The death
of Olatunde Vincent on May, 17, 2014, shocked Nigerians who had closely
been following his activities. Many people knew Vincent as a crusader
against crime and injustices, but preferred to be called a human right
activist.
He had spoken heatedly against police corruption, torture and arbitrary arrest. The activist would never keep silent in the face of tyranny and persecution of the innocent. Vincent lived in Shomolu area of Lagos State and had always done everything within his power to check activities of suspected fraudsters, otherwise known as, ‘EFCC boys’.
He had also spoken against cultism, through the print and social media. He did not only attack youths who took to crime like ducks to water, but he had also zeroed in on suspected corrupt politicians, who he said: “arm youths in Shomolu communities with guns to carry out their deadly deed.” Due to his inability to keep silent in the face of oppression and corruption, Vincent became the target of unknown assassins.
He had dodged many bullets, with some people calling him, “the cat with nine lives.” But on October 1, 2013, some suspected cult boys, at the Shomolu area of Lagos State, swooped on him and attempted to snuff out his life.
According to Vincent, the cult boys, numbering over 10, attacked him right in front of his house and even after he dodged series of the flying bullets and took to running for dear life, they pursued him. Before the war, which the cultists declared on him came to an end; more than six people had been killed, while three persons were injured. Immediately they fired the first shot at him, right in front of his house, with his petrified wife and child watching, Vincent had dodged behind a bystander, who got shot.
Vincent who relocated from Shomolu after the attempt on his life, recalled: “They just stopped in front of my house and started shooting into the air. One of them just shot straight at me, at point blank. I used the guy who had been speaking with me as a shield. They shot him twice. He was part of their gang. Then I took off, running into my house.
One of them pursued, shooting.” Vincent was chased through three connecting doors, to different rooms, until one of the boys finally ran him to earth in his bathroom. All the while he was being chased; the cultist kept his fingers pressed on the trigger.
By the time he finally cornered Vincent, he had just one bullet left. Laughing gleefully, he shot at Vincent and smirked in satisfaction as blood spurted from the activist’s body. Vincent slumped. Vincent said: “I don’t know whether because of the amount of blood he saw that made him, not to check whether I was dead or still alive. But he apparently thought I was dead. I later heard that the bullets they used in the local guns were poisoned bullets. I was not supposed to survive such a bullet.
Anyway, he brought out his phone, called somebody and told the person that he had killed me. That I was dead.” Immediately Vincent heard the phone conversation, he played dead until his assailant left. Later his wife and children, who had already started weeping, thinking he was dead as a doornail, entered. They could not believe their eyes when they saw him still breathing, but nursing a bullet wound.
He was sneaked out of the apartment and taken to the hospital. But no matter how much they tried to smuggle him to hospital, some people sighted him and alerted some of the cultists.
“I heard from reliable sources the cultists were popping champagne, celebrating my demise when someone called and told them that I was still alive. An argument started; with some saying it was impossible. They traced me to the hospital where I was receiving treatment and unleashed hell in that street. But they could not gain access into the hospital. I was later transferred out of that hospital.” Incidentally, Vincent escaped death from his assailants, but he could not escape death on May, 17. The cause of his death is still unknown.
While some said it was as a result of the bullet wound he sustained when cultists shot him, others said he died of cardiac arrest. The activist was quite popular on Facebook, with many of his Facebook friends’ being alumni of his former school, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife. Vincent’s death shocked many, including journalists whom he had become a source to.
Friends on Facebook continued to mourn him. The activism in him had reared its head even a day or two before his demise. He was preoccupied with the insurgency in Nigeria and the abducted Chibok girls. His last post on Facebook, on May, 13, reads thus: “But this country will always amaze one. Why would Dame Patience not weep and say, “Chei God Dey oooo. “She’s right.
Take for instance, in Nigeria; we do not have access to good internet connectivity in our towns and cities, our GSM facilities operate in epileptic frenzy. The maniac leader of the evil Boko Haram, a sadistic coward could upload a 50 minutes video on YouTube from a relatively unknown forest brought to world attention by the drama of absurd going on in the country. In most Nigerian cit-ies, we find it difficult to open the YouTube video links for 2 to 3minutes.
So what we are saying is that our State Security Service cannot locate the internet service provider for the deadly group…If the SSS could trace and arrest those that tweeted photo of the recent jail break in Abuja, why can’t they trace Shekau with all his video uploads and other activities on internet? “I believe one day those who are the originators of Boko Haram will be exposed because the truth is like a lady hiding her pregnancy; it will come out no matter the cover up.”
