Timilehin: Orderly room trial of killer cop begins

Timilehin Ebun

The Lagos State Police Command will on Monday (today) begin an orderly room trial of  Razaq Alowonle, the police sergeant accused of killing a nine-year-old boy, Timilehin Ebun, in Ketu,  Lagos State.

 A senior police officer told PUNCH Metro on the condition of anonymity, that the orderly room trial, an equivalent of a military court martial, would take place at the police command headquarters in Ikeja GRA.

He said Alowonle, with force number 203693, would be given a chance to respond to all the allegations against him.

“Alowonle, as you know, is being accused of killing a nine-year-old boy. The trial is a way of addressing police misconduct. He is also being accused of acting unprofessionally. Depending on the nature of the crime, orderly room trial could lead to dismissal from the police or demotion,” he said.

Sources told our correspondent that the Ebun family had been under threat from people believed to be close to Alowonle.

It was learnt that some of Alowonle’s relatives had visited Timilehin’s parents at their home on Oyebola Street, Ikorodu.

A source said, “Because Segun (Timilehin’s father) said he would not accept anything less than a murder charge for Alowonle’s crime, some people have been sending threat messages to his telephone. Some others have even gone as far as going to his (Segun’s) hometown to warn his extended family members to be careful.

“They have been urging him to abandon his quest for justice for his slain son.”

When our correspondent contacted Segun on the telephone on Sunday, he said, “Yes, there have been attempts to prevent us from pursuing the case. However, we shall continue to fight until we get justice for Timilehin.”

PUNCH Metro had reported that Timilehin was killed in his father’s vehicle by a stray bullet suspected to have been fired by Alowonle while attempting to arrest a commercial bus driver for breaking traffic law on June 13, 2013.

Alowonle, an indigene of Ikorodu, is being detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department,Yaba.

Timilehin’s killing had attracted public outcry, causing the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, to send delegates to   the Ebun family.

The delegates, led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the SCID, Damilola Adegbuyi, had promised Timilehin’s parents that justice would be done.

The House of Representatives member representing Ikorodu Constituency, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, who also visited the family on July 18, promised that she would ensure that the family got justice for the deceased.

PUNCH