That Seyi Fasere was killed is no longer news; that he was killed by the police is again no longer news but there are a deluge of questions waiting to be answered. With tied hands, pants barely covering his knees, Seyi’s corpse provided an appalling sight for any sane society. How could he have been killed in crossfire when he had his hands tied? Could he have been resisting arrests when it was obvious that he was already incapacitated with his hands securely tied?
Mrs. Florence Fasere, who gave her age as about 60 years, and her 65-year-old husband are now crying for help, seeking justice and how to clear the name of their son, Oluwaseyi Joseph Fasere, 28, who was shot dead by the police in Ilupeju-Ekiti, Oye Local Government Area last weekend. The late Seyi, a 400-level part-time student of Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado Ekiti, according to Mrs Fasere, was killed on his way back to school after he came visiting for his school fees as his exams were supposed to start next week.
Mrs Fasere called at the newsmen’s abode in Ado Ekiti, with tearful eyes, begging “please help me; I don’t know what to do. They have killed my son.” She told the newsmen that his son was labelled an armed robber by policemen at “Aso Rock” police station in the community after he had been shot dead, “and the policemen said I am the mother of an armed robber with one of them they call Akobi Esu (first-born of the devil) boasting that he shot him dead!”
But how did Seyi get into this kind of situation? Mrs Fasere said Seyi was in a commercial vehicle that ran into a robbery at a branch of a new generation bank in nearby Oye-Ekiti, as the vehicle travelled to Ado Ekiti. “We were told that the vehicle ran into the robbery and veered off the road into a sawmill as the occupants ran for dear life in the sporadic, indiscriminate shootings.”
Mrs. Fasere continued: “We learnt that the occupants of the vehicle ran into the bush for safety and came out after the incident but after the whole confusion, we did not hear from Seyi again until we were told of his body at the police station.”
According to her, one Mrs. Victoria Boboye Adewuyi who travelled in the same vehicle with Seyi after he (Seyi) joined the cab at Esinkun area of Ilupeju. Adewuyi said Seyi and herself were the only passengers in the vehicle when the incident happened. She explained that it was Mrs. Adewuyi that came to their house to tell of the incident and also inquired if Seyi had managed to get home like her.
When newsmen visited the home of Seyi’s co-passenger, Mrs Adewuyi, on Thursday, she said she boarded the taxi at AUD Primary School in Ilupeju while Seyi joined them in the cab at Esinkun. “The late Seyi and I were the only passengers in the taxi with the driver when we encountered the robbers. They shot at our vehicle and we thought it was the policemen at the nearby police station.”
Adewuyi added: “When we discovered that it was a robbery at the bank ahead, our driver, in the confusion drove hurriedly into a sawmill by the road and we ran in different directions to safety. About 45 minutes after, I found my way out of the bush and ran back to Ilupeju and later to the home of the Fasere’s to tell them what we encountered and also ask if Seyi had returned home.”
The 72-year-old Mrs Adewuyi said the police both from the “Aso Rock” police station in the area and the state command headquarters in Ado Ekiti had visited her and that she had made statements, telling them the same thing.” She also contended that the deceased was not a member of the robbery gang contrary to the claim by the police.
The Faseres said Mrs Adewuyi’s visit prompted their calling Seyi’s mobile phone number to find out about him. The bereaved mother cried that “we later got news on Friday morning that Seyi had been shot by the police on the pretext that he was a member of the robbery gang that robbed the bank,” adding that “we ran to the police station that morning to see for ourselves and the policemen on duty descended on me, called me names and detained me behind the counter till about 6pm that day.”
The family alleged that Seyi’s N100, 000 given him for his school fees; his two mobile handsets are yet to be seen. They also said the police had gone to his grandmother’s where he was living to search the house and claimed that “the nozzle of our diesel engine; a mobile handset and the sum of N30,000 were taken form there by the police.”
The Police in Ekiti State have said that they are still investigating Reacting to the development, the police in the state said “one of the robbers who was shot and arrested by the police said he could not identify Seyi because he was not among the team that attacked the station,” adding “but he was a member of the team that attacked the bank.”
They claimed that they were vindicated when a suspected robber, who had been injured in the shootout with the police, was found somewhere in the community. They said the injured suspected robber was taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Ido-Ekiti and when asked about Seyi, he could not identify him as a member of their gang.
Reacting to the development, the police in the state said: “One of the robbers who was shot and arrested by the police said he could not identify Seyi because he was not among the team that attacked the station,” adding “but he was a member of the team that attacked the bank.”
The Public Relations Officer of the Ekiti police command, Mr. Victor Babayemi, however, insisted that the deceased was a robbery suspect. Babayemi confirmed that the suspect in the hospital did not identify Seyi as a member of their gang but said “their gang leader recruited them separately, so we do not know if he was one of the robbers or he was caught in the crossfire.”
However, the police said “we are still investigating.”
Mrs Fasere cried that Seyi was her pillar of support in her milling business. “He has been very helpful at our mill because he has the energy to wind our heavy grinding machines as well as the palm kernel and cassava kernel mills. My son is not an armed robber.”
If the claims of Mrs Adewuyi, Seyi’s co-passenger, are anything to go by, then the police have a lot to answer for. Even in death, Seyi’s corpse looked so harmless, it, probably, depicted the sane carriage that the late undergraduate had while still alive. The circumstances surrounding the shooting of Seyi by the police leave much to be desired.HIS tone was triumphant; he had a murderous mien. The tears from Mrs Florence Fasere over the death of her son met the police officer’s lethal laugh. He had all the accoutrement of a police officer but there was nothing civil in his gait. He laughed as though he was lucky that he had ended the unenviable career of a thief when actually he had eclipsed the sunshine of a home. He had deflated the joy of the Faseres when he, as an officer, killed Oluwaseyi Joseph Fasere.
