Ibadan Student Killing : Justification by the police and the Oyo State government is wicked, unfortunate, reckless and lacking in genuine empathy

By Sola Abegunde

I have carefully read through the statement purportedly released by the Oyo state Government with respect to the unfortunate killing of a student at the Alakia old road on Tuesday and I could not help but to shake my head in shock and disbelief.

I have equally read through the statement released by the Oyo state Command of the Nigeria Police Force.

I am not surprised at the tone and the intent of the statement by the police.

From the tone and craft of the statement, released through the Police Public Relations Officer, it is obvious that both the Oyo state Government and the Police are out to justify the needless killing of an innocent young boy.

The claim that the officers suspected a case of abduction thereby necessitating the firing of the shot that killed the innocent young boy is an afterthought and it holds no water in the face of the trending video of the unfortunate incident.

It is also unfortunate that the Nigeria Police would justify the firing of live ammunition in such a circumstance as we saw yesterday.

No sane person should have fired a shot in such a crowded environment.

That incident didn’t take place in the dead of night when the street was completely empty and the victim isolated.

It is also unfortunate that the Oyo state police Command would want us to believe that the offier who actually fired the shot did aimed at demobilizing the fleeing car.

If the shot was actually fired to demobilize the fleeing car, how come the bullet flew up to penetrate and hit the poor boy who was sitting at the back of the car?

Or, was the boy straddled to the wheels of the vehicle?

The statements from both the Police and the Oyo state Government