My world has ended, cried mother of twins killed by police

*I would have been the fourth corpse

The 75-year-old mother of the twin, killed by a drunken mobile policeman at the Ketu area of Lagos State, on Saturday, said the incident signals the end of her world.

The woman, Beatrice Oyesolu, said that she was in the church on the fateful day of the incident, praying God should guide and protect her kids, unaware that they had already been slain by bullets from a drunken police sergeant later identified as Steven James.

The twin, Taiwo, 32 and Kehinde 32, were the only kids of Oyesolu. Her husband died last year. The kids were killed along with their friend, Jeje at Plaulson Plaza, Ketu. The trigger happy sergeant, after killing the three men, turned the bullet on himself.

Taiwo was a naval officer, while Kehinde worked with Conoil.

The old woman, who had been crying since Saturday that she heard the news of her sons’ death, said: “I was praying fervently in the church when my phone rang. The call was from my boys. I didn’t pick it until after the church service. The missed calls were from Kehinde. After the church service, I called Kehinde, but somebody else, a stranger, picked the call. The person told me that my sons had been killed. I immediately fainted. I was rushed to a nearby hospital where I was revived.”

The grieving woman, who still has a shocked look on her face, mumbled: “How do I start my life? These my kids had been catering for me. I’m 75 years old; I can no longer do anything. They brought chicken, clothes and other Christmas gift for me on Friday. They promised to celebrate the New Year Festival with me in an elaborate way. I didn’t know that Friday would be the last time I would see them.”

Oyesolu urged the Lagos State Government and other well-meaning Nigerians to come to her aid, “because I can’t do anything anymore. My kids were my helpers.”

The twin and their friend, Jejelola, were said to have gone to the hotel to book room for one of their friends, Shola, whose girlfriend was returning from United Kingdom when the mobile policeman opened fire on them because they refused to buy his beer and equally cautioned to be a responsible policeman.

An eye witness said: “The mobile policeman took some bottles of beer and Alomo Bitter. He started threatening the hotel guests. He said he was going to shoot and kill them. He said he would kill 30 people, unfortunately, he shot the twin and their friend before killing himself.”

Recalling the last moment of the twin, another eye witness said that Taiwo, who was serving in Abuja, attempted to hide at the back of a container after James shot Kehinde.

The eye witness said: “Taiwo tried to hide, but the policeman chased him. He found and dragged him out of his hideout. He shot him point blank on the chest. There was no way he could have survived.”

Another regular guest of the hotel, Supo, said that sometimes in August 2015, he was almost shot and killed by James.

According to him, his escaping death by the whiskers was nothing short of miracle.

Supo said: “The mobile policeman had been misbehaving for long. But the management of the hotel never cautioned him. He once threatened to kill me and then killed himself for reason I still couldn’t fathom. A few days ago, I went to him and asked what my offence was; he said I was a proud person. He asked how a young man like me could be lodging in a hotel.”

Supo said that the killing of the three men pained him. He further said: “When he threatened to shoot and kill me and kill himself, I immediately reported to the manager of the hotel. He promised the hotel management would do something about it. But they apparently didn’t do anything. He had now killed three promising young men.”

Supo continued: “Whenever I was going to the hotel after my first encountered with the policeman, I always go with N500 to pacify him. I don’t want to die! Four days ago when I visited the hotel, I gave him money again.”

When our correspondent visited the area, the hotel has been vandalized by some of the angry youths in the community. Some youths were sighted washing blood stains of the deceased.

The remains of the deceased were said to have been deposited at the Ikorodu General Hospital Mortuary.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, described the incident as very “pathetic and unfortunate.”

Owoseni said: “I came to see the affected family members and also sympathized with them. I bring the massage of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to the bereaved family members. What happened today is against the doctrine of the IG. The IGP said we should respect the right of every citizen.”

Owoseni said: “Policemen should not be posted to unauthorized place. Even if they do, they should conduct themselves in a civil manner and also respect the right of every people.”