•Family: we are going to court
THE police have stopped a morque from releasing the body of a fashion designer, Hassan Taiwo, who was killed by stray bullets on Sunday, his family alleged yesterday.
The Lagos Island Maternity Mortuary, the family claimed, has refused to release the body because of “orders by the Lagos High Court and police”.
Taiwo was hit by stray bullets when Corporal Sholuola of the Lion Building Division in Lagos Island, fired at some fleeing hoodlums. He died in hospital on Sunday morning.
The bereaved family alleged that the Adeniji Divisional Police Officer (DPO) insisted that the body would not be released if the Taiwos did not rescind their decision to go to court.
But the family said the police could not deter it from going to court. They said Taiwo should have been buried according to Islamic rites the day he died.
His father, Mr Suleiman Taiwo, urged the Inspector-General of Police and Lagos Command Police Commissioner to call the DPO to order.
He said the corporal responsible for Taiwo’s death should not go unpunished, adding that the family would fight for compensation for his wife and four children.
He said: “Hassan is a very good child. His role in the family is unforgettable. There is hardly anything the family is doing that he does not make substantial contribution. That is why we are extremely pained that this kind of child left us. We want the government to see to the compensation of the family. We can’t change the fact that he is dead.”
The mortuary manager, who declined to give his name, said: “We are not the one restraining his release. A police officer was here earlier with a letter noting that the corpse should not be released because of the case in court. Since it has the hand of the police, we cannot do otherwise.”
The late Taiwo’s friend said: “What happened now is that the police are restraining the family from getting the body from the mortuary because we said we want to go to court. The mortuary attendant told us we won’t be able to get the corpse because of the court restraining order which a police officer brought and that it would take three weeks to reverse unless we are not going to court to press charge. He said unless we go back to the police to let them know we don’t want to go court, then they will give us another letter for the release of the corpse.”
How my husband died, by widow
Widow of the slain fashion designer Hassan Taiwo, Rukayat, yesterday narrated how he died.
A distraught Mrs Taiwo said: “When we got to the hospital on Saturday morning, he spoke to me and greeted his sister. He asked how I was doing and I said fine. And we started thanking God he could speak to us. He told us he stood up twice without help at midnight and sat down himself. In the afternoon of that same day, he complained of thirst, that his throat was dry. He told me how uneasy it was not to have eaten anything for five days. I started petting him that he could not eat now because of his health.
“I told him to remember that his family and the children are looking up to us. The nurse had warned that he shouldn’t eat until he defecates or fart. He attempted to but he didn’t. Later his temperature went high and there was no light. He began to complain of serious pain and the nurse prescribed a particular injection for him. Afterwards he slept. When I was about to leave around 9pm, he asked me to tell them to give him the injection again but she said she wouldn’t unless the previous one had run its course. That was the last time I saw him. The next day I was not even allowed to get near the hospital. He died at midnight. And now they have refused to release his corpse for us to bury. The hospital asked us to bring police report, pints of blood to replace the one he used and some money. Government should please assist me. I have four kids to cater for all alone. They are between ages one and 15. The burden is overwhelming. It was my husband that carried the bulk of the responsibility when he was alive.”
