A 52-year-old woman identified as Titilayo reportedly slumped and died few minutes after she was arraigned at the Federal High Court sitting in Benin City.

The deceased was arrested by the Edo State Task Force and handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for alleged selling substance suspected to be hard drugs.

Witnesses present at the court blamed the NDLEA for being complicit in her death.

They alleged that the deceased has been in the custody of the NDLEA without proper medical care.

Contacted, Edo Commander of the NDLEA, Mitchell Ofoyeju, denied allegations of negligence on the part of his men as the cause of the death.

Ofoyeju said there was nothing to suggest the deceased was not physically fit to stand trial.

He said: “It is not true what they are saying. She was arraigned in court. There was no issue that she was not physically fit. She personally walked to the car, got to the court and came down herself. What happened is not something you can start trading blame.

“She was arrested by the Edo State task force and transferred to the NDLEA. She was arrested for selling Loud.

“When she collapsed, it attracted a crowd and there were other suspects. The officers had to secure other accused persons to avoid their dispersion with the crowd.”