To determine the cause of death of Alaba Bakare, a businessman and hotelier, his family has petitioned Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to conduct a coroner inquest.
They are also requesting that the governor order the release of the autopsy report conducted on his body at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) on January 24, 2022, so that court processes can begin.
Motunrayo Bakare, the deceased’s wife, was accused of using a hot iron on her husband, Alaba, also known as Bama, in the Abule Egba neighborhood of Lagos State.
During an argument, Motunrayo was accused of inserting a pressing iron into the deceased’s neck and chest. Her late husband’s chest was burned as a result of this.
Chief Olufemi Bakare, the deceased’s father, stated that the request was made following an order made by Justice Adeyinka Adeyemi of a Lagos High Court, Ikeja, on August 23, 2022, for coroner proceedings into the matter in a suit brought against the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, the state Director of Public Prosecution, the Inspector General of Police, and four others.
Akinjide Bakare and Taiwo Bakare are the additional claims/applicants, in addition to Chief Bakare. Chief Bakare claimed in a petition to the governor dated November 14, 2022, that he tried unsuccessfully to obtain the autopsy report through the Office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Chief Medical Examiner, LASUTH, and that, to his surprise, all of his letters, including acknowledged copies, were returned to him.
He claimed that previous ones sent to the governor were likewise returned without explanation by the governor’s Chief of Staff.
The petitioner claimed that the police, which investigated the death of the late Managing Director of Bama Hotels and Suites, was inconsistent, as was the content of the legal advice issued by the DPP, Dr. Babajide Martins, reference number LJP/HOM/2022/41 dated April 29, 2022, which recommended the prosecution of his wife, Motunrayo Bakare, for the offense of ‘grievous harm’ and the discharge of three other suspects.
He observed that this was done even though several eyewitnesses stated otherwise in their written statements to police, including the deceased’s first child, the late Elizabeth Bakare.
He also questioned the criminal charge that was recommended against the deceased’s wife, who supposedly confessed and admitted to using a hot iron on the deceased’s mouth, nose, neck, and chest in the legal advice.
He claimed that the DPP’s legal advice perverted the course of justice by dropping a murder case against the deceased’s wife and others recommended for discharge, and he demanded that the document be reviewed.
He claimed that the DPP ignored several statements made to detectives at the Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Yaba, including a medical report issued by the All Souls Hospital, Agege, addressed to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), SCID, and acknowledged by the Police on February 4, 2022.
According to the family, the DPP’s recommendation made no mention of the presence of the medical report, which Dr. U.E. Abraham, a medical officer at the hospital, stated: “Patients were brought in dead.”
Any public authority should not disregard such a medical report, as it was given to the DCP for official reasons, not in secret under the guise that the Police did not perform a proper investigation into the case.
He claimed that the DPP harmed his right to justice by failing to review the document.
