The Oyo State Police Command has denied claims that 30-year-old student and aluminium worker, Al-Amin Mohammed, was arrested and prosecuted over an outstanding ₦8,000 debt before he died by suicide.
The Command said Mohammed was charged with assault and malicious damage following an alleged confrontation with a female Point-of-Sale operator in Ibadan.
Mohammed died on September 17, three days after his release from the Agodi Custodial Centre.
His family had alleged that the ordeal began with an ₦8,000 debt dispute and that he became withdrawn after returning home from custody.
But in a statement on Saturday, the police described the claim that Mohammed was detained and charged because of the debt as “false, unfounded and misleading.”
According to the Command, Mohammed had approached the POS operator to collect ₦23,000 in cash, intending to transfer the same amount to her through a POS transaction.
The police said Mohammed left without making the transfer or returning the money and later refunded ₦15,000, leaving an outstanding balance of ₦8,000.
The complainant subsequently took possession of Mohammed’s mobile phone pending repayment of the balance, according to the police.
The Command alleged that Mohammed later went to the woman’s residence on September 8 at about 10pm, where he assaulted her and damaged an Airtel SIM registration machine valued at ₦177,000.
Mohammed’s family disputes that version.
His mother, Simiat, reportedly said her son returned to retrieve his phone after it had been seized over the ₦8,000 dispute and denied that he damaged the complainant’s property.
The police said community members initially attempted to resolve the dispute before Mohammed and the complainant were taken to the police station by vigilantes.
Officers, according to the Command, heard both parties and made another attempt at an amicable settlement, but the complainant insisted on pursuing the case in court.
The Command stressed that the ₦8,000 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 police said.
The Command added that the court granted Mohammed bail after his arraignment, but he remained at the Agodi Custodial Centre because he could not immediately meet the bail conditions.
He was released on September 14 after his parents stood as sureties, according to reports.
His family said Mohammed became withdrawn after returning home and complained repeatedly about the humiliation of his detention and custody.
His mother said he stopped eating and interacting normally before his death three days after his release.
The family has called for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his arrest, detention and death.
The complainant, identified as Kazeem, has also denied deliberately seeking to subject Mohammed to prolonged legal proceedings, saying his primary concern was recovering the money and addressing damage to property used for his business.
The police have cautioned against establishing a direct link between Mohammed’s death and the criminal case without verified evidence.
The Command said the circumstances surrounding his death should be determined through appropriate investigation rather than assumptions.
The case has left conflicting accounts over how an ₦8,000 financial dispute escalated into a police case, court proceedings and custodial detention before Mohammed’s death.
