We lost the gentle soul of our house - Guardian of man shot by DPO

We lost the gentle soul of our house - Guardian of man shot by DPO

by Sesan Olufowobi, Kunle Falayi and Sodiq Oyeleke with agency report


Mrs. Alice Aderinton, the aged guardian of Abiodun Ademola, the man allegedly shot by the Divisional Police Officer of Pen Cinema Police Station in Yaya Abatan in Ogba area of Lagos on Monday, has expressed sadness over the death of a man she described as “a gentle soul.”

Ademola

Aderinton said she contracted Ademola as a tailor about seven years ago, but the 27-year-old man had become an adopted son.
At her 6, Aderinton Street, Ogba residence on Tuesday, she said, “he was so hardworking that even though we were paying him salary, he decided to operate a commercial motorcycle to support his earnings.
“Ademola had become like my own son. In fact, he was a sort of jester in the compound. Everybody knew him as a funny man who made us laugh. I'm so sad right now that these wicked people have taken Ademola from us. This is a personal tragedy to me.
“Please, help us ensure that justice is done. He was a young and promising man. I never had any reason to regret that he was with me in the whole seven years he was here.”
Ademola was shot in the crotch after the DPO, Segun Fabunmi, a chief superintendent of police, opened fire on a crowd of unarmed youths whom he alleged were trying to disarm him.
Eyewitnesses had told Metro shortly after the incident that some of the youths were playing football on the road while some were reading newspapers at a newsstand on Yaya Abatan Street when Fabunmi came in a convoy and asked them to disperse.
When the crowd did not, he allegedly shot into the air and later shot into the crowd. Five of the youths were hit. Ademola was hit in the crotch and fled, bleeding profusely.
He reportedly got tired few metres from where he was shot and sat down at the corner of Abeokuta Street where he died.
The four other youths who sustained gunshot injuries to various parts of their bodies: Christian Amadi, Alimi Abubakar, Egbijo Samuel and Joy Monday, have been transferred from County Hospital, Ogba, where they were given initial treatment before they were moved to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, on the orders of the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola.
It was also learnt that Ademola's corpse has been transferred to the mortuary of LASUTH.
Immediately after the incident, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Yakubu Alkali, ordered the arrest and detention of the DPO.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of Ifako-ljaiye Local Government Area, Dr. Oloruntoba Oke, the Baale of Yaya Abatan, Chief Adeola Abatan, and a member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Saka Fafunmi, have vowed to ensure that Fabunmi was brought to book.
Fafunmi said, “I was grieved that some policemen said the DPO shot at the youth because they were thugs and wanted to attack him.
“We are on top of the issue. Ademola was killed here and we have confirmed it and justice will be done. We will fight for this cause and justice must be seen to have been done in this case. We have seen the DPO in custody and Alkali has assured us that justice will be done.”
The men, however, pleaded with the youth in the area to shun violence.
In a related development, the Lagos State Government on Tuesday expressed interest in the investigation into the killing of Ademola.
The state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye, explained that the state's interest was not to hound the police into hanging the DPO or putting the force under undue pressure.
He said the state wanted to make sure that all necessary process was followed.
“The killing was done in Lagos State; therefore it was a crime against the state. So, everything must be done to ensure justice, fairness and transparency. The state will be ready to prosecute when the time comes; that is why we are interested in the handling of the investigation,” Ipaye said.
Some Lagos-based eminent lawyers have also urged immediate prosecution of the policeman, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
The lawyers, who spoke with NAN on the phone, condemned the action, describing it as a crime against humanity.
The Chairman of the Ikeja Branch of the Nigeria Bar Association, Mr. Adebamigbe Omole, said the killing had again shown the “overzealous nature'' of security operatives in the country.
He said, “It is rather unfortunate because the protest in Lagos was peaceful; the security agents are overzealous.
“However, the law will take its course; the NBA will ensure that the police officer responsible is brought to justice.”
Omole advised security operatives not to worsen the tension in the land by opening fire on innocent Nigerians who were fighting for their fundamental human rights.
A lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay, described the killing as a breach of the right of Nigerians to life, adding that the policeman responsible should face justice.
“It is a crime against humanity for peaceful protesters to be executed extra-judicially; the perpetrator must suffer the full weight of the law as a deterrent to others in the future,” he said.
A human rights activist and lawyer, Mr. Bamidele Aturu, said it was heinous for any policeman to shoot innocent Nigerians engaging in a peaceful protest over the removal of the subsidy on petrol.
“We will do everything possible to ensure that the policeman involved is prosecuted. We will be seeking a fiat from the Attorney-General of Lagos State to prosecute him and bring him to justice,'' Aturu said.

