Update on Cynthia Osukogu: I was tortured by the police into making my confession – Suspect
before a Lagos High Court how he was tortured to admit being the
murderer of the deceased.
34 years old Okwumo Nwabufo along with 3 other suspects allegedly
chained and strangled 25-year-old Osokogu to death at Cosmilla Hotel,
FESTAC Town, Lagos, on July 22, 2012.
They had met Cynthia through Facebook.
You remember the Cynthia Osukogu story, right? The trial for her
suspected killers has being on.
And at the resumed hearing, in a trial to determine how the suspects'
confessional statements were obtained, Nwabufo told the trial judge,
Justice Olabisi Akinlade that he was forced to confess to the crime.
According to him, he had been dating Cynthia for over one year before
her death and they had met
more than five times before she was murdered.
He said:
"On the day I was arrested, up to 20 policemen broke into my apartment
and asked for my name after which they called me a murderer and
started beating me. I was later blindfolded while I was putting on
only pant and taken to FESTAC police station for interrogation''.
According to Nwabufo, he asked the police to allow him contact his
lawyer or relatives which they refused.
He said:
"When we got to the police station, I was taken to the Area Commander,
Mr Dan Okoro's office who showed me a lady's picture and asked if I
knew her. I said yes, she is my friend and he immediately called me a
murderer while he used plyer to pinch my left eye.
I was then taken to a room where I was chained and tortured to accept
whatever they (the police) told us concerning the murder. I was
chained and hung upside-down, like a roasted chicken''," he added.
Nwabufo further explained that it was during this torture that the
police brought out a suspect and shot him on the leg to show that they
would shoot us if we don't comply.
One of the policemen released tear-gas into my left eye and I have not
been able to see with it since then," he said.
Nwabufo further told the court that it was the torture that led to the
statement which was being dictated to him at different times.
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