Late Alaba Bakare
The family of late Lagos businessman and hotelier, Alaba Bakare, has urged Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State to order a coroner inquest to ascertain the actual cause of their son’s death.
Father of the deceased, Chief Olufemi Bakare made the request in a statement on Thursday in Lagos.
The father on behalf of the family
request that the governor order the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), to release the autopsy report conducted on the deceased body since January 24, 2022 for judicial proceedings into the matter and to enable them access justice.
According to the father, the request was in accordance with an August 23, 2022 order made by Justice Adeyinka Adeyemi of a Lagos State High Court, sitting in Ikeja, for a coroner proceedings into the matter.
He said: “Justice Adeyemi had given the order in suit instituted by the family against the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, the State Director of Public Prosecution, the Inspector General of Police and four others.
“Aside Chief Bakare, other claimants/ applicants are Akinjide Bakare and Taiwo Bakare.”
In the petition to the governor dated November 14, 2022, Chief Bakare claimed to have made efforts to get the report of the autopsy through the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Chief Medical Examiner, LASUTH, to no avail.
He added that to his surprise all his letters, including acknowledged copies, were returned to him, stressing that the earlier ones written to the governor were also returned by his Chief of Staff without any reason.
The petitioner alleged a trend of lies by the Police, which investigated the death of the late Managing Director of Bama Hotels and Suits and content of the legal advice issued by the DPP, Dr Babajide Martins, with Ref. No. LJP/ HOM/ 2022/ 41 dated April 29, 2022, which recommended the prosecution of the wife of the deceased, Motunrayo Bakare for the offence of ‘grievous harm’ and the discharge of three other suspects.
He noted that this was done despite the fact that many eyewitnesses wrote otherwise in their written statements to the Police, including that of the first child of the deceased, late Elizabeth Bakare.
He also raised a number of questions against the criminal charge recommended to be brought against the wife of the deceased, who in the legal advice allegedly confessed and admitted to using hot iron on the deceased mouth, nose, neck and chest.
He asked: “is it proper to dump the body of the living, who sustained grievous harm into a mortuary by the Nigeria Police detectives?”
Chief Bakare further alleged that the legal advice issued by the DPP was to pervert the course of justice, as it dropped criminal charge of murder against the wife of the deceased and others, recommended to be discharged and called for a review of the document.
He insisted that the DPP failed to give consideration to a number of statements made to the detectives at the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Yaba and listed these to include the medical report issued by the All Souls Hospital, Agege which was addressed to Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP, SCID acknowledged by the Police on February 4, 2022.
He said the DPP advice made no reference to the existence of the medical report for mischievous reasons and in which one Dr U.E. Abraham, a medical officer in the hospital stated “patients was brought in dead.”
He noted that such a medical report ought not to be set aside by any public officer as it was forwarded to the DCP for official reasons and not in secrecy in pretense that the Police did not conduct proper investigation into the case.
He added that the DPP prejudiced his right to justice for not giving consideration to the document.
