Olayinka
When in June 2013, Olayinka Kolawole gained admission to Tai Solarin University of Education, Ogun State, to read Mass Communication, his family and friends rejoiced with him.
This was because Kolawole had been
trying for three years to further his education after finishing from Sam
Glory Secondary School, Ejigbo, Lagos.
However, the family was thrown into
mourning a few days later after the 20-year-old was allegedly killed by
policemen attached to Ejigbo Division.
The father of the deceased, Prophet Omisande Kolawole, told PUNCH Metro that the incident occurred on June 15, 2013.
Narrating what transpired on the fateful
day, Omisande said his son had gone to attend a friend’s birthday party
but was killed on his way home.
He said, “My son went out to attend his
friend’s birthday party not too far from our home. He said he would not
stay long and we told him not to stay out too long. The following day,
which was a Sunday, we did not see or hear from him and we began to
panic.
“Later we heard that police embarked on a
raid the previous night. We even thought he had been arrested. His
mother, Grace Kolawole, and her nephew, Segun Adio, went to the Ejigbo
Police Division but they were told that there were no suspects in their
cell.
“However, residents told us that they
had seen my son’s corpse being conveyed by policemen. After about three
hours later, the policemen opened up and told us that my son had been
killed. My wife immediately fainted.”
Omisande said even after his wife had
been revived, the police refused to take her statement as well as the
statement of Adio, her nephew.
He said Adio and other residents set out
to investigate what actually happened and it was discovered that his
son was killed by a stray bullet which emanated from the gun of a
policeman popularly known as Oba.
He said, “We were told that around 8pm
on the fateful day, Titan Hotel, located at Asaolu Close, was holding an
event tagged Ladies’ night. At the hotel, one policeman popularly known
as Oba was having a drink and dancing with a lady.
“We learnt that Oba left the hotel
premises to receive a telephone call but on returning to the hotel, Oba
got into a fight with a youth over the lady he was dancing with. The
altercation degenerated into fisticuffs and Oba ran out of the premises
and called his colleagues for back-up.
“When his colleagues arrived at the
scene, a shoot-out ensued. During the shooting, my son, who was on his
way home from another party was hit in the head by a stray bullet and
died instantly.”
Omisande said since his son’s killing,
life had not been the same. He said his wife was hospitalised and was
only recently discharged.
The deceased’s mother, Grace, who spoke to PUNCH Metro while fighting back tears, said everything was still like a dream.
“Olayinka was the first of my three
children. My other children are still young and it feels as if all my
labour has been in vain. I want justice for his death,” she said.
Omisande described his son as a responsible boy and wondered why the police would attempt to cover up his murder.
“The policemen at Ejigbo prevented us
from seeing the Divisional Police Officer. We are being treated with
comtempt because we are not rich. All we want is justice for our son’s
murder.”
When contacted on the telephone, the spokesperson for the state police command, Ngozi Braide, confirmed Olayinka’s murder.
She said the matter would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba, for further investigation.
She said, “The DPO told me that around
2am on the said date, they received a distress call that cult members
were fighting. On getting to the scene, the cult members fled but
policemen discovered the young man’s corpse.
“The father of the deceased told the DPO
that one policeman identified as Oba was responsible for his son’s
death. However, we have not been able to get the actual identity of the
policeman. We are transferring the case to the SCID for further
investigation.
“We are however calling on eyewitnesses to come forward and we promise that their identities will be protected.”
PUNCH
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