By Ado Oyeyemi
A resident of Ogun State, identified simply as Success, has reportedly died after allegedly being tortured by operatives of the state-owned security outfit, So-Safe Corps, in the Oju-Ore area of Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area.
The incident, which has sparked outrage within the community, reportedly followed a domestic dispute involving the deceased, his mother and younger brother on Saturday.
According to accounts shared on social media and by residents, Success had sustained a head injury during the altercation before his mother sought the intervention of So-Safe personnel.
Sources alleged that after responding to the distress call, the operatives took the victim away but failed to hand him over to the police as required. Instead, they were accused of taking him to an uncompleted building along the Coca-Cola Road axis, where he was allegedly assaulted.
A community report circulating online claimed that eyewitnesses saw the victim being taken away by the security operatives shortly before allegations of torture emerged.
Another resident, Temitope Adeniyi, alleged in a social media post that the operatives beat Success to death after taking him into custody.
Confirming the incident on Monday, the spokesman for the So-Safe Corps, Adegunwa Adegbuyi, disclosed that the officers involved had been arrested and handed over to the police for investigation and possible prosecution.
Adegbuyi condemned the conduct of the operatives, describing their actions as a violation of the corps’ operational guidelines.
He explained that the officers, who were initially invited to mediate in the family dispute, exceeded their authority by taking matters into their own hands rather than following established procedures.
According to him, the command acted immediately after receiving reports of the incident, transferring the first suspect to the police and subsequently handing over another officer linked to the case.
He added that the leadership of the corps remained committed to ensuring justice and was collaborating with the Nigeria Police Force on the investigation.
The spokesman further noted that the Commandant of the corps, Soji Ganzalo, had repeatedly warned personnel against human rights violations and involvement in matters beyond their mandate.
Efforts to obtain comments from the Ogun State Police Command were unsuccessful, as the command’s spokesperson, Omolola Odutola, had yet to respond to enquiries as of the time of filing this report.
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The incident comes amid growing concerns over alleged cases of extrajudicial punishment by security and paramilitary groups across the country.
