Police Deny Negligence In David’s Death, Say Young Engineer Was Already Dead When They Found Him

Lagos police spokesperson, Adejobi Olumuyiwa, has denied the charge that the police was culpable in the death of 22-year-old systems engineer David Ntekim-Rex.

David was robbed at gunpoint on Friday, January 15, 2021 in the Jibowu area of mainland Lagos.

Eyewitnesses and relatives allege that police officers and doctors looked on as he bled to death at a couple of hospitals; and that drunken police operatives were more interested on pinning a crime on him because of his laptop.

Police spokesperson Olumuyiwa says the deceased was already dead before security operatives arrived the scene of the crime, and that the police did what they could in the circumstances.

“On January 15, 2021, we were informed around 11.20 pm. On getting to the scene, policemen met his lifeless body but relations insisted that he was not dead. So, police took him to Military Hospital, Yaba but the hospital said they could not treat him and then referred him to LUTH,” he said.

“He was accepted at LUTH and he was confirmed dead. The family returned to the police to get extracts at the station for mortuary. So, the allegation of the police abandoning him is not true. The incident is unfortunate and we sympathise with the family. But we did what we could.”

The incident has sparked outrage on social media, with ex-Senate President Bukola Saraki and the opposition PDP calling for a full scale investigation and punishment where applicable.