Nigerian Police Allowed to Cross Border In Pepper Torture Murder Case Investigation

Officials of the Nigerian Police force, and the Federal SARS, on Wednesday, obtained clearance from Interpol in Cotonou, in the Benin Republic, to proceed with a forensic examination of a dead victim of the Ejigbo pepper sodomy case.The Interpol, in the latest development here, also assigned an Investigative Police Officer, in Cotonou, to lead the Nigerian Police team in its cross-border operations into the Benin Republic. The Nigerian Police force as part of the investigation is to also to run a forensic check of the deceased victim. With the death of one woman in the ‘Pepper Torture’ case, police and prosecutors are looking at leveling the charge of conspiracy and murder in the shocking incident.



In Lagos, the Police had arrested several members of the gang that perpetrated the gruesome torture of three women in the Ejigbo market, which was captured on video, and widely screened on the Internet. The three women suffered the heinous crime over allegations of stealing pepper from the market worth N50. Two of the women, including a teenage girl, were gruesomely tortured with the thrusting of grounded pepper into their private parts.

One victim of the torture, Juliana Agonma, died as a result of severe injuries sustained from the experience. Her death was attributed to the pepper torture, in addition to other cruel treatment, that included the sticking of a wooden cane into her genitals.

Part of this brutal attack suffered by Agonma was also captured in the video that circulated widely. Juliana's father, known as the ‘palm wine tapper,’ took his daughter to doctors for treatment in the hope that she would recover. Following her death, Agonma was buried in Porto Novo, his hometown.

As part of an on-going investigation to determine the damages suffered by the victims, the Lagos Police are carrying out additional forensic exams on the surviving victims. The arrested perpetrators, and gang members involved in this attack will be charged with conspiracy and murder, a police source told SaharaReporters.

Three members of the gang are still at large. One of them, known by the name of Tiri, is reportedly a popular coordinator of the Oodua People's Congress, the OPC, in the Ejigbo area. He vanished once the shocking incident became public, and the on-line video of the incident went viral.

Tiri has been declared wanted by the police, and is the subject of a nationwide, and cross border manhunt.

Saharareporters.com