Bode David, a 29-year-old mechanic, will definitely live with the trauma of being forced to drink the water used to wash a dead body so as to prove that he had no hand in the death of the man who was his friend.
Apart from being made to drink the water, David also narrated how he was made to lie with the corpse of the deceased, Ganiyu, because the family of the dead man thought he was responsible for his sudden demise.
The incident which happened at Isheri Magodo, a suburb of Lagos State, according to an elder in the community, became necessary because of the suspicion of David's complicity in the death of Ganiyu because before he gave up the ghost at the hospital, the late David’s name.
But swearing his innocence, David, a mechanic from Ekiti State, said he had no hand in the death of his friend.
"I knew the late Ganiyu 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 6 pm., 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 7 pm, 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.
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."
The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the incident and had this to say:
"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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