That Seyi Fasere was killed is no longer news; that he was killed by the police is again no longer news but there are a deluge of questions waiting to be answered. With tied hands, pants barely covering his knees, Seyi’s corpse provided an appalling sight for any sane society. How could he have been killed in crossfire when he had his hands tied? Could he have been resisting arrests when it was obvious that he was already incapacitated with his hands securely tied?
Mrs. Florence Fasere, who gave her age as about 60 years, and her 65-year-old husband are now crying for help, seeking justice and how to clear the name of their son, Oluwaseyi Joseph Fasere, 28, who was shot dead by the police in Ilupeju-Ekiti, Oye Local Government Area last weekend. The late Seyi, a 400-level part-time student of Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado Ekiti, according to Mrs Fasere, was killed on his way back to school after he came visiting for his school fees as his exams were supposed to start next week.
Mrs Fasere called at the newsmen’s abode in Ado Ekiti, with tearful eyes, begging “please help me; I don’t know what to do. They have killed my son.” She told the newsmen that his son was labelled an armed robber by policemen at “Aso Rock” police station in the community after he had been shot dead, “and the policemen said I am the mother of an armed robber with one of them they call Akobi Esu (first-born of the devil) boasting that he shot him dead!”
But how did Seyi get into this kind of situation? Mrs Fasere said Seyi was in a commercial vehicle that ran into a robbery at a branch of a new generation bank in nearby Oye-Ekiti, as the vehicle travelled to Ado Ekiti. “We were told that the vehicle ran into the robbery and veered off the road into a sawmill as the occupants ran for dear life in the sporadic, indiscriminate shootings.”
Mrs. Fasere continued: “We learnt that the occupants of the vehicle ran into the bush for safety and came out after the incident but after the whole confusion, we did not hear from Seyi again until we were told of his body at the police station.”
According to her, one Mrs. Victoria Boboye Adewuyi who travelled in the same vehicle with Seyi after he (Seyi) joined the cab at Esinkun area of Ilupeju. Adewuyi said Seyi and herself were the only passengers in the vehicle when the incident happened. She explained that it was Mrs. Adewuyi that came to their house to tell of the incident and also inquired if Seyi had managed to get home like her.
When newsmen visited the home of Seyi’s co-passenger, Mrs Adewuyi, on Thursday, she said she boarded the taxi at AUD Primary School in Ilupeju while Seyi joined them in the cab at Esinkun. “The late Seyi and I were the only passengers in the taxi with the driver when we encountered the robbers. They shot at our vehicle and we thought it was the policemen at the nearby police station.”
Adewuyi added: “When we discovered that it was a robbery at the bank ahead, our driver, in the confusion drove hurriedly into a sawmill by the road and we ran in different directions to safety. About 45 minutes after, I found my way out of the bush and ran back to Ilupeju and later to the home of the Fasere’s to tell them what we encountered and also ask if Seyi had returned home.”
The 72-year-old Mrs Adewuyi said the police both from the “Aso Rock” police station in the area and the state command headquarters in Ado Ekiti had visited her and that she had made statements, telling them the same thing.” She also contended that the deceased was not a member of the robbery gang contrary to the claim by the police.
The Faseres said Mrs Adewuyi’s visit prompted their calling Seyi’s mobile phone number to find out about him. The bereaved mother cried that “we later got news on Friday morning that Seyi had been shot by the police on the pretext that he was a member of the robbery gang that robbed the bank,” adding that “we ran to the police station that morning to see for ourselves and the policemen on duty descended on me, called me names and detained me behind the counter till about 6pm that day.”
The family alleged that Seyi’s N100, 000 given him for his school fees; his two mobile handsets are yet to be seen. They also said the police had gone to his grandmother’s where he was living to search the house and claimed that “the nozzle of our diesel engine; a mobile handset and the sum of N30,000 were taken form there by the police.”
The Police in Ekiti State have said that they are still investigating Reacting to the development, the police in the state said “one of the robbers who was shot and arrested by the police said he could not identify Seyi because he was not among the team that attacked the station,” adding “but he was a member of the team that attacked the bank.”
They claimed that they were vindicated when a suspected robber, who had been injured in the shootout with the police, was found somewhere in the community. They said the injured suspected robber was taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Ido-Ekiti and when asked about Seyi, he could not identify him as a member of their gang.
Reacting to the development, the police in the state said: “One of the robbers who was shot and arrested by the police said he could not identify Seyi because he was not among the team that attacked the station,” adding “but he was a member of the team that attacked the bank.”
The Public Relations Officer of the Ekiti police command, Mr. Victor Babayemi, however, insisted that the deceased was a robbery suspect. Babayemi confirmed that the suspect in the hospital did not identify Seyi as a member of their gang but said “their gang leader recruited them separately, so we do not know if he was one of the robbers or he was caught in the crossfire.”
However, the police said “we are still investigating.”
Mrs Fasere cried that Seyi was her pillar of support in her milling business. “He has been very helpful at our mill because he has the energy to wind our heavy grinding machines as well as the palm kernel and cassava kernel mills. My son is not an armed robber.”
If the claims of Mrs Adewuyi, Seyi’s co-passenger, are anything to go by, then the police have a lot to answer for. Even in death, Seyi’s corpse looked so harmless, it, probably, depicted the sane carriage that the late undergraduate had while still alive. The circumstances surrounding the shooting of Seyi by the police leave much to be desired.
Tribune
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