A day before that, he had posted: “We all keep on blaming Jonathan for everything. The ACP will go any length to disparage the man as if they have answers to the series of man-made problems we have had to contend with over the years through bad leadership in which many members of the so called progressives are involved. Take the case of the Chibok girls; Can you imagine girls were left in a school without security and any supervision? WAEC had written the state government on the need for a safer examination venue. A week before the incident, the security details in the school left.
The principal of the school left the girls without the knowledge of other staff who apparently where not in school too. The Boko Haram extremist walked over a mile to get to the truck where the girls were loaded into. No body stopped them, nobody asked any question.
Nobody called the Police; nobody called the Joint Task Force (JTF). Everybody in that community was a dunce head and like spirit, the girls were spirited away and here we are vilifying GEJ as if the security of Borno State is that of GEJ alone. Security should be the responsibility of everyone. Are we saying Jonathan should have been in Borno looking after the security of those girls personally? We need to be realistic. Everyone had a responsibility. Until we lay the blame where it ought to be, we will make no progress!” His death was painful to many of his friends.
Dele Alayande posted: “Painful it is to hear the shocking news of your departure. I found it pretty difficult to believe. I remember you wished me good bye in January when I was going to school. My expectation is that I will share the news of my successful journey at Ife with you, but only to receive a call last night that you had gone to the great beyond.”
Mooya Lwiindi Mweemba posted: “Vincent, I tried my best to ask whoever I thought would give me information about your death. But my efforts were all in vain. I hope you understand that its time I accepted that you are no more and certain questions will never be answered. I fully accept and thank God almighty for having given me the opportunity to know and learn from you. I won’t ask how, when or why because I want you to rest in peace.
And I think it’s selfish of me not to learn to let go, because your spirit will not rest. R.I.P. always in my heart.” Sunday Aworanti posted: “You were such a good and unique person, misunderstood by some, appreciated by those that really knew you. Loyal to a fault.
You consistently remained committed to that which you believed; not minding whose ox was gored. You endured so much, but remained unbowed till death came. In your own unique ways, you touched so many lives. It’s really a great privilege to have known and shared the experiences and time we had together, Adieu Vincent!”
Ayo Ajayi posted: “What actually happened? If indeed Olatunde Vincent is dead, how did he die? Was he involved in a car accident, was he attacked again, did he just sleep and refuse to wake up? Somebody should be able to provide answers. It’s not enough to post condolence messages and just accept that he is dead. People close to him should be able to offer some clarifications. Deep down, I still don’t believe Livingstone is dead. He can’t just disappear from the face of the earth without any explanations as to how.”
Olatunde Lanre tried to explain to other friends of Vincent, how the anti-corruption crusader died. Lanre posted: “The little information I heard about his death was that he took himself down to the hospital on that same Sunday, based on the fact that he was feeling not too good. Finally he died at the hospital. We still talked last Friday and there was no sign of sickness.”
Taiwo Michael Kolawole posted: “Livingstone is dead! According to my little understanding, he woke up early on Sunday morning, missed his legs right inside his apartment and fell. He was rushed to the nearby hospital, shortly after he was confirmed dead of cardiac arrest.” Funso Obahiagbon posted: “Bit by bit, it now dawned on me that you are truly gone! O ga o!
You were a darling to friends but a terror to enemies. Vincent, you dared the dreaded. You damned the consequences. You shunned timidity, embraced and displayed bravery! Your mission and vision were lucid but difficult to emulate, imitate and appreciate. You were indeed a living stone! RIP.” Oluyemisi Awe-Aina wrote: “Still find it incredible that you’re gone, Vincent.
We chatted till 6.09pm last week Friday and your last Friday in this sinful world. You had hopes and aspirations that got aborted suddenly. Your last chat with me that Friday was ‘I pray o’. Sun un re o, omo Awe Olopa/ Adajo ule Agba.” Olabulo Olalekan Muyiwa: “Pappy, May your soul rest in peace. I never knew you were calling me for the last time, when you called me some days ago.
I still don t believe you are gone. Your fight against injustice and oppression will continue to live on.” Akinsowon Akin posted: “Today is by far the saddest day this year. Hearing of your death was just too painful to bear. We spoke around midnight and you sounded fine. I am in shock right now. You dedicated your life to fighting cultism and societal values. Even when you were shot, you continued to fight.”
