Controversy Trails Death Of Dracula; As Fingers Pointed To Police That They Likely ‘Tortured’ Suspect To Death In Custody

Inspector General of Police, Idris Ibrahim

Anthony Ogbalor, alias Dracula may have died of complications developed from severe torture while in the custody of the police in Delta state, multiple sources who have reacted to the death earlier reported by this medium have said.

While autopsy is yet to be conducted to ascertain the circumstances surrounding his death, fingers are allegedly pointing at the Delta state police Command that Mr. Ogbalor was subjected to severe tortures every morning by detectives who want to extract information concerning his alleged operations.

Ogbalor was arrested in Warri alongside members of his gang in a snatched navy blue Toyota Corolla car with reg. no EPE 874 DQ, in December 2017 by operatives of the Nigerian police Delta State command and was paraded for alleged offences of conspiracy, armed robbery and operating a syndicate kidnap group.

A police source who pleaded anonymity revealed; “Since the arrest of the suspect and his gang members, Dracula has always be subjected to tortures every morning by officers in the command to force him to make confessional statements. And after the tortures, he will be taken to the hospital for treatment.”

“Dracula died in the custody of the police before he was taken to the hospital yesterday, (Wednesday). I am talking to you as a life witness to what happened. I work here in the police command and I see everything that transpires here in the command,” a police sergeant confided in our correspondent.

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A Human rights lawyer, Barr. Rockson Igelige who also raised suspicion of the death in police custody, however called on the Nigeria Inspector General of Police to investigate what he described as an “extrajudicial killing” of a frontline “Isoko activist”.

Igelige said that there is suspected foul play over the unusual death of Dracula and demanded a thorough investigation into the matter.

“The death news of Dracula while in detention is shocking and most suspicious. This is a clear case of extrajudicial killing and it must not be taken loosely. Every accused man has a mandatory right to fair hearing in a court of competent jurisdiction. The police failed in this regard.

“If someone arrested had confessed another, the new suspect should be given his right to a fair hearing, not to be brutalized and murdered illegally. There is every reason to think that something is fishy behind the scene. Dracula must have died out of excessive beating or even through poison while in detention, and as long as no law court pronounced him guilty of what he was accused of, the Inspector General of Police has a duty to ensure that justice is done to the deceased.”

“The policemen that arrested Dracula, the IPO of the case, and the DPO in charge of the police station he was first arrested to, as well as the Commissioner of Police in Delta State, including the former that hurriedly paraded Dracula before the press should be investigated immediately. The IG needs to be sure who they were in talks with before, during, and after the arrest of Dracula. This case must be treated seriously to restore public confidence in the police as it is currently being rumored that the police must have connived with the enemies of the deceased to kill him”, Igelige told SaharaReporters earlier.

In the same vein, the Isoko monitoring group has call the Inspector-General of police Ibrahim Idris to investigate the alleged “murder” of Ogbalor, a former president of Isoko youths.

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IMF, in a statement signed by its president Mr. Sabastine Agbefe, said, “The general public will recall that we had earlier warned against possible extra-judicial killing of Chief Ogbalor. It is obvious that it is a premeditated and well orchestrated murder of a Nigerian citizen by those who ought to protect lives in the society .

“We call for the immediate investigation of the officers involved in his arrest, torture for prosecution. We demand that an autopsy be carried out on his corpse to determine the immediate and remote cause of death.

“We warn against any attempt to intimidate the family of Chief Anthony Ogbalor from seeking justice in this brazen extra-judicial murder of the deceased. We appeal to the youths not to take laws into their hands and allow the law to take its full course” he added.

It would be recalled that while parading the alleged kidnap kingpin and his gang members, the then-Commissioner of Police, Zanna Ibrahim said Mr. Ogbalor was on the police watch list before his arrest.

According to the former CP: “Dracula, Henry Kessena, Kosin Henry aka Capon, and Kenneth Onome waylaid and whisked to an unknown detention camp of Pastor Frank Otomi and Mrs. Mofe Otomi at Delta Steel Company, DSC, Roundabout, Warri, in June 23, 2017, while they were driving in a Hyundai SUV.”

“On December 23, 2017, operatives of ‘B’ Division, Warri, arrested Henry Kessena. His arrest and confession led to the arrest of the other suspects, who equally confessed to the crime and their involvement in several kidnap incidents, including the murder of the late Police Area Commander, Ughelli, ACP Usman Ndanbobo.”

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When contacted the state Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO), Mr. Andrew Aniamaka who confirmed the death of Mr. Ogbalor, swiftly added that “he did not die in police custody, he was sick and was taken to the hospital where he died yesterday.”

Written by Julius Eras-Olabowu

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