According to the preliminary findings of an autopsy conducted on Monday, a university student who died in Nigeria police custody in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria's south-central region, was tortured.
Kubiat Akpan, 28, a recent architecture graduate from the University of Uyo, was arrested by the police on August 29 while out with some friends at a popular Uyo store.
His lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, said he was found dead a few hours later, tortured by police officers.
The police claim that the student died of illness is refuted by the autopsy report. “The suspect (Mr. Akpan) claimed to be ill. He was taken to the police clinic for treatment but passed away in the process,” Odiko MacDon, the police spokesperson in Akwa Ibom State, said in a statement released on Saturday.
Mr MacDon claimed that the late student was being investigated for robbery and cultism, which Mr Effiong, the lawyer, denied.
The autopsy was performed by a pathologist from the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, who found visible bruises on the body that indicated torture.
Mr MacDon claimed that the late student was being investigated for robbery and cultism, which Mr Effiong, the lawyer, denied.
The autopsy was performed by a pathologist from the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, who found visible bruises on the body that indicated torture.
According to the mortuary's record book, the police team that deposited the student's body lied to the mortuary attendant that the student died in Nsit Ubium, a local government area outside of Uyo where the student actually died.
The men who brought the body did not identify themselves as police officers, according to the attendant. "The next day, some people who claimed to be from the police came to photograph the corpse,” he explained.
"On Saturday, Mr Effiong said it was irresponsible of Mr MacDon, the police spokesperson, to accuse late Mr Akpan of being a robbery suspect.
"As far as I'm concerned, Odiko MacDon's statement must have been made while under the influence of alcohol," he told PREMIUM TIMES.
"This was just a young boy who was picked up at random by the police for reasons they have yet to disclose to us, taken into custody, and tortured to death," the lawyer added.
The Nigerian police have a long history of torture and extrajudicial killings, which was one of the underlying issues that sparked last year's historic #EndSars protests across the country.
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