Speaking to SaharaReporters on Thursday, the grieving father, Alhaji Jimoh Alabi, criticised the police for failing to hold the officers responsible for his son's death.
The family of Mr Jimoh Abdulquadri has demanded justice, after accusing the Nigerian police of covering up the killing of their son, who died in the Kwara State Police Command cell over a debt of N220,000.
Speaking to SaharaReporters on Thursday, the grieving father, Alhaji Jimoh Alabi, criticised the police for failing to hold the officers responsible for his son's death.
He alleged that the authorities were intentionally delaying accountability due to the family's financial struggles.
Alhaji Jimoh, who described his son as the family's breadwinner and key caregiver, questioned whether the situation would have been handled differently if the deceased had been the child of the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, or a prominent politician.
The father also revealed disturbing details about the police’s actions following his son's death.
According to Alhaji Jimoh, the family was not informed when their son’s body was taken to the mortuary. Instead, they were contacted later and pressured to collect the body for burial immediately, an attempt, he believes, to cover up the truth.
Despite this, the family is calling on the Nigerian government to stand with them in seeking justice for the loss of their loved one.
"I'm the father of the deceased who was killed by Nigerian policemen. I saw him on December 19, 2024, in good condition. He went to a place near Balogun Fulani, and we expected him to return, but he never did," Alhaji Jimoh said.
"Later, we received a call informing us that he had been arrested at the Kwara State Police headquarters. We immediately went there to find out what had happened."
Alhaji Jimoh told SaharaReporters that the arrest started from a complaint filed by someone alleging that the deceased owed him money.
"We asked how much he owed, and they said it was N220,000. We then requested to settle the matter, but the officer in charge refused and said only the complainant could approve such an arrangement."
Alhaji Jimoh said he told the police to call him since they had his contact, but the police replied that the complainant was on his way to Ibadan and could not come over until after his return from the trip.
"We informed the police that the deceased had some money with him and could pay his debt. That very day, his sister had given him N350,000, and his mother also gave him N75,000 to help them buy goods for the festive period," Jimoh explained.
He added that they pleaded with the police to allow the deceased to settle his debt, but the officer in charge of the case refused.
"We stayed at the police station until 8 p.m. before leaving, as they refused to grant him bail. We assured them that we would return the following day to secure his release," Alhaji Jimoh said.
To their greatest surprise, at about 10 p.m. that same day, they received a call from the police, asking them to come back to bail the deceased.
"We were shocked. How could they call us in the middle of the night to secure his bail when we had pleaded with them earlier, and they refused?" he told SaharaReporters.
He said that around 1 a.m., the police from the Kwara State Command called and informed them to come and secure the deceased’s bail. However, the police later told them it would have to wait until the next day.
“At about 7 a.m. the following day, we arrived at the police headquarters. Some officers we met at the gate told us they could not process bail until 9 a.m.
“While we were waiting, we received a call informing us that they didn’t know what happened to my son, but that he had died. They had already taken his body to the mortuary. Someone who was arrested alive and in good health—what could have happened to him? Who killed him?”
He explained that the police alleged that his son hanged himself inside the cell.
“When the deceased’s brother insisted on seeing where the victim had died, he noticed bloodstains in the area. The police had already cleaned some sections of the stains to cover up what had happened,” he said.
The father of the deceased told SaharaReporters that his son was beaten to death by the police.
“When we went to the mortuary, we noticed some cuts on his thighs and asked what had happened, but the police claimed they had embalmed him,” he said.
“The police didn’t inform us before taking our son to the mortuary. Instead, they called us later and told us to come and collect his body for burial immediately so they could cover up the matter. We all insisted that we wouldn’t bury him in a hurry.”
While SaharaReporters asked if the family had conducted an autopsy, Alhaji Jimoh said they waited for nine days before burying his son, which is against Islamic doctrine.
However, they chose to wait to allow the autopsy to be conducted and ascertain the cause of his son's death.
"This is where the issue lies. The police are waiting for the autopsy result, trying to buy time so they can manipulate everything and blame my son for his own death," Alhaji Jimoh alleged.
"If the deceased were the son of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) or a politician, would the police take this much time to identify the officers responsible for his death? Despite the promises made by Kayode Egbetokun, no officers have been arrested till now," he lamented.
Alhaji Jimoh further claimed that the IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, told him to accept his son's death as an act of God. "Can he accept such a thing if a police officer killed his son? Wouldn't he give them 24 hours to apprehend the officers, sack them immediately, and arraign them in court?" he asked.
"I'm calling on Nigerians to come to my rescue. Since the IGP came here and realized that we are nobody, they have been trying to cover up for those who killed my son. This is not the first time the Nigerian police in Ilorin have killed innocent people under the current Commissioner of Police, Victor Olaiya.
"My son, who was the breadwinner of the family, has been killed. He was the one who bought my medications and took care of my health. Presently, I need medical attention, but the person who supported me has been killed by Nigerian policemen.
"Now, eating is a problem. How can I take care of his two daughters, whom he left behind? They have dropped out of school because we can no longer afford their fees. Feeding them has become very difficult."
Speaking with SaharaReporters, the mother of the deceased, Alhaja Adija Jimoh, lamented that no one has been arrested in connection with her son’s death.
She explained that her son’s death has caused her health issues because he was the sole breadwinner of the family. Since his passing, she has been battling various ailments.
"The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, only visited to offer condolences and promised to investigate the matter and apprehend the officer responsible for my son’s death. But since then, we have heard nothing from them," she said.
She also criticised the Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, for his inaction following the killing of her son by Nigerian police officers.
She accused the governor of remaining silent about the incident and failing to send a delegate to console the family or take up the case.
She called on President Bola Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abass, and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi SAN, to intervene and ensure justice for her son, since the Kwara State Governor has failed to act.
SaharaReporters learnt that, at least three people have been killed by operatives of the Nigerian Police in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, within the past three months under the leadership of Commissioner of Police (CP) Victor Olaiya.
The victims have been identified as Ishola Abdulqoyum, Suleiman Olayinka, and Jimoh Abdulquadri.
In September, three police officers — Abiodun Kayode, James Emmanuel, and Oni Philip — were dismissed, charged, and remanded in prison over the fatal shooting of Abdulqoyum, a student of Kwara State Polytechnic.
However, CP Olaiya has drawn criticism for his refusal to disclose the identities of the officers responsible for the deaths of Olayinka and Abdulquadri Jimoh
Civil society groups like Voice of Citizens Concerned (VCC), has called for transparency and justice.
The group urged Commissioner of Police (CP) Olaiya to disclose the names of the officers involved and ensure they are prosecuted.
VCC said that the police must not operate above the law. The killings of innocent citizens are a gross violation of human rights, they demand for accountability.
On September, SaharaReporters reported that a trigger-happy police officer shot dead a student of Kwara State Polytechnic, identified as Ishola Abdulqoyum, along Panat Road, a link between Sango and ShopRite in Kwara State.