A 52-year old woman identified as Titilayo on Tuesday slumped and died few minutes after she was arraigned at the Federal High sitting in Benin City
The deceased was arrested by the Edo State Task Force and handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
She was said to have been arrested for selling substance suspected to be hard drug.
Witnesses present at the court blamed the NDLEA for being complicit in her death.
They alleged that the deceased has been in the custody of the NDLEA without proper medical care.
A reliable source told New Telegraph that the woman has been sick before she was taken to court on Tuesday morning adding that the command has earlier contemplated releasing her before the incident.
“We were not even the one that arrested her , she was brought in by vigilante group, and we were thinking of releasing her before
the incident.” He said.But Edo Commander of the NDLEA, Mitchell Ofoyeju, denied allegations of negligence on the part of his men as cause of the death.
He said there was nothing to suggest the deceased was not physically fit to stand trial.
“It is not true what they are saying. She was arraigned in court. There was no issue that she was not physically fit. She personally walked to the car, got to the court and came down herself. What happened is not something you can start trading blame.
“She was arrested by the Edo State task force and transferred to the NDLEA. She was arrested for selling Loud.
What happened was a mistaken identity. When she collapsed, it attracted crowd and there were other suspects. The officers had to secure other accused persons to avoid them dispersion with the crowd. The crowd thought my men were running away. My men were not attacked.”
