Lekan Ogunshola Memorial Morgue at LASUTH

There was a mild drama at the Area F Police Station, Ikeja, yesterday as the woman in charge of the Lekan Ogunshola Memorial Morgue, concessionaire to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) mortuary, Mrs. Taiwo Ogunshola, went on her knees and begged Benedict Uwalaka, the Leadership newspaper photo journalist, who was physically assaulted last week by staff of the mortuary, to allow the matter to be settled out of court.

  Ogunshola shocked watchers of the gory incident with her gesture yesterday because the lawyer to the concessionaire, Mr. Kunde Carew, had on Monday told a press conference that no staff of the concessionaire was involved in the assault on Uwalaka.

Meanwhile, the man who was accused of initiating the attack on Uwalaka, Mr. Debayo Ogunshola, has been arrested by the police.

Ogunshola, who was identified by Carew as the chief marketing officer of the mortuary, showed up at a Lagos police station on Tuesday morning after the police launched a manhunt for him.

As at the time of filing this story, Ogunshola, his mother Taiwo and six others were still being interrogated by the police.

Ogunshola reported himself to the Area F police station, Ikeja at about 10am, and was immediately ushered into the office of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the station, Mr. Alabi Abiodun, where he reportedly wrote a statement, explaining his role in the attack.

In a press interview, he admitted seizing Uwalaka’s camera, but denied joining others to assault him on that day. The morgue management has, however, refused to turn in the second person accused of joining Ogunshola to assault Uwalaka.

Lagos state governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, had ordered the management of the morgue to produce the two persons accused of the attack.

The management of the morgue insisted that it has no one in its pay roll that answers the name Idowu.

However, the Lagos state commissioner of police has personally stepped into the matter.

When Blueprint called Uwalaka by 6pm yesterday the Leadership photo journalist was still in the office of the commissioner where he was being de-briefed.

Meanwhile, LASUTH has invited Uwalaka to an investigative panel inaugurated to look into his maltreatment by workers of the morgue.

A letter of invitation sent to him indicated that the panel will hold its sittings by 11am on Friday, August 17, at the office of the Heapd of Department of Psychiatry, LASUTH.