Police deny charging Oyo student over ₦8,000 debt prior to suicide

The Oyo State Police Command has disputed the account surrounding the arrest and prosecution of a student, Al-Amin Mohammed, who later died by suicide, saying he was not arrested or charged to court over an outstanding ₦8,000 debt.

The Command said Mohammed was charged with assault and malicious damage after allegedly assaulting a female Point-of-Sale operator and damaging her Airtel SIM registration machine valued at ₦177,000.

The police position differs from the account given by Mohammed’s family, which said he was arrested and taken to court following a dispute over an ₦8,000 debt owed to the POS operator.

Mohammed died on September 17, three days after his release from the Agodi Correctional Centre.

In a statement on Saturday, the Command described a publication alleging that Mohammed was detained over the debt as “false, unfounded and misleading.”

“The Command wishes to categorically state that the narrative is false, unfounded and misleading, as it does not represent the circumstances of the case or the basis upon which the suspect was charged to court,” the statement said.

According to the police, investigation established that Mohammed approached the POS operator to collect ₦23,000 in cash, with the intention of transferring the same amount to her through a POS transaction.

The complainant obliged and handed the suspect the said sum in cash. However, immediately after collecting the money, the suspect left the scene without effecting the intended transfer or returning the money.

“Following persistent efforts, the suspect eventually refunded ₦15,000, leaving an outstanding balance of ₦8,000, which he subsequently refused to pay. Consequently, the complainant took possession of the suspect’s mobile phone pending the refund of the outstanding ₦8,000,” the Command said.

The police said Mohammed subsequently went to the complainant’s residence on September 8, 2026, at about 10pm, where he allegedly assaulted her and damaged her Airtel SIM registration machine.

“Rather than settle the outstanding balance, the suspect subsequently stormed the residence of the complainant on 8 September 2026 at about 2200hrs, where he assaulted her and, in the course of the assault, damaged her Airtel SIM registration machine valued at ₦177,000,” the statement said.

The family’s account differs from this version, with Mohammed’s mother telling PUNCH that her son had gone to retrieve his phone after it was seized over the ₦8,000 dispute and denied damaging the complainant’s property.

The police said community members subsequently attempted to resolve the dispute before Mohammed was handed over to vigilantes, who took him and the complainant to the police station.

“Following the incident, members of the community intervened in an effort to resolve the matter between the parties. However, the intervention proved unsuccessful, and the suspect was thereafter handed over to vigilantes, who brought him to the Police Station alongside the complainant.

Upon receiving the parties, the Police heard from both sides and made a further effort to resolve the matter amicably. However, that intervention also proved unsuccessful, as the complainant insisted on pursuing the case in court,” the Command said.

The major point of difference between the two accounts concerns the reason Mohammed was prosecuted.

While his family said the case arose from the ₦8,000 debt dispute, the police maintained that the outstanding debt was not the basis of the criminal charge.

“Accordingly, having regard to the facts established during investigation and the evidence available, the suspect was charged to court for assault and malicious damage, and not for the outstanding ₦8,000.

“The distinction is important, as the criminal proceedings arose from the assault and the damage to the SIM registration machine valued at ₦177,000,” the Command said.

The police also disputed any suggestion that Mohammed was kept in custody by the police because he could not repay the ₦8,000.

The Command said the court granted him bail after arraignment but he remained at the Agodi Correctional Centre because he could not immediately fulfil the bail conditions.

Upon arraignment, the court considered the facts and evidence presented and granted the suspect bail. His subsequent remand at the Agodi Correctional Centre resulted from his inability to immediately meet the bail conditions imposed by the court, and not from any Police decision to detain him over the ₦8,000.

“He was subsequently released upon meeting the conditions,” the statement said.

The earlier report had quoted Mohammed’s family as saying he was distressed by his arrest and detention and had complained about being taken to court over the dispute.

The family also alleged that the dispute should have been resolved without prosecution, while the police maintained that the complainant insisted on pursuing the case after attempts at settlement failed.

The Command further rejected any direct link between Mohammed’s death and the police case, saying the circumstances surrounding his death should be established through investigation.

“As regards the reported death of the suspect, the Command considers it inappropriate to draw a causal connection between the Police case and the reported death without verified facts establishing such a link.

“The circumstances surrounding the death should therefore be determined through appropriate investigation and established evidence, rather than through an inaccurate or incomplete narrative,” the Command said.

The police concluded that while ₦8,000 remained outstanding from the initial financial transaction, it was not the basis for the criminal proceedings.

“In view of these facts, the claim that the Police arrested and charged the suspect to court because of his inability to repay ₦8,000 is false, unfounded and misleading.

“While the ₦8,000 constituted the outstanding balance in the antecedent financial transaction, it was not the basis of the criminal charge before the court,” the statement said.