A suspected female drug peddler, Titilayo Akindele, has died after collapsing at a Federal High Court in Benin, Edo State, on Tuesday.
Mrs Akindele, 52, was standing trial for alleged drug peddling. She was prosecuted by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
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The woman was said to have been arrested by the NDLEA in January after being accused of peddling hard drugs.
It was gathered that Mrs Akindele had been in the custody of the anti-drug agency for close to three months without arraignment before she was brought to the court on Tuesday.
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How it happened
PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the deceased woman was first arraigned on Monday but trial did not proceed after she complained of ill-health.
Sources said the defendant was consequently asked to present a medical report to prove her ill-health, but could not do so.
She was then re-arraigned on Tuesday, 31 March.
Some lawyers who spoke in a video posted on YouTube by the Edo State Broadcasting Service, said the court proceedings continued despite the woman’s critical condition, including being unable to sit or stand.
One of the lawyers, who did not identify himself, claimed that Mrs Akindele had been battling ill-health while in the NDLEA custody, with little or no medical attention.
He stated that moments after her case was mentioned, she suddenly slumped, causing panic among lawyers, court staff, and other litigants present.
According to him, efforts were made to revive her, but she was later confirmed dead.
Following the incident, the court adjourned all remaining cases for the day in honour of the deceased, while her body was moved to a mortuary.
Another lawyer, who was in the court for another matter, said when she drew the attention of one of the anti-drug agency personnel to the deceased’s condition in the court, the unnamed officer was nonchalant.
The female lawyer, who also did not identify herself, added that when the deceased collapsed, the NDLEA operative paid no attention because he believed that the deceased was faking the illness.
“Even when her matter was called and she did not respond, the NDLEA officer was still saying that the woman (deceased) was pretending.
“By the time the NDLEA officer made an effort to lift her, she was already cold, completely dead. The woman’s son went berserk when he discovered that his mother was dead,” the lawyer further said.
NDLEA denies negligence
However, the Commander of the NDLEA in the state, Mitchell Ofoyeju, denied the allegations of negligence on the part of the anti-drug agency as the cause of the death.
READ ALSO: Anti-drug War: NAN reporter, three other journalists honoured by NDLEA
In a statement after the incident on Tuesday, Mr Ofoyeju said there was nothing to suggest Mrs Akindele was not physically fit to stand trial when she was being taken to the court.
“It is not true what they are saying. She was arraigned and there was no issue that she was not physically fit. She personally walked to the car, got to the court and came down herself. What happened is not something you can start trading blindly.
“She was arrested by the Edo State task force and transferred to the NDLEA. She was arrested for selling Loud (a hard drug).
“When she collapsed, it attracted a crowd, and there were other suspects,” Mr Ofoyeju said.
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