Police deny charging Oyo student over ₦8,000 debt before suicide

By Adejayan Gbenga

The Oyo State Police Command has denied reports that Al-Amin Mohammed, a student who later died by suicide, was arrested and prosecuted over an outstanding ₦8,000 debt owed to a Point-of-Sale operator.

The command said Mohammed was instead charged with assault and malicious damage after he allegedly assaulted the female POS operator and damaged her Airtel SIM registration machine valued at ₦177,000.

The police account differs from that of Mohammed’s family, which said he was arrested and taken to court following a dispute over the ₦8,000 debt. Mohammed died on September 17, three days after his release from the Agodi Correctional Centre.

In a statement on Saturday, the command described reports that Mohammed was detained over the debt as “false, unfounded and misleading.” It said its investigation showed that Mohammed collected ₦23,000 from the POS operator to transfer the same amount to her through a POS transaction but allegedly left without completing the transfer or returning the money.

According to the police, Mohammed later refunded ₦15,000, leaving an outstanding ₦8,000, which he allegedly refused to pay. The complainant subsequently took possession of his mobile phone pending repayment, after which Mohammed allegedly went to her residence on Sept. 8, 2026, at about 10 p.m. to retrieve it and assaulted her and damaged the SIM registration machine.

The command said community members and vigilantes later intervened and brought both parties to the police station after attempts to resolve the dispute failed. It said the complainant insisted on pursuing the case, leading to Mohammed’s arraignment for assault and malicious damage rather than for the outstanding debt.

Police further said that although the court granted Mohammed bail after his arraignment, he remained at the Agodi Correctional Centre because he could not immediately meet the bail conditions. He was later released after fulfilling the conditions, with the command stressing that his continued detention was not because he could not repay the ₦8,000.

However, Mohammed’s family has disputed aspects of the police account. His mother reportedly said her son went to retrieve his phone after it was seized over the debt and denied that he damaged the complainant’s property. The police, meanwhile, cautioned against drawing a direct link between the case and Mohammed’s death without verified facts, saying the circumstances surrounding his death should be established through appropriate investigation.