8,000 Debt: Charge Sheet, Witness Accounts Raise Fresh Questions Over Oyo Police Handling of Student’s Case Before Suicide

Retired police officer, lawyers, rights advocate fault alleged handling of case; family accuses Sanyo Division of worsening student’s ordeal

Fresh details surrounding the death by suicide of 30-year-old Al-Amin Mohammed have raised questions about the handling of the dispute that led to his arrest, prosecution and subsequent remand at the Agodi Custodial Centre in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Al-Amin, an aluminium worker and student of a polytechnic in Kwara State, died after ingesting a poisonous substance a few days after his release from custody.

The case originated from an N23,000 transaction involving a Point-of-Sale operator, Kazeem Mukaila, from whom Al-Amin had collected N23,000. He reportedly transferred N15,000 and promised to pay the outstanding N8,000 after reaching his daily transaction limit.

However, when payment was delayed, Mukaila’s apprentice, identified as Iya Ajike, allegedly went to where Al-Amin was sleeping and took his mobile phone.

According to accounts from the deceased’s family and Mukaila, Al-Amin later returned to retrieve the phone, leading to a confrontation during which a business phone belonging to the POS operator was allegedly damaged.

Al-Amin reportedly denied responsibility for the damage.

The dispute was subsequently taken to a vigilante group before Al-Amin was handed over to the police at the Sanyo Police Division.

He was detained and later arraigned before a magistrate, who granted him bail but ordered that he be remanded at the Agodi Custodial Centre pending the perfection of his bail conditions.

The family subsequently raised funds to meet the conditions, with Al-Amin eventually released on September 14.

Three days later, he reportedly died after ingesting poison.

Police account disputed by charge sheet

The development has generated controversy following a statement by the Oyo State Police Command, which denied that Al-Amin was prosecuted over the outstanding N8,000.

The command, through its spokesperson, Ayanlade Olayinka, said the student was prosecuted over allegations of assault and malicious damage to an Airtel SIM registration machine valued at N177,000.

The police maintained that the N8,000 was merely the outstanding balance from the antecedent transaction and was not the basis of the criminal proceedings.

However, a review of the charge sheet reportedly obtained by Saturday PUNCH showed discrepancies between the police account and the charges before the court.

According to the document, Al-Amin faced two counts, with the first alleging conduct likely to cause a breach of public peace.

More significantly, the second count reportedly referred to the N8,000 debt while alleging malicious damage to an Android Itel phone valued at N177,000.

The charge sheet therefore differs from the police statement, which referred to assault and damage to an Airtel SIM registration machine.

The discrepancy has prompted calls for the circumstances surrounding the case to be independently reviewed.

‘The seizure of his phone started the problem’

A retired Deputy Superintendent of Police, Isiaka Ayole, who reportedly secured Al-Amin’s release from the Agodi Custodial Centre, said the deceased told him that the seizure of his phone was what triggered the chain of events.

According to Ayole, Al-Amin was deeply distressed by his experience in custody and believed that his poverty had contributed to the way he was treated.

Ayole said the deceased repeatedly complained that Iya Ajike, who allegedly took his phone while he was asleep, was the person who should have been questioned over the seizure.

The retired officer argued that the police could have explored ways of resolving the underlying financial disagreement without subjecting the young man to prolonged criminal proceedings, particularly after his parents reportedly offered to undertake responsibility for the outstanding obligation.

He questioned why the police would not have allowed the parents to serve as guarantors if the primary dispute was the recovery of the money.

Ayole, who said he spent years working in criminal investigation, maintained that the circumstances warranted closer scrutiny of the decisions taken by the officers handling the matter.

Family: ‘We were treated that way because we were poor’

Al-Amin’s father, Habeeb Mohammed, said the family was financially constrained throughout the ordeal.

Speaking during the Fidau prayer for his son, Habeeb alleged that the Divisional Crime Officer at the Sanyo Police Division demanded N100,000 for bail.

