Ondo State Commissioner of Police, Wilfred Afolabi has ordered an autopsy to be conducted on late Inspector Yusuf Blessing, following an outcry by his family.
The family had alleged foul play in his death when his corpse was brought home for burial.
They alleged that they were told that late Yusuf drowned in a river, adding that his corpse was burnt when they opened the coffin.
The police spokesman, Funmilayo Odunlami, in a statement, said Yusuf’s corpse was discovered two days after he went missing.
Odunlami said there were no traces of injury or mark of violence except a swelling observed in the centre of his head.
She said the family rejected the conduct of an autopsy and demanded the body released for burial.
According to her, “Preliminary investigation revealed that on January 27 towards evening time, no one could give an account of the absence of the late inspector in the station. Immediately, the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, directed that a search party should trace his whereabouts, as he was last seen wearing a blue vest and a green track suit trousers.
“Two days later, the officer-in-charge of Police Marine informed the DPO of the discovery of a corpse lying face down in a river. On close observation, it was discovered that the body was that of Inspector Suleiman.
“The family of the deceased was informed of the incident and in a bid to unravel the circumstances that led to his death, the commissioner directed the state CID to take over the case.
“In the course of investigation, there was a demand for autopsy to be conducted on the body but the family vehemently opposed the idea, insisting that the corpse be released for burial, a request granted by the police.
“As a result of the demand by the family, the body was recovered from the morgue with the police bearing the financial cost and conveyed to his home in Akure.
“It is worthy of note that the clothes last seen on the deceased was found intact on his body when his corpse was discovered, ruling out any suspicion of arson, as there was no burn mark or physical violence on his body.
“Despite the preliminary investigation carried out by the State Criminal Investigation Department establishing a case of sudden and unnatural death with no foul play suspected, the commissioner of police ordered that a full autopsy be carried out to determine the cause of death in response to the allegation made by the family and for public interest.”
