The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Agotime-Ziope Constituency in the Volta Region, Charles Agbeve, has called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), George Dampare, to urgently investigate a suspected case of police brutality that led to the death of a man believed to be in his 30s.
According to the family of the late Felix Azibodzi, he was arrested for his alleged involvement in a car snatching incident in Ho after falling for an investigative trap.
Police sources also say the suspect was baited with an amount of GH¢6,000 to return the stolen vehicle when he was arrested.
They claim the suspect was cooperating with investigations until he fell ill and was sent for medical attention, but died shortly afterwards.
However, the MP, who has joined the family of the deceased in calling for justice, has indicated that there is a suspected foul play and that the funeral and burial of the man should be withheld until all investigations are complete, and the truth is established.
Speaking in an interview with Citi News on Thursday, Mr Agbeve said, “This is a man who lives in his village but travelled to Ho, which is about 40 kilometres away. The next minute, the police come to his community and tell his parents that their son has died. They say he fell sick, was taken to the hospital, and was pronounced dead. This is a clear indication of police brutality and the gruesome murder of this young man. I don’t think anyone in their right mind would accept this story.”
“What baffles me is the attempt by the police to hastily get this boy buried by the family without following proper due process. I have been adequately informed that a physical examination of the boy’s body at the morgue reveals these injuries: a perforated right eyeball with a deep hole, a twisted leg, broken front teeth, a swollen bone on both legs, blood clots, and several wounds.”
“If this is not murder and torture, then I don’t know what it is. So I am calling on the IGP to step in, order an investigation, and let us unravel what led to the boy’s death. First, a proper post-mortem should be conducted so that the doctors can tell us the cause of death. Then we can give the results to the IGP, who is doing his best to weed out bad elements in the system and give the police a good name. Only then should we even consider burial or meeting with the family.”
The MP for Agotime-Ziope Constituency urged the family not to be cajoled into quickly burying their son, but to wait until the truth of the matter is established.
“No one should rush to try to cajole the family into some burial or funeral for the boy. No matter what he did, he did not deserve this. It is so bad, it is so gruesome, and it will not be tolerated in any way in this country,” he added.