However, the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Ringim, has ordered an investigation into the incident.

By: NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE On Sunday, June 10, 2012

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Police blame driver, company for attack on bus

June, 2012 by Sodiq Oyeleke

Some of the workers of the transport company at their Jibowu office, Lagos, after the robbery.
| credits: Sodiq Oyeleke

The Ogun State Police Command has blamed the driver and company operating the vehicle that was attacked by armed robbers around Sagamu area last Tuesday.

The bus, which carried Abuja bound passengers from Lagos, was attacked by three gunmen, who also boarded the bus posing as passengers.

Apart from robbing the passengers, the robbers also raped two girls in the bus.

However, the command in a statement on Thursday said there was no report of attack on any passenger bus in the state.

It nonetheless faulted the company for not searching the passengers before they boarded the bus.

It stated, “It is important to say that the preliminary investigations carried out so far and comments from the robbery victims revealed some elements of conspiracy or connivance on the part of the driver and/or the company since they failed to conduct routine search on the passengers and report the incident to the police, despite requests made for such report from the affected victims.

“However, the command has every cause to believe that there was a robbery attack on the bus around Mowe area but could not dwell much on the rape allegation for now since the ‘victims’ have not been seen for interrogation.”

The statement further said the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Okoye Ikemefuna, has ordered a thorough investigation into the matter.

Gbenga Vaughan, a relative of one of the pupils that was robbed, Feyisan, who spoke to our correspondent on the telephone, said the driver asked the passengers not to report to the police.

“The driver was the one who told them not to report to the police. He assured them that everything will be well taken care of by his company,” he said.

Vaughan noted that the case was later reported to the Sabo Divisional Police, Lagos, to enable the pupils to get a report that their documents were stolen during the robbery.

“I am sure the pupils did not know the implication of their not informing the police immediately and that is why they agreed with the driver,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Nelson Okeleke, the Station Manager of Ifesinachi Bus Transit, the operator of the bus, declined comment when he was contacted on the phone on Thursday.

“Can’t I prefer to be silent? This is an infringement on my right to privacy,” he said.

By: NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE On Sunday, June 10, 2012

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Armed robbers attack passenger bus, rape girls

May, 2012 by Sodiq Oyeleke

Some of the workers of the transport company at their Jibowu office, Lagos, after the robbery.
| credits: Sodiq Oyeleke

Two females in a bus conveying passengers from Lagos to Abuja were last Tuesday raped by armed robbers who attacked their bus at Sagamu area of Ogun State.

The gunmen also robbed all the passengers. PUNCH Metro learnt that the incident occurred around 12noon.

It was gathered that the three-man gang armed robbers were among the passengers that boarded the bus at Jibowu area of Lagos.

But on getting to Sagamu, they brought out their guns, ordered the driver to stop and then diverted the bus.

The Station Manager, Ifesinachi Bus Transit, the operator of the vehicle, who identified himself simply as Nelson, confirmed the incident. He said the victims would be compensated.

He said, “Truly, the bus was robbed, and I immediately left to meet the victims when the report got to us.

“I addressed everybody, including the two girls that were raped. Some were given money to return home while others were advised to report at our Jibowu office for another bus to convey them to Abuja the next day.

“Some of them disagreed with the arrangement. I spoke to the two ladies that were raped in privacy and volunteered to take them to the hospital. One of them refused and the other who said she was 18-year-old accepted.

Nelson admitted that the passengers were not checked before they boarded the vehicle, saying he thought the style used by the robbers was no longer in vogue.

“We are sorry for not checking the passengers but you need to understand that nobody is perfect. There was also security arrangement we put in place but we stopped when we felt things had normalised. This was part of the reasons why we don’t operate night buses,” he said.

On the insinuation that the bus’ driver could have been the mastermind of the robbery, the station manager said all their workers were reliable.

Nelson said, “He parked at Somolu because of the limited space at our office. I could have called him but his phone and other valuables were also taken by the robbers.”

A final year pupil of the Nigeria Military School, Kaduna State, who was one of the victims, Feyisa Ayo-Vaughan, said the robbery took place few hours after they left Lagos.

He said, “We left Lagos around 8am. On getting to Sagamu, one of them brought out a pistol, pointed it at the driver and took over the steering and drove us into the bush. We were searched, robbed, and then the two girls were raped.”

The pupil, who lost his documents and money to the robbers, said the documents might affect his leaving the school in August.

Another victim of the robbery, who is also a pupil of the NMS, Silas Anure, said the attack was like a dream.

“They drove us into the bush and collected our money and even raped two girls. Two of the robbers slept with one girl, while the other two robbers slept with the second girl,” he claimed.

By: NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE On Sunday, June 10, 2012

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