Student dies by suicide days after Oyo Police detention over ₦8,000 debt

When Al-Amin Mohammed returned home from the Agodi Custodial Centre in Ibadan, Oyo State, on September 14, his family thought the worst was over.

The 30-year-old aluminium fixer and student of a polytechnic in Kwara State had spent days in police detention and prison custody following a dispute that began with an alleged N8,000 debt.

His parents had stood as sureties to perfect his bail.

He was finally home and free.

But his mother, Simiat Mohammed, said the son who returned to the family was not the same man who had left days earlier.

He barely ate. He withdrew from people. Again and again, she said, Al-Amin complained about the humiliation of being detained, taken to court and remanded in prison over an allegation he insisted was untrue.

“He kept saying that they wanted to tarnish his image because he came from a poor family and that he was sent to prison for a crime he did not commit,” the grieving mother told Saturday PUNCH amid tears.

Three days after his release, tragedy struck.

On September 17, Al-Amin ingested rat poison at his residence in Ibadan.

Before then, according to his family, he recorded a voice note expressing frustration and saying what would become his final words to his mother.

“He said the frustration was too much and asked his siblings to take care of me. He mentioned my name and apologised, telling me not to be angry with him,” Simiat recalled.

The family rushed him from one hospital to another in a desperate attempt to save his life.

His father, Habeeb Mohammed, said three hospitals rejected him before the family eventually got to the University College Hospital, Ibadan.

“We were asked to make some payments before he could be attended to. After we paid, the doctor came and told us that he was dead,” he said.

For the Mohammed family, the death brought a devastating end to a chain of events that they say should never have gone beyond a minor disagreement.

How N8,000 debt became police case

According to Simiat, her son had borrowed N23,000 from a Point-of-Sale operator identified simply as Kazeem.

Al-Amin had repaid N15,000, leaving a balance of N8,000.

But a disagreement subsequently broke out, during which Kazeem allegedly seized Al-Amin’s mobile phone over the unpaid balance.

The 30-year-old later returned to retrieve his phone, leading to a struggle.

His mother said the confrontation was minor, but it set off events that eventually took her son through vigilante detention, a police cell, a courtroom and prison custody.

After the altercation, Al-Amin was allegedly detained overnight by a vigilante said to be the father of one of Kazeem’s employees.

The following day, September 9, he was allegedly handed over to officers at the Sanyo Divisional Police Station in Ibadan.

Simiat said she received a call the next day asking her to come to the station.

Like many mothers visiting a detained child, she went there carrying food.

“When I got to the station, I went with food for my son, but they did not allow me to give it to him. After some time, they brought him out of the cell and I spoke with him,” she said.

During that brief encounter, Al-Amin maintained his innocence over another allegation that had entered the dispute that he damaged a mobile phone belonging to Kazeem.

“He told me that he did not touch the phone, let alone spoil it. He said the only money he owed Kazeem was N8,000 and that he went to retrieve his phone after it had been seized, which led to the struggle,” she added.

‘They said they would jail him’

What Simiat expected would be resolved as a dispute between two young men allegedly took a more serious turn.

She claimed that the Investigating Police Officer, identified as Adekeye, insisted that Al-Amin would be prosecuted despite the family’s appeals for a settlement.

According to her, the family was asked to provide N100,000 for bail and another N70,000 for the damaged phone.

“When Kazeem came to the station, I pleaded with him that we should settle the matter. I also pleaded with the DCO, but he later sent me out of his office.

“The IPO, Adekeye, also said she would ensure that my son was jailed. There was even a police officer pleading on our behalf,” she alleged.

The deceased’s father, Habeeb, gave a similar account.

He alleged that the matter was escalated because the complainant’s father was known to the Divisional Crime Officer.

“When I got there, I begged the DCO that the matter could be settled amicably. But because the father of the complainant was his friend, he said he would deal with my son and send him to prison,” he stated.

The family further alleged that Al-Amin complained of harsh treatment while in detention and said he was pressured to admit that he damaged the phone.

Saturday PUNCH could not independently verify those allegations.

From police cell to prison

On September 10, the family said Al-Amin was taken to court in the Mapo area of Ibadan.

His mother claimed nobody informed the family beforehand.

They only learnt that he had been taken to court after receiving a telephone call.

At the court, the family encountered a lawyer identified as Boluwatife, who, according to Simiat, offered to represent Al-Amin free of charge after hearing about the case.

The court granted him bail in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties in like sum.

But freedom did not come immediately.

Pending the perfection of his bail conditions, Al-Amin was taken to the Agodi Custodial Centre.

For four days, his parents worked to secure his release.

Eventually, Simiat and Habeeb stood as sureties, and their son walked out of custody on September 14.

Police deny charging Oyo student over ₦8,000

Meanwhile, Oyo State Police Command has disputed the account surrounding the arrest and prosecution of a student, Al-Amin Mohammed, who later died by suicide, saying he was not arrested or charged to court over an outstanding ₦8,000 debt.

The Command said Mohammed was charged with assault and malicious damage after allegedly assaulting a female Point-of-Sale operator and damaging her Airtel SIM registration machine valued at ₦177,000.

The police position differs from the account given by Mohammed’s family, which said he was arrested and taken to court following a dispute over an ₦8,000 debt owed to the POS operator.

In a statement on Saturday, the Command described a publication alleging that Mohammed was detained over the debt as “false, unfounded and misleading.”

“The Command wishes to categorically state that the narrative is false, unfounded and misleading, as it does not represent the circumstances of the case or the basis upon which the suspect was charged to court,” the statement said.

According to the police, investigation established that Mohammed approached the POS operator to collect ₦23,000 in cash, with the intention of transferring the same amount to her through a POS transaction.

“The complainant obliged and handed the suspect the said sum in cash. However, immediately after collecting the money, the suspect left the scene without effecting the intended transfer or returning the money.

“Following persistent efforts, the suspect eventually refunded ₦15,000, leaving an outstanding balance of ₦8,000, which he subsequently refused to pay. Consequently, the complainant took possession of the suspect’s mobile phone pending the refund of the outstanding ₦8,000,” the Command said. (PUNCH)