Alleged cannibal and 12 years inmate of Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Clifford Orji, has died of unknown causes.
Prison authorities said Orji died Friday morning and the cause of death is unknown; but an autopsy is being performed.
The PUNCH had reported on April 13, 2012,
that Orji’s health was deteriorating due to the refusal of psychiatric
hospitals to take him in.
The Deputy Comptroller of the prison, Mr. Noel Ailewon, had said Orji was in a bad state and had gone completely mad.
“Orji’s health is getting worse. He has gone
completely mad, vomiting and even defecating without restraint and is
naked most of the time” he said
The Director of Office of the Public Defender, Mrs.
Omotola Rotimi, had said during a visit to evaluate the number of
Awaiting Trial Persons that following a court order, Orji was taken to
two Psychiatric hospitals for treatment but had been rejected.
“Initially, we took Orji to Yaba Psychiatric Hospital
but was rejected because they claimed they did not have long-term
medical facilities. Subsequently, he was taken to another hospital in
Ewekoro but was similarly rejected” she said.
It was learnt that due to this challenge, Orji, who was 46-years-old, could not stand trial in court.
The Attorney-General of the state, Mr. Ade Ipaye, had
said Orji’s case was stalled due to the impediments, adding that unless
Orji received proper medical attention, he would not stand trial.
“Orji is mentally disturbed and no hospital is
accepting him. Unfortunately, one cannot be tried mentally stable, so,
he’s stuck in the middle. All we can do now is find help for him” he
said.
Orji was arrested in February 1999 by the police
under the bridge along the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway. He was subsequently
charged before an Ebute-Meta Magistrate’s Court on 19 February but was
never tried.
The acting Public Relations Officer, Lagos State
Prison command, Mr. Biyi Jeje, confirmed Orji’s death to our
correspondent on the telephone.
“As at Thursday, Orji was fine but on Friday morning,
he died in his sleep. The cause of his death is still unknown but an
autopsy is being performed,” he said.
Jeje confirmed that Orji was rejected by many mental
health facilities in the country and maintained that the prisons
authorities did all it could to manage his illness.
“We took Orji to many health facilities but he was rejected time and
time again. I don’t know why they rejected him but we did all we could
to manage his illness”, he said.
