By Demilade Adeniyi
Mr Olajide Salako, a suspect in the death of Nurse Bukola Folarin who died in a hotel room in Lagos has commended men of Nigeria Police State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) Panti Yaba, Lagos State over the professional investigation of the incident.
Salako, who spoke in a news conference on Wednesday, said he remained grateful to the officers who handled the case for the professional manner in which they discharged their duties.
“I thank the officers at SCID Panti who took their time to watch the long CCTV footage and could see that I left the hotel premises after checking her in.
“The incident was earlier reported that she died from marathon sex with me in a hotel, but nothing could be further from the truth.
“The truth is that Ms Folarin and I attended a social function in our old neighbourhood (Agege) on Saturday. Nov. 28, 2020 and we had drinks shared with other old friends in the neighbourhood at the party.
”We left the party at night and Aunty Bukky (as she was fondly called) requested that I dropped her off at the nearby hotel as it was too late to go to her house (Which is far from our old neighbourhood).
“I checked her in at Bedwell hotel, Abule Egba truly, but I left for my house that same night at about 10:20 pm,” he said.
According to him, he called Folarin repeatedly but that she did not pick her calls, adding that, out of worry, he went back to the hotel on Sunday at about 7:02am to check on her but unfortunately met her lifeless body.
He said he later called his family members and lawyers, telling them what happened.
Salako said his family advised that the best action was to report to the nearest police station which they accompanied him to do.
According to him, the fact of the case remained that though she died in the hotel, but that she was alone at the time of the ugly incident, saying that her sudden death could best be described as an act of God.
“As revealed by the CCTV footage of Bedwell Hotel, Folarin while in an emergency, put a call to one of her relatives and tried her best to get help but unfortunately she didn’t survive it.
Salako said it was unfortunate that he had been subjected to media trial both online and print ,saying all the reports wrongly claimed she died in a sex romp with him
“That is why I remain grateful to the officers at SCID, Panti who took their time to watch the long CCTV footage and could see that I left the hotel premises after checking her in.
”The CCTV also showed that she came out of her room after I had left.
“She was captured sitting on the floor in the hotel corridor holding her head and chest to signify she had a medical emergency but was alone.
“The CCTV also showed the Hotel attendant, who explained that she asked him for paracetamol that midnight but he couldn’t get any for her.
“The attendant attended to her long after I had left the room and her room door was not locked after that till I came to check on her in the morning.
“I left out of shock not knowing what was the action to take at the moment of rude shock till when the hotel discovered her lifeless body in the room after checkout time and then called the police,” he said.
Salako said predicated on the prima facie evidence exonerating him, her family accepted the sudden death as an act of God and wrote a letter of non-intention to press charges.
“My family and I empathise with the Folarins at this moment of grief and I ask the media for balance and fairness in their reports of the incident.
When asked why he left the hotel without raising the alarm, he said it was out of fear, saying that when he went in, he called her name and shook her.
“Then I was like what should I tell the people?” He asked.
Mrs Toyin Adebambo a family lawyer to Salako also rejected the claim that he was arrested.
Adebambo said she and other family members took Salako to the Police station, Oko-oba Divisional Headquarters before the matter was transferred to SCID Panti Yaba, Lagos.
The lawyer, however, presented the letter and affidavit of non-intention to press charges signed by all adult heads of the deceased family.
According to the letter, the family stated that Folarin died a sudden and natural death.
They stated that they have no intention to press charges as the case is clear.
Mr Kola Folarin, a brother to the deceased who spoke with Sunrise News, also noted that the “sex romp” report was inaccurate and published without verification.
He noted that his sister died a natural death and called for proper investigation before publishing a story.