- Autopsy links death to diabetes
By Emameh Gabriel
A coalition of Gender-based Violence (GBV) Responders has accused the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command investigating the rape and consequent death of a 14-year-old boarding student of Premiere Academy in Lugbe, Abuja, Keren-Happuch Aondodoo Akpagher, of undermining the process by allegedly giving advance information to the school “whereas it refused to give same to the family of the deceased.”
This is as the mother of late Karen, Mrs. Vivien Akoagher, also expressed worries over the delay of investigation, saying she has not slept since the death of her daughter.
Akpagher said: “I have not slept since June 22, 2021, when my daughter died. I just want closure of the matter. I want the police to give us justice. I am tired of all these games.”
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, leader of the Coalition of GBV Responders and Executive Director of Men Against Rape Foundation, Lemmy Ughegbe, said whereas the FCT Police Command flagrantly denied the family access to the medical and autopsy report or detailed information thereof, it was more generous with availing Premiere Academy the information contained in the said autopsy.
According to him, “Last week, I received a ‘love letter’ from the law firm of Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) acting for Premiere Academy, wherein it threatened to take out an action of defamation against me. In the said letter dated September 3, 2021, the law firm confirmed that they already have details of the autopsy report as they made disclosure of the content of the autopsy report. Specifically on page 2 of the four-page letter signed by Head of the Chambers, Mr. Eyitayo Fatogun, it stated: ‘There has been an autopsy carried out on the body of late Karen, and no condom or semen was detected’.”
He said: “This is inconvertible evidence that the police were conniving with the school and conferring them with undue advantage by giving them information regarding their investigation on one hand and refusing Keren’s family same on the other hand.”
Ughegbe expressed worries that the disclosure in the letter from the law firm of the eminent Senior Advocate of Nigeria was even more disturbing when the police had declared its unwillingness to disclose information about the autopsy report to the complainant and mother of the deceased.
“The police received the autopsy report exactly three weeks ago, but were silent on it. Following that silence, two weeks and two days after the police had received the report, lawyer for the family of the deceased had to apply for a copy of the autopsy and the medical report pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act. This caused the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Mr. Fom Pam Joseph, to invite the lawyer as well as Premiere Academy and their lawyer to the command.”
He noted that during that meeting, DCP Joseph told the lawyer for the deceased family that it was refusing the FOI request for the autopsy report and medical report, and instead proceeded to read a terse narrative of the coroner inquest and not the autopsy report.
“You can see how distraught Keren’s mother is. She is unable to speak because what is more disheartening for her is the clear mishandling of the case and the biases they have shown against her. Imagine depriving her of information, medical and autopsy report, yet the same police are giving the same information they denied her to the people she took a complaint to the police against.
Ughegbe said the coalition and Keren’s family have no faith at all in the FCT Police Command, and were making effort to get the information to the Inspector General of Police (IG) on the shenanigan of his men regarding the case.
“We know this IG is a true gentleman and an officer, who will not tolerate such misconduct. Gentlemen of the press, please help us get to the ears of the IG. We need this case to move away from the FCT Command immediately. They say they want to do DNA for some male staff. We cannot trust their process because of their antecedents on the matter. We will, therefore, ask the IG to move the case to the Force Gender Office which has a track record of handling cases of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) professionally without minding whose ox is gored,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the Police autopsy carried out to determine the cause of death Akpagher, revealed that the innocent girldied of hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar), a complication arising from diabetes mellitus, a statement issued in Abuja on Monday has revealed.
According to the statement, the Nigerian Police invited the school and the family of the late student on Wednesday, 8 September, 2021 to brief them on the outcome of the report of the autopsy examination conducted on Wednesday, 7 July, 2021 by its appointed consultant pathologist, Dr Desmond Ike Okonkwo, the principal pathologist at the Maitama General Hospital, Abuja.
According to Mr Fom Pam Joseph, a Deputy Commissioner of Police and the head of the investigation team in charge of Miss Akpagher’s case, who briefed the parties, the autopsy report revealed that the late Miss Keren Akpagher died of hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar), a complication arising from diabetes mellitus. The report further revealed that no disease was observed. It is also important to noted that
While the findings of the autopsy, as contained in the interim report, are consistent with the position of the school that the Late Keren Akpagher may have died from the mismanagement of her diabetic condition, they are at variance with the claims from some quarters, including the family, that the late student died of sepsis arising from infection caused by ‘decayed’ condom left in the uterus of the late student.
Joseph was quoted to have also informed parties in attendance in the meeting that the report is an interim one as the final report will only be due after the police investigation team must have carried out a DNA test on the substance the doctor at Queens Clinic Abuja claimed to have recovered from Akpagher prior to her death.
