After allegedly killing three individuals in a violent land dispute in Badagry, Lagos State, retired Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Charles Atideka, 63, reportedly committed suicide.
Atideka shot and killed two family members and one other person in the early hours of Tuesday, according to the police, who confirmed the horrific event to reporters on Thursday.
The former police officer and an unidentified accomplice are accused of killing the victims, Richard Atideka and Latevi Atideka, both from the Yovoyan community, and Muji Onilude, from the nearby Gberefu community.
David Atideka, a family member of the dead and an attack survivor, described the terrifying experience. According to him, the murders occurred within the Atideka facility between two and three in the morning.
The former police officer allegedly consumed a poison after the violent incident, lost consciousness, and was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to the police.
SP Benjamin Hundeyin, a spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, verified the occurrence.
“The suspect in the incident is dead,” he declared. He is said to have consumed poison after killing three individuals. Later, he was taken to the hospital, where medical professionals pronounced him dead.
He went on to say that Atideka’s and the victims’ remains had been placed at the morgue for additional examination.
Son Contests Suicide Allegation
The deceased’s son, Henry Atideka, has vehemently disagreed with the police’s suicide story, nevertheless. He claims that his father passed out on route to being questioned at the Badagry Police Station. As the main suspect in the murders, Atideka was supposedly invited by the police.
According to Henry, who told Vanguard a thorough account of what happened, his father called him at 8:30 a.m. to let him know he was going to the police station. However, around 12:30 p.m., he got a phone telling him that his father had passed out and was taken to the Badagry General Hospital.
John Atideka, my brother, went to the hospital to see how he was doing. Henry clarified, “He discovered three police officers watching over our father, who was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).”
Henry claims that his brother discovered their father had vanished from the intensive care unit, leaving the three police officers unaccounted for.
Read Also: APC Advises Ighodalo: Drop Appeal, Okpebholo Can Make You SA or PA
When he asked a nurse, she told him their father had died. When he called the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) right away to ask about the matter, he was informed that the DPO was unaware of his father’s passing.
Henry voiced his displeasure with the state of affairs, claiming that the police have to carry out a comprehensive inquiry in order to ascertain the cause of his father’s demise.
When I first arrived to the hospital at 4:00 p.m., I was not allowed to see my father’s body. I was given permission to visit the DPO after contacting him.
“I was informed that his death was brought on by an increase in blood pressure as a result of the accusations when I saw his icy body,” he stated.
“My father was a respected member of the Badagry community,” he added. No one was killed by him. To allow his soul to rest in peace, the police should track down the true offender.
Olatunde Bakare, the medical director of General Hospital Badagry, told Vanguard that the deceased was taken in the afternoon and passed away about three hours later.
To ascertain the precise cause of death, the hospital hasn’t performed any tests, though. “We do not know whether the deceased swallowed something to end his life or if his death was due to an increase in blood pressure,” Bakare said.
