Residents of
Ogunfeyinmi Island, Satellite Town, Oriade
Local Council Development Area of Lagos State, have been plunged into mourning
following the death of Mr. Godwin Gregory, a father of four by naval personnel.
Godwin, a
musician, was allegedly shot by naval officers chasing some suspected oil
vandals in the area. Godwin had been on the Island for over nine years. It
was there he met his wife, married her and had four daughters.
Godwin,
before his death, lived with his wife and their four daughters in a single room
apartment on the Island.
His
distraught widow, Mrs. Bose Gregory, described her husband’s death as quite shocking
and traumatising.
Bose, a full
time housewife, wept: “How do I cater for these four children? Since my husband
died, we have been living from hand to mouth. We have been begging from friends
and my family members to survive. Our children have dropped out of school.”
According to
Bose, Godwin was shot on September 11. On that fateful day, she was doing some
laundries, while Godwin was inside the apartment, doing something else. Their
second daughter then came crying, saying that she was hungry. Bose begged her
husband to prepare food for the children since she was still busy with the
laundries.
Bose said:
“My husband stood up from where he was sitting and went with my first daughter
to buy palm oil and Kerosene. My husband gave the palm oil and the Kerosene to
my daughter to take home. When my daughter came home, I inquired about her
father. She said he was discussing with someone. A few minutes later, I heard
gunshots. I immediately grabbed my children and rushed into our apartment for
safety. I was still inside when I heard a loud noise from outside. Someone was
shouting that Godwin had been shot.”
When Bose
heard that her husband had been shot, she rushed out in panic and asked to be
taken to the scene of the incident. She said that her heart pounded in fear as
she walked to the scene in something of a trance.
Bose
continued with her narration: “Before we got to the scene, a crowd had
gathered. I saw my husband; he had been shot. He was on the ground,
bleeding. I asked him what happened, he said that some naval personnel shot him
because he refused to run, while they were passing. He said that other people
ran, but he didn’t. They then shot him. My husband said he told them the
thought of running never crossed his mind because he had not committed any
crime. The naval personnel told my husband to call his family members to take
him to hospital. They told him that it would difficult for him to survive
judging from the spot that the bullet hit him. At that point in his narration,
my husband started crying, begging that we should take him to hospital.”
Youths and
elders in the community mobilised, hired a speedboat and rushed Godwin to the mainland.
He was first taken to a private hospital at Oto-Awori area, where the bullets
were extracted from his leg.
“While at
the hospital, he was in continuous pains. I came home on Thursday to take care
of my children. While at home, I called and spoke with him, to know about his
health. We were still talking when he started crying, begging me to take care
of our children, that he didn’t want to die. He was then referred to Badagry
General Hospital. He died while being moved to the general hospital. This is
not the first time naval officers would come into the community to start shooting
indiscriminately.”
A resident
on the Island, Mr. Kazeen Olalekan, who witnessed the incident, said: “Godwin’s
death was unfortunate. On the fateful day of the incident, he and I played a
game of Ludo together. After the game, he left, saying that he was going home to
attend to his children. Some hours after he had gone home, I also left for my
house.
“I was close
to my house when I saw four naval personnel and two other people in mufti. They
were chasing some people. I quickly moved and hide in the bush. It was from my
hiding place that I heard gunshots. I knew someone had been shot. When I peeped,
I saw the naval personnel talking to Godwin; they were asking him where the
bullet hit him. Godwin raised his shirt and showed them where the bullet got
him. I heard one of the naval personnel telling him to call his family members
to take to hospital for treatment. After that, the naval men abandoned him. I
came out of my hideout and rushed to him. We then got a speedboat to take him
to the mainland. Before we were able to get the speedboat, 30 minutes had gone.
Godwin spent nine traumatising days in that hospital before he died. He died on
the ninth day.
“I was with
him at the hospital; it was one of our community leaders that paid his medical
bills. I don’t know how the children and his widow would cope. All we want is
justice for him and his family members.”
Olalekan further
noted that after Godwin was confirmed dead, community members deposited his
remains at the Badagry Mortuary and went on social media to paste his picture,
calling on anyone that recognized him to alert them or his family members.
“Since he
had been on the Island, we had not seen or met any member of his family. The
only person we know with him is his wife and children. Anyone who knows his
family should alert them about his death or alert us,” noted Olalekan.
A 78-year-old
woman, Mrs. Janet Adekanbi, said that Godwin was very close to her and that she
felt his death more than most people. She explained that on that fateful day
that Godwin was killed, he had visited her shop to play a game of Ludo with
her. While they were playing, his children came to call him, that he should
come and prepare food for them. He left.
Adekanbi
said: “Immediately he left, I went inside the room to sleep. I was still
sleeping when my granddaughter came to wake me, screaming that Godwin had been
shot. I hurriedly stood up from where I sleeping. Godwin was a nice
person. I knew him before he got married. Since he had been in this
community, none of us knew his relatives. While alive, he used to tell us that his
mother was an indigene of Lagos State, while his father is from Calabar, Cross
River. Whenever his wife gave birth, we are the ones who used to mark the
naming ceremony for him. In fact, even his church members have not come to pay
condolence visit. We’re in a dilemma. His family members need to bury him.”
The
deceased’s landlady, Mrs. Morayo Ariwayo, told our correspondent that Godwin
was a gentleman to the core.
Ariwayo
noted: “When he was shot, everyone tried to save him. I don’t understand why
those naval men decided to shoot and kill the young man. Godwin should not die
in vain. Those that shot and killed him should be fished out.”
The
secretary of Ogunfeyinmi Island, Mr. Wole Olufeyinmi, disclosed that the first
thing members of the community did was to report the matter to Ilashe Police Post,
under Alakija Police Station, in order to prevent breakdown of law and order.
Olufeyinmi said:
“We tried all our possible best to save his life. We took him to the hospital,
but he died. What we are demanding for now is justice for him and the family he
left behind. We are appealing to the Inspector-General of Police, Muhammed
Adamu to launch investigation and find his killers. As I speak with you,
there’s tension in the community. Many residents have moved out of the Island
because of the naval people and their reckless shootings. We don’t know exactly
where the naval men were coming from on that day. We are also appealing to the
deceased’s family members to come forward so as to give him a proper burial.”
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