by Akan Ido

The remains of Babatunde Oke, a staff of Ecobank Nigeria Plc who died in police custody have been laid to rest in his hometown in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.

Oke, who was accused by his employers of stealing the sum of N1.2 million while functioning as the Head Teller at its Ladipo branches in Lagos, died in detention with the exact cause of his death yet unknown.

He was said to have stolen the money from the bank’s Automated Teller Machine (ATM).

The young banker was buried on Saturday afternoon with his family and widow calling for a proper enquiry into the death of the deceased.

Official explanation of Oke’s death indicate that the young banker had requested for a soft drink while in detention after which he gave up the ghost. His widow, Ebun, however, disagreed with this explanation insisting that her husband does not like soft drink.

Reports say samples have been taken from the deceased before burial so as to ascertain the cause of his death but Oke’s family are apprehensive considering the delay in the release of the said autopsy result.

In a letter addressed to the Chief Pathologist, Department of Pathology, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, and dated March 13, 2014, his family wrote: “We hereby request a comprehensive detail on what has been going on so far. And also to know what is the cause in the delay of the result if the samples were actually taken.”

Oke left behind two young children, one of which is a 5-month old baby.