He said that when the family could not immediately meet the demand, the case was taken to court and the young man was eventually remanded in custody.

The bereaved father said his wife had to sell her mobile phone to raise money for transportation and food while visiting their son in custody.

He also said he had to seek financial assistance from relatives and well-wishers and sell some belongings to meet the bail conditions eventually imposed by the court.

Habeeb said the family remained unable to understand how a dispute involving N8,000 eventually resulted in the death of their son.

“He was the one taking care of us. He was our shining light,” he said.

The father had earlier alleged that the DCO warned that his son would be sent to prison if the family could not raise the required money.

Lawyers fault alleged debt recovery approach

A senior associate at Yusuf Ali & Co, Taofiq Olateju, said a creditor could not lawfully seize another person’s property simply because the person owed money.

He said debt recovery must be pursued through lawful channels and that property could not ordinarily be taken without lawful authority or a valid court order.

Similarly, constitutional lawyer Musbau Saheed said the police had no power to detain a person merely because of a civil debt.

Saheed cited Section 32(2) of the Police Act, 2020, which provides that a person should not be arrested merely on account of a civil wrong or breach of contract.

He argued that where a person’s property had allegedly been seized without lawful authority, the police should investigate the circumstances rather than turn the criminal justice process into a mechanism for debt recovery.

Saheed further said persons affected by unlawful detention or property seizure could seek legal redress through the courts and appropriate police oversight bodies.

‘Police must separate debt from crime’

The Executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, Okechukwu Nwanguma, said the circumstances of the case raised legitimate questions about whether the police handled the matter professionally and proportionately.

Nwanguma, however, cautioned against assuming that the existence of an N8,000 debt automatically invalidated any subsequent criminal allegation.

He said the police were entitled to investigate a genuine allegation of assault or malicious damage if there was evidence of such an offence.

According to him, the crucial issue was whether the criminal process was used independently to investigate an alleged offence or became a means of enforcing payment of a private debt.

He said the significance of the N8,000 could not simply be dismissed, particularly because the sum reportedly appeared in the particulars contained in the charge sheet.

Nwanguma called for an independent review of the entire sequence of events, beginning with the original transaction and alleged seizure of Al-Amin’s phone.

He said investigators should examine the intervention by vigilantes, the alleged damage to the phone, the arrest and detention, any demands or conditions imposed for release, the decision to prosecute, the remand proceedings and events following Al-Amin’s release.

He stressed that such a review should not prejudge the culpability of individual police officers but should determine whether police powers were properly exercised and whether opportunities for lawful de-escalation were missed.

Psychologist warns against suicide as response to crisis

Meanwhile, psychologist Bola Lawal said humiliation, financial hardship, public embarrassment and detention could contribute to feelings of hopelessness in vulnerable individuals.

She, however, stressed that suicide should never be viewed as a solution to financial, legal or social difficulties.

Lawal urged people experiencing severe emotional distress to seek immediate support from family members, trusted persons, counsellors and mental-health professionals.

She said people facing debt, humiliation or other overwhelming circumstances should be supported rather than isolated or stigmatised.

Calls for investigation

With conflicting accounts now emerging over the circumstances of Al-Amin’s arrest and prosecution, attention has shifted to the need for an independent examination of the case.

The key questions include whether the N8,000 debt improperly influenced the criminal proceedings; whether the alleged seizure of Al-Amin’s phone was adequately investigated; whether the allegations of assault and malicious damage were independently established; and whether the police followed due process throughout the investigation and detention.

The circumstances leading to Al-Amin’s death have therefore raised broader questions about the limits of police involvement in civil debt disputes, the protection of citizens’ fundamental rights and the need for proportionate handling of disputes involving economically vulnerable Nigerians.

While the available accounts do not, by themselves, establish that any police officer caused Al-Amin’s death, the conflicting narratives and discrepancies between the police account and the reported charge sheet make an independent review important for establishing the facts and determining whether any wrongdoing occurred.