In a January 5, 2023 letter signed by Taiwo E. Olawanle of Falana & Falana’s Chambers and addressed to the Chief Coroner, High Court of Lagos State, the firm requested a thorough investigation into Orukpe’s killing and torture of four other policemen by soldiers on August 3, 2022.
Recall, that in August 2022, Orukpe was reportedly beaten to death by soldiers in Lagos.
The military officers had reportedly asked the policemen who were controlling traffic on Lagos – Badagry expressway to open the road for their bus but they were asked to wait.
This allegedly angered the soldiers who tortured and abused them at their military barracks, at Ojo cantonment around Lagos State University, leading to the death of Orukpe.
The letter read, “We are a firm of legal practitioners committed to the defence of human rights, rule of law and public accountability in Nigeria.
“Our attention has just been drawn to the brutal killing of one Inspector Monday Orukpe and torturing of four others, all of the Ojo Division of the Lagos State Police Command.
“Precisely on Wednesday, August 3, 2022, it was alleged that about thirty Privates of the Nigerian Army while on transit at the Trade Fair section of the ever-busy Lagos-Badagry Expressway attacked five policemen for stopping vehicles along their lane to pave way for other vehicles to pass. Angered by this development, the soldiers heavily descended on the senior officer leading the team of policemen and eventually murdered one Inspector Monday Orukpe and injured four others.
“It would interest Your Lordship to know that save for the maturity and skill of the officers of the Nigeria Police Force involved, the event would have left many injured and killed including innocent civilians going about their normal business activities.
“Having regard to the avoidable tragic incident, we humbly request you to use your good offices to cause a coroner’s inquest to be conducted into the cause of the death of this police officer and make appropriate recommendations under Section 15 of the Lagos State Coroner’s Law 2007 which provides that an inquest shall hold whenever a coroner is informed that the death of a deceased person within his Coroner District is as a result of a death in a violent, unnatural or suspicious situation.
“Please Your Lordship, accept the assurances of our highest regards.”
According to The News Agency of Nigeria, two autopsies carried out on the late police inspector Orukpe revealed that the officer died of assault, multiple injuries and blunt force trauma.
The autopsies were conducted by the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital and the Nigerian Army Cantonment Medical Centre, Ojo.
