Eight South African police officers are due to appear in Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court on Monday for the alleged torture and murder of a Nigerian national, Ibrahim Olamilekan Badmus in October 2017.
The officers, two women and six men, were arrested last Friday by South Africa’s Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).
A statement by Nigeria Consul General in Johannesburg, Godwin Adama on Sunday, listed the officers as; Ms Catherine Tenteza, Ms Gerhard Der-Walt, Mr Nkosinathi Ngwenya, Mr Aaron Arends, Mr Nomkhosi Khoza, Mr. Emmanuel Ngwane, Mr Msebenzi Mkhuma and Mr Joseph Mamasela .
Adama said Badmus, 25, a native of Ibadan, Oyo state was allegedly killed when the officers interrogated and suffocated him on Oct. 10, 2017, in Vanderbijlpark.
Adama commended the IPID who he said assured of a thorough investigation saying they had kept to their word.
“They had constantly briefed us on the case and we commend their seriousness of approach in bringing justice to Nigerians in this case. It will set a new standard in prosecution of cases involving Nigerians in South Africa. It will also send a strong message out,” he said.
The envoy also expressed appreciation to the government of South Africa for creating the enabling environment for justice to prevail.
He also expressed hope that the accused would be convicted to serve as a deterrence to others.
IPID spokesperson Moses Dlamini had said that the accused claimed that they had found drugs on the deceased.
He however said the claim was a false story to cover up the torture and murder of the deceased.
“There was a huge outcry from the Nigerian community when the death was discovered. At the time, the police also alleged that they were attacked by ‘drug dealers’,” he said.
Dlamini said IPID investigators had probed the matter amid a lot of “hostility” from some members of the South African Police Service.
He said two pathologists who conducted the post-mortem confirmed that the deceased had indeed been tortured.
“The docket was referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for prosecution and the DPP decided that the eight suspects be charged for murder and torture,” he said
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