The Oyo State Police Command has disputed claims that a 30-year-old student, Al-Amin Mohammed, was arrested and prosecuted over an outstanding ₦8,000 debt before his death by suicide.
The Command said Mohammed was charged with assault and malicious damage after he allegedly assaulted a female Point-of-Sale operator and damaged an Airtel SIM registration machine valued at ₦177,000.
Its account contradicts that of Mohammed’s family, which said the incident began with an ₦8,000 debt dispute after the POS operator allegedly seized the student’s mobile phone over the unpaid balance.
Mohammed died on September 17, three days after he was released from the Agodi Correctional Centre in Ibadan.
In a statement on Saturday, the police described reports that he was detained over the debt as “false, unfounded and misleading”, insisting that the outstanding ₦8,000 was not the basis of the criminal proceedings.
According to the Command, investigation showed that Mohammed 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 the operator gave him the money, but he allegedly left without completing the transfer or returning the cash.
It said Mohammed later refunded ₦15,000, leaving ₦8,000 outstanding, which he allegedly refused to pay.
The operator subsequently took possession of Mohammed’s mobile phone pending repayment of the balance, according to the police.
The Command said the dispute later escalated on September 8, when Mohammed allegedly went to the complainant’s residence at about 10pm.
It alleged that he assaulted her and, during the incident, damaged her Airtel SIM registration machine, valued at ₦177,000.
“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.
Mohammed’s family has given a different account.
His mother, Simiat Mohammed, told PUNCH that her son returned to the complainant’s residence to retrieve his phone after it had allegedly been seized over the ₦8,000 dispute. She denied damaging the complainant’s property.
The police said community members initially attempted to settle the dispute but were unsuccessful.
Mohammed was subsequently handed over to vigilantes, who took him and the complainant to a police station.
The Command said officers heard from both parties and also attempted to resolve the matter amicably, but the complainant insisted on pursuing the case.
“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.
It stressed that the distinction was important because, according to its account, the criminal proceedings arose from the alleged assault and damage to the SIM registration machine.
The Command also rejected the suggestion that Mohammed remained in custody because he could not repay the ₦8,000.
It said the court granted him bail after arraignment but that he remained at the Agodi Correctional Centre because he could not immediately fulfil the bail conditions.
“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,” the statement said.
The family’s account, however, was that Mohammed was taken to court following the dispute and remained in custody until his parents were able to stand as sureties and secure his release on September 14.
Earlier reporting said the court granted bail of ₦100,000 with two sureties in like sum.
The family said Mohammed became withdrawn after returning home, complained repeatedly about the experience and stopped eating.
Three days after his release, he ingested rat poison at his residence in Ibadan and later died after the family took him to hospital.
His family has linked his deteriorating emotional state to the arrest, detention and prosecution, although that claimed causal connection has not been independently established.
The police also cautioned against directly linking Mohammed’s death to the case without an investigation establishing the circumstances.
“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,” it said.
It added that the circumstances surrounding the death should be determined through “appropriate investigation and established evidence”.
The police maintained that although ₦8,000 remained outstanding from the original transaction, the debt itself was not the criminal charge before the court.
“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,” the Command said.
The police position comes as questions remain over how the dispute escalated from a financial disagreement into a criminal case, the alleged role of vigilantes in Mohammed’s detention and the circumstances surrounding his death.
A retired Deputy Superintendent of Police, Isiaka Ayole, had called for an independent investigation into the circumstances of Mohammed’s arrest, detention and prosecution. The family has also appealed for an investigation by the authorities.