He had spoken heatedly against police corruption, torture and arbitrary arrest. The activist would never keep silent in the face of tyranny and persecution of the innocent. Vincent lived in Shomolu area of Lagos State and had always done everything within his power to check activities of suspected fraudsters, otherwise known as, ‘EFCC boys’.
He had also spoken against cultism, through the print and social media. He did not only attack youths who took to crime like ducks to water, but he had also zeroed in on suspected corrupt politicians, who he said: “arm youths in Shomolu communities with guns to carry out their deadly deed.” Due to his inability to keep silent in the face of oppression and corruption, Vincent became the target of unknown assassins.
He had dodged many bullets, with some people calling him, “the cat with nine lives.” But on October 1, 2013, some suspected cult boys, at the Shomolu area of Lagos State, swooped on him and attempted to snuff out his life.
According to Vincent, the cult boys, numbering over 10, attacked him right in front of his house and even after he dodged series of the flying bullets and took to running for dear life, they pursued him. Before the war, which the cultists declared on him came to an end; more than six people had been killed, while three persons were injured. Immediately they fired the first shot at him, right in front of his house, with his petrified wife and child watching, Vincent had dodged behind a bystander, who got shot.
Vincent who relocated from Shomolu after the attempt on his life, recalled: “They just stopped in front of my house and started shooting into the air. One of them just shot straight at me, at point blank. I used the guy who had been speaking with me as a shield. They shot him twice. He was part of their gang. Then I took off, running into my house.
One of them pursued, shooting.” Vincent was chased through three connecting doors, to different rooms, until one of the boys finally ran him to earth in his bathroom. All the while he was being chased; the cultist kept his fingers pressed on the trigger.
By the time he finally cornered Vincent, he had just one bullet left. Laughing gleefully, he shot at Vincent and smirked in satisfaction as blood spurted from the activist’s body. Vincent slumped. Vincent said: “I don’t know whether because of the amount of blood he saw that made him, not to check whether I was dead or still alive. But he apparently thought I was dead. I later heard that the bullets they used in the local guns were poisoned bullets. I was not supposed to survive such a bullet.
Anyway, he brought out his phone, called somebody and told the person that he had killed me. That I was dead.” Immediately Vincent heard the phone conversation, he played dead until his assailant left. Later his wife and children, who had already started weeping, thinking he was dead as a doornail, entered. They could not believe their eyes when they saw him still breathing, but nursing a bullet wound.
He was sneaked out of the apartment and taken to the hospital. But no matter how much they tried to smuggle him to hospital, some people sighted him and alerted some of the cultists.
“I heard from reliable sources the cultists were popping champagne, celebrating my demise when someone called and told them that I was still alive. An argument started; with some saying it was impossible. They traced me to the hospital where I was receiving treatment and unleashed hell in that street. But they could not gain access into the hospital. I was later transferred out of that hospital.” Incidentally, Vincent escaped death from his assailants, but he could not escape death on May, 17. The cause of his death is still unknown.
While some said it was as a result of the bullet wound he sustained when cultists shot him, others said he died of cardiac arrest. The activist was quite popular on Facebook, with many of his Facebook friends’ being alumni of his former school, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife. Vincent’s death shocked many, including journalists whom he had become a source to.
Friends on Facebook continued to mourn him. The activism in him had reared its head even a day or two before his demise. He was preoccupied with the insurgency in Nigeria and the abducted Chibok girls. His last post on Facebook, on May, 13, reads thus: “But this country will always amaze one. Why would Dame Patience not weep and say, “Chei God Dey oooo. “She’s right.
Take for instance, in Nigeria; we do not have access to good internet connectivity in our towns and cities, our GSM facilities operate in epileptic frenzy. The maniac leader of the evil Boko Haram, a sadistic coward could upload a 50 minutes video on YouTube from a relatively unknown forest brought to world attention by the drama of absurd going on in the country. In most Nigerian cit-ies, we find it difficult to open the YouTube video links for 2 to 3minutes.
So what we are saying is that our State Security Service cannot locate the internet service provider for the deadly group…If the SSS could trace and arrest those that tweeted photo of the recent jail break in Abuja, why can’t they trace Shekau with all his video uploads and other activities on internet? “I believe one day those who are the originators of Boko Haram will be exposed because the truth is like a lady hiding her pregnancy; it will come out no matter the cover up.”
