‘I fell ill after seeing my brother’s corpse’

L-R: Late Ifechukwude; dad; mum; and Gideon

Gideon Nwainokpor, the younger brother, of a 25-year-old undergraduate, who was lynched in Badagry area of Lagos State on July 21, 2013, told PUNCH Metro that he fell ill after  seeing the brutalised corpse of his brother in the mortuary.
PUNCH Metro had reported on Wednesday that two youths, Ifechukwude Nwainokpor, and one Kazeem, were allegedly lynched by hoodlums and policemen in Ajara area of Badagry.
Gideon, 20, told our correspondent, who visited his parents’ home in Badagry, that life would no longer be the same as he had now become the only child of his parents.
He said, “I am a chorister in my church and on that particular day, I was in the studio when I received a phone call from my aunt that my brother and another person were being beaten up at Ajara.

“I learnt that he was tortured for several hours before he died around 6pm. By the time I arrived there, I was told that he had been taken to Badagry General Hospital Mortuary. It was at the place that I identified his remains.”
Gideon said after seeing his brother’s brutalised corpse, he became dizzy and barely managed to return home.
He said he fell ill for two days and was not able to utter a word because he was in shock.
Describing the kind of person his brother was, he said, “My brother was a very soft person and he never looked for trouble. He was five years older than me. We were always together if we were not in school.
“My brother was not an armed robber, neither was he a cultist. He always had good grades right from when he was at Badagry Grammar School and later at the Delta State University.”
Our correspondent observed sympathisers coming to the family home to condole with the deceased’s parents.
The father of the deceased, Samuel, told PUNCH Metro that lynching was common in Badagry but because the town was not on the metropolis, many of such cases usually went unreported.
“Someone was beheaded not too long ago in the same area after being accused of being a thief. Because of its proximity to the border, many smugglers and miscreants live in Badagry and they perpetrate all manner of crimes without being arrested.”
Meanwhile, it was learnt that the Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko, had summoned the Divisional Police Officer, Badagry Police Station, Mr. Mohammed Dankoli, over the incident.
When asked if the policemen involved in the lynching had been arrested, the spokesperson for the state police command, Ngozi Braide, said investigations were ongoing.

Culled: Punchng