Pilgrim takes I’Akobi case
by Phillippe Aimey (www.nationnews.com)
THE FAMILY of the late I’Akobi Maloney has secured an attorney.
Maggie Maloney, mother of I’Akobi, who said she had been having difficulty securing a lawyer, has retained the services of attorney-at-law Andrew Pilgrim. The family has been voicing concerns over the circumstances surrounding the death of their loved one who was a former Barbados Exhibition winner.
“I always bring each case close to home, no one or institution is untouchable and we will be pursuing every available channel until this matter is taken seriously,” said Pilgrim in an exclusive interview with the DAILY NATION.
“Any time you have an unnatural death, you want to look and see if there are special circumstances. It is not a car accident or a man found at home alone. This is a situation where a man who has no mental history, no criminal record, but just an impeccable character from my investigations and after his only encounter with the police, he is dead.
“They have given their report and we are not questioning that, but procedures have been ignored and the family has not been treated the right way.”
Police say Maloney jumped to his death on June 17 after breaking away from them and running off a cliff at Landlock, St Lucy.
Maloney’s mother later raised questions about the condition of his bag after it was returned by police in “normal condition”.
There was no water damage to the bag, or its contents, she said, which was inconsistent with the cause of death – “drowning”.
Police have denied that they said the young man jumped with his bag on his back and they have also denied having any physical contact with Maloney.
Pilgrim said he was calling for action that was “unconventional” to deal with the situation.
“You are not making wild assumptions and saying ‘the police kill him’ but you want someone to say . . . let us analyse the situation quickly and with transparency, so that his family can be satisfied.
“Just ignoring it, especially with the procedures that have been broken is not right . . . there needs to be someone from Government who will let this command their attention and launch a serious investigation and have a serious inquiry.
“As each day passes, it leaves the impression that they are not taking this seriously, and that is a major worry right now.”
The last protest action took place on Emancipation Day, August 1, where it received the attention of Prime Minister David Thompson.
Thompson said on Starcom’s Brass Tacks the following Sunday, he knew the sacrifice that Maggie Maloney would have made to send her son to university in Trinidad and assured the public that the Attorney-General’s office would be investigating the matter.
Tags: Andrew Pilgrim, Brass Tacks, David Thompson, drowning, Emancipation Day, inquiry, investigation, Landlock, Maggie Maloney, special circumstances, unconventional
August 25th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Thank you for the info. Justice will prevail though our own man made justice/laws are often our obstacles for the truth.