A day before that, he had posted: “We all keep on blaming Jonathan for everything. The ACP will go any length to disparage the man as if they have answers to the series of man-made problems we have had to contend with over the years through bad leadership in which many members of the so called progressives are involved. Take the case of the Chibok girls; Can you imagine girls were left in a school without security and any supervision? WAEC had written the state government on the need for a safer examination venue. A week before the incident, the security details in the school left.
The principal of the school left the girls without the knowledge of other staff who apparently where not in school too. The Boko Haram extremist walked over a mile to get to the truck where the girls were loaded into. No body stopped them, nobody asked any question.
Nobody called the Police; nobody called the Joint Task Force (JTF). Everybody in that community was a dunce head and like spirit, the girls were spirited away and here we are vilifying GEJ as if the security of Borno State is that of GEJ alone. Security should be the responsibility of everyone. Are we saying Jonathan should have been in Borno looking after the security of those girls personally? We need to be realistic. Everyone had a responsibility. Until we lay the blame where it ought to be, we will make no progress!” His death was painful to many of his friends.
Dele Alayande posted: “Painful it is to hear the shocking news of your departure. I found it pretty difficult to believe. I remember you wished me good bye in January when I was going to school. My expectation is that I will share the news of my successful journey at Ife with you, but only to receive a call last night that you had gone to the great beyond.”
Mooya Lwiindi Mweemba posted: “Vincent, I tried my best to ask whoever I thought would give me information about your death. But my efforts were all in vain. I hope you understand that its time I accepted that you are no more and certain questions will never be answered. I fully accept and thank God almighty for having given me the opportunity to know and learn from you. I won’t ask how, when or why because I want you to rest in peace.
And I think it’s selfish of me not to learn to let go, because your spirit will not rest. R.I.P. always in my heart.” Sunday Aworanti posted: “You were such a good and unique person, misunderstood by some, appreciated by those that really knew you. Loyal to a fault.
You consistently remained committed to that which you believed; not minding whose ox was gored. You endured so much, but remained unbowed till death came. In your own unique ways, you touched so many lives. It’s really a great privilege to have known and shared the experiences and time we had together, Adieu Vincent!”
Ayo Ajayi posted: “What actually happened? If indeed Olatunde Vincent is dead, how did he die? Was he involved in a car accident, was he attacked again, did he just sleep and refuse to wake up? Somebody should be able to provide answers. It’s not enough to post condolence messages and just accept that he is dead. People close to him should be able to offer some clarifications. Deep down, I still don’t believe Livingstone is dead. He can’t just disappear from the face of the earth without any explanations as to how.”
Olatunde Lanre tried to explain to other friends of Vincent, how the anti-corruption crusader died. Lanre posted: “The little information I heard about his death was that he took himself down to the hospital on that same Sunday, based on the fact that he was feeling not too good. Finally he died at the hospital. We still talked last Friday and there was no sign of sickness.”
Taiwo Michael Kolawole posted: “Livingstone is dead! According to my little understanding, he woke up early on Sunday morning, missed his legs right inside his apartment and fell. He was rushed to the nearby hospital, shortly after he was confirmed dead of cardiac arrest.” Funso Obahiagbon posted: “Bit by bit, it now dawned on me that you are truly gone! O ga o!
You were a darling to friends but a terror to enemies. Vincent, you dared the dreaded. You damned the consequences. You shunned timidity, embraced and displayed bravery! Your mission and vision were lucid but difficult to emulate, imitate and appreciate. You were indeed a living stone! RIP.” Oluyemisi Awe-Aina wrote: “Still find it incredible that you’re gone, Vincent.
We chatted till 6.09pm last week Friday and your last Friday in this sinful world. You had hopes and aspirations that got aborted suddenly. Your last chat with me that Friday was ‘I pray o’. Sun un re o, omo Awe Olopa/ Adajo ule Agba.” Olabulo Olalekan Muyiwa: “Pappy, May your soul rest in peace. I never knew you were calling me for the last time, when you called me some days ago.
I still don t believe you are gone. Your fight against injustice and oppression will continue to live on.” Akinsowon Akin posted: “Today is by far the saddest day this year. Hearing of your death was just too painful to bear. We spoke around midnight and you sounded fine. I am in shock right now. You dedicated your life to fighting cultism and societal values. Even when you were shot, you continued to fight.”
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