferred to their office.

“They arrested the woman who fought with my brother and two policemen involved in his arrest. I followed them all to Panti that Thursday,” Abisola narrated.

Related: Man Dies In Police Station While Seeking His Wife’s Release

However, when the officers were asked, they claimed that they arrested Oduga because he injured the woman’s hand. Furthermore, when they were asked if something serious had happened to the said woman, they said nothing serious happened to her only that one of her fingernails fell off.

Abisola Bakare further narrated that the two officers were detained alongside the neighbor who was involved in the fight with the deceased, after Lateef saw pictures of the corpse and agreed that he must have been tortured to death.