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Police indicted in death of orphan in their custody

The police in Calabar, Cross River State, has been indicted in the death of a young man who died in their custody as autopsy reports show that he was beaten to death.

The late Stanley Etim

The Cross River State Police Command has been indicted in the death of a 23-year-old orphan, Stanley Etim, who reportedly died in their custody after he was arrested by officers attached to D5 of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Diamond Hill, Calabar.

Though the police had denied torturing Etim to death while in detention, an autopsy carried out on the young man signed by a pathologist at the University of Clabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), Dr Irabor Gostime, indicates that he was beaten to death by the police as there was extensive 'blunt head and limb (lower/upper limb) injuries' on him.

The report states:

"Extensive blunt head and limb (lower/upper limb) injuries. This does not mean the mode of dying e.g. heart failure, asthma, etc.

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It means the disease, injury or complication which caused the death."

The certificate was issued on April 22 and registered as No. 2700.

The case that led to the death of Etim was a celebrated one in Calabar after the young man arrested and reportedly died the next day in police cell.

At the time of his death, while the police said he died of natural causes, counsel to the victim’s family, James Ibor, said the body of the deceased had hemorrhaged, with internal bleeding below the skin.

"As they were opening the body, they were explaining everything. We saw dark spots beneath the skin, it was very obvious from the layman’s idea that he was severely beaten.

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During the autopsy, I was in the mortuary with the pathologists and when the body was torn open before us, there were brushes on his legs, thighs and his head when the experts opened the outer layer. There was no bleeding in the inner layer of the skull.

The hand had severe injuries because the only cause of dead could have been the aggregate of the beatings which perhaps traumatised the deceased."

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