One of the defendants in the murder case of a student of the University of Ilorin, (UNILORIN) Olajide Blessing, has revealed how operatives of the Department of State Services(DSS) threaten to kill him if he fails to coperate with them.
The suspect, Daud Bashir Adebayo, when called to the witness box on Monday, noted that an operative of the secret police identified as Femi Babalola threatened to kill him if he refused to cooperate with them.
He said, “While I was in custody, an officer by the name of Mr Rasheed came to my cell, handcuffed my hands and legs before leading me to a room.
“He asked me if I could read and write and I said yes, so he handed me a pen and paper to write my biodata and everything that I knew about the matter, and I did just that.
“A few minutes after, another operative of DSS by the name, Femi Babalola came into the room, he glanced through the paper I wrote; thereafter he angrily complained that I didn’t write what they wanted me to write.
“After slapping me, he tore the statement I had written into pieces, alleging I was trying to play them.
“He later electrocuted me with a taser also known as a stun gun, then he made me promise to do their bidding henceforth.
“Thereafter, Mr Femi Babalola brought a new paper and asked me if I was ready to cooperate with them or else he would kill me and nothing would happen.
“I became scared, so I started begging for my life, I promised them that I was ready to do whatever they wanted me to because he noted that they had killed many people like myself, so mine wouldn’t make a difference.”
Bashir in his statement further stated that the contents of the confessional statement attributed to him do not represent his side of the story.
The father to the defendant, Dauda Ayinde, a motorcycle mechanic, disclosed that operatives of the DSS stormed their residence in Tanke-Oke-Odo late in the night to arrest his son without identifying themselves.
He said, “They promised to return my son home within 20 minutes, but I didn’t know his whereabouts for like three days.
“After searching all around for him, I was made to understand that he was arrested and taken to the custody of DSS. I went to their office on the 14th of June but I was refused entry by the security, the same thing was repeated all the three times I was at their office, they only promised to call me when they’re ready.”
The Attorney General of Kwara State and the prosecuting counsel, Salman Jawondo noted that contrary to the claim made by Bashir, he was interrogated by Mr Rasheed.
Justice Adebayo Yusuf in his ruling ordered that the case be adjourned to November 15 and 16, 2021.
