Suspected drug dealer, slumps, dies in court

A suspected hard drug dealer has reported died in court while being arraigned for been in possession of narcotics drugs.

The 52-year old woman, simply identified as Titilayo on Tuesday reported slumped and died few minutes after she was arraigned at the Federal High sitting in Benin City, Edo state capital.

Reports said th deceased was arrested by the Edo State Task Force and handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for prosecution.

She was said to have been arrested for selling substance suspected to be hard drug.

It was gathered that the woman had been sick prior to her arraignment Tuesday.

A source added the command had earlier contemplated releasing her before the incident.

Reacting to the tragic event, Edo Commander of the NDLEA, Mitchell Ofoyeju, denied allegations of negligence on the part of his men as the cause of her death.

He said there was nothing to suggest the deceased was not physically fit to stand trial.

“It is not true what they are saying. She was arraigned in court. There was no issue that she was not physically fit. She personally walked to the car, got to the court and came down herself. What happened is not something you can start trading blame.

“She was arrested by the Edo State task force and transferred to the NDLEA. She was arrested for selling Loud.

‘What happened was a mistaken identity. When she collapsed, it attracted crowd and there were other suspects. The officers had to secure other accused persons to avoid them escaping into the crowd. The crowd thought my men were running away. My men were not attacked.”