*Murdered
on his birthday
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| Add caption |
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| The late Kehinde |
The killing of the twins, Taiwo and Kehinde Oyesolu,
along with their friend, Adegoke Adesanya alias Jejelola, at the Ketu area of Lagos State, on
Saturday by a drunken mobile policeman, left many Nigerians reeling in shock.
It was even more disheartening to discover that the twins were ‘parents’
to their 75-year-old mother. Another shock
was the discovery that Adesanya was murdered on his birthday. Yeah, it was a
murder too gruesome.
One of the twins was a Naval officer, the other, an engineer.
True, we now know that the woman has other kids, two daughters
aside from the twins, but men tend to care more for mothers than daughters.
Once women marry, they reposed all the love and warmth in their
hearts on their husbands and kids.
These men are gone, but we should ensure that these
sort of senseless killings are arrested.
I have always argued that some policemen should be
medically examined to know the state of their minds. Many are not fit to be in
the force.
The killer cop, Steven James, was clearly unstable. Its
sheer stupidity and madness to arm a mentally unstable policeman with a gun.
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| James |
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| Taiwo |
He could kill himself or others around him; it
happened in the case of James, the twins
and Adesanya. James was not only unstable, but he was alleged to be in the
habit of drinking and smoking marijuana. In fact, the genesis of his grouse
against the men he later mowed down was because they refused to buy him beer.
Rather they cautioned him to be ‘responsible policeman.’
And like a hunter, armed with winning edge of a
rifle, he waited for the men. Moments they stepped out of the hotel, he
cornered them like they were animals and shot them.
We were told that one of the twins ran to hide, but
James pursued him, dragged him out and killed him.
The Nigerian Police Force are handling drinking and
smoking of indian hemp in the force with levity. A lot of policemen today drink
and smoke hemp while on duty.
A visit to the police barrack at Car Wash, Egbeda/Idimu
will stun you. Policemen in uniforms, including senior officers openly smoke
marijuana with suspected criminals.
To stop senseless killings by policemen, drinking of
alcohol during duty hours should be stopped.
A drunk, armed policeman, is dangerous to everyone
around him. Selling of alcohol around police stations should be banned.
Policemen who drink on duty should be sacked!
Most accidental discharges on our highways are perpetrated
by drunken, armed policemen.
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| Godwin Ekpo with kids |
The indicators are stench from their mouths when
they bend to speak with motorists through vehicle windows, red brimmed eyes and uncoordinated
movements.
In September 2015, less than four months ago,
a police Corporal, Augustine Telenumdu, attached to the Isheri-Oshun Police
Station, shot a tricycle rider and his wife. The woman, a mother of four, died
instantly. The bullet pierced through her head.The husband, identified as Godwin Ekpo, survived the bullet shot. It was later discovered that the killer-cop was drunk. He allegedly imbibed local brews before going on duty.
We all remembered the reports in many of the dailies
that the unstable conduct of the James had been reportedly severally, but did
the police authority act on it?
I don’t think so, or he wouldn’t still be working
there.
Our police should begin to take every report/complaint
with seriousness, no matter how silly or inconsequential such reports sounded.
One of the major duties of the police is to protect
lives; investigating every minutest report is part of saving lives.
I was scrolling through Facebook, when I stumbled on
Adewale Adeoye’s wall.
So many people had something to say about the murder
of the twins, but Adewale Adeoye’s views resonated within me.
I copied it. Read it below;
The killing of three boys by drunken
Sergeant James Stephen at Paulson Hotel, Anibaba in Lagos is painful.
Two of them are from same mother!
Police Commissioner Owoseni said Sergeant Stephen who shot and killed himself is
dismissed.
He also offered apologies to the
families. That's encouraging.
The challenge remains:
(1)
Nigerian Police members drink on
duty. I have watched some police men drink bottles of Heinesy and beer to a
state of madness after which they dashed out in Hilux buses to perform public
functions.
(2)
The IG must enforce 'Drink on Duty
and be Sacked'.
(3)
Paulson Hotel management should
earlier have informed the police to arrest Stephen who for hours was harassing
visitors with his gun before he shot these young men.
(4)
I sympathise with the families of
the slain, including that of the drunken policeman. He probably had no good
training in handling of guns in public places and knew no one would sanction
him if he drank on duty.
(5)
He was also a victim of the bad
system that we run; a system where
police, armed with AK-47 and sometimes with bottles of gin in their kitty,
enter churches, cafeteria, children's playground, hotels and even public buses
without any regulation.
(6)
The present IG seems to be smart enough
to know that the Nigerian Police need urgent reforms to save more innocent
lives.
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