Ismail Jimoh Realls Noticing Bloodstains on the Office Floor Before Being Taken to the Cell

Ismail Jimoh, the elder brother of the late Abdulqadir Jimoh, a 35-year-old poultry farmer who tragically died while in the custody of the Kwara State Police Command, shared his account of the events leading to his brother’s arrest and subsequent death during an interview with The Punch....CONTINUE READING>>>

Explaining what happened, Ismail stated that after his brother’s death, the family was summoned to the police station. Upon their arrival, they were informed by the officers that Abdulqadir had committed suicide in his cell. However, Ismail and his family doubted this explanation. He claimed their suspicion arose when they noticed bloodstains on the floor of the office where they were being addressed by the police.

Narrating what led to his arrest by the police, Ismail said on Thursday, December 19, 2024, Abdulqadir asked him for N350,000 to pay a debt to a co-worker. He told him he didn’t have that much money. He also mentioned his problem to his mother and others.

The next day, his mother gave him N75,000 to buy dressed chicken for sale, and one of our sisters gave him N350,000 from her savings, totaling N425,000.

Later, a boy named Jelili Kehinde, who lived with him in Offa, called and asked him to come pick up a message. When Abdulqadir arrived there, he found Jelili, an okada rider, and a policeman who arrested him.

He was taken to the CID at the police headquarters in Ilorin, and round 5:30pm, he was allowed to inform them of his arrest. The deceased’s mother then went to the police station with a friend to try to get him bailed.

She then left the police station. But at about 10pm that same day, the police called one of their sisters to come and secure his (Abdulqadir’s) bail.

On Saturday morning, around 7 a.m., six of them went to the police station, but they didn’t let them in. They returned home, but at about 9 a.m., they received another call from the police asking them to come back to the headquarters.

He said, “So, this time, they took us to an Assistant Commissioner of Police who said he was from Ilorin, the Kwara State capital and told us that our brother hanged himself in the cell where he was kept at midnight using the shirt he was wearing.”

Further talking, he said, “He pleaded with us to take the matter as an act of God. But before he took us to the cell, we noticed bloodstains on the floor of the office where he addressed us.”