Frying Pan To Fire: ‘Fraudster’ Fleeing Police Falls Into Canal…

It is a typical case of from frying pan to fire for an alleged fraudster who was trying to flee police arrest yesterday: he fell into a canal and eventually died.

The death was a subject of tweets online, with the police saying he was a fraudster.

The incident which happened in Ayobo, an outskirt of Lagos, with unconfirmed reports saying that man, whose name was also not clear, had earlier been detained by the police for an unknown offence.

His death was allegedly connected to his attempt to evade police arrest.

Reacting to allegations that officers in pursuit of the man before he met his end, had been arrested, the Lagos State Police Command spokesman, Benjamin Hundeyin  told  Punch he was not aware.

Plain clothes policemen had earlier alleged he was an internet fraudster, factoring amongst others, the tattoos on his body, had alleged he was an Internet fraudster and went after him.

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He was said to have fallen inside a canal, and rescued unconscious, then rushed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja GRA, where he reportedly died.

“Yesterday morning, the police chased my friend’s husband till he fell into the canal. They took his slippers and money that fell and left when people started shouting. This happened at the Federal Bus Stop, Ipaja, Ayobo axis. He is currently unconscious at LASUTH”, according to a series of X tweets by a user, Omorhemi, who said she was a friend of the deceased’s wife.

It added: “The officers were on mufti. They stopped him on a bike, and the bike man left. They searched him insisting he is a Yahoo boy because of his tattoos and started cocking their guns that they will shoot him, he started moving away saying he was not and they started following him till he ran.

“According to eyewitnesses, he stopped and they searched him, they didn’t see anything but insisted he is a Yahoo boy and started cocking their guns; he didn’t even run till they started trying to hit him. He was moving away gently till they started running and he slipped,” Omorhemi wrote.

However, the Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, response went thus, “Since we saw this video, we have been making concerted efforts to verify this claim but nothing has turned up yet. We have checked our records and no report has been made till now of this incident that the narrator explained happened yesterday. Nonetheless, our investigation is ongoing.

“The Area Commander covering that entire axis is personally on it. Anyone with additional and useful information should please reach out to us. We will keep the public updated on our findings.”

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In updated tweets yesterday, Omorhemi announced that the man died late on Wednesday night while at the hospital.

“He has given up! I’m yet to tell the wife as of now. Nigerian Police! Nigerian Police!! I am not pleased to inform you that this young man died in the middle of the night on Wednesday few hours after the incident”, the newspaper quoted her as tweeting.