A man identified only as Success has reportedly died from injuries sustained after being tortured by operatives of the Ogun State security outfit, So-Safe Corps, along Coca-Cola Road in the Oju-Ore area.
According to a Monday Facebook post by Ota Gossip, the incident began after Success had an altercation with his mother on Saturday. His mother reportedly contacted So-Safe Corps officials, who took Success into custody.
However, rather than handing him over to the police, the So-Safe operatives allegedly took Success to an uncompleted building, where he was subjected to torture. Community reports suggest that the confrontation started at Success’s residence, where he argued with his mother and younger brother, sustaining a head injury and bleeding during the incident. After his mother’s call, the So-Safe officers arrived and removed him from the area. Eyewitnesses and online videos indicate that he was subsequently taken to the abandoned building in the Oju-Ore axis, where he was allegedly assaulted.
Another Facebook user, Temitope Adeniyi, claimed that the security officers beat Success to death, writing: “He fought with his mother, so his mother reported him to the So-Safe. The next thing, they carried him to an uncompleted building and beat him to death.”
Confirming the incident in a telephone interview on Monday, So-Safe Corps spokesperson Adegunwa Adegbuyi stated that the officers involved have been handed over to the police. Adegbuyi condemned their actions, saying they acted outside the outfit’s standard operating procedures.
“The mother called us to intervene, and some of our ad-hoc staff went. They are supposed to revert, but unfortunately, they took the law into their own hands. Instantly, when the case came up, we handed them over to the Nigerian Police Force, because the Commandant does not condone anything that has to do with human rights abuse. We handed over the first culprit, and after some hours, we handed over the second culprit to the police for necessary prosecution. We are working with the police to ensure justice is served,” Adegbuyi said.
He added that the So-Safe Commander, Soji Ganzalo, has repeatedly warned officers against human rights abuses and intervening in civil matters.
As of the time of filing this report, Ogun State Police Command spokesperson Babaseyi Oluseyi had not responded to inquiries regarding the case.
In a related development, PUNCH Metro reported that on Saturday, the Imo State Police Command arrested three students of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, in connection with the alleged murder of Chinedu Christogonus, a 21-year-old undergraduate. Christogonus, a 100-level cybersecurity student, was reportedly beaten to death by members of the university’s Man O’ War group for allegedly stealing N13,500, sparking unrest and destruction on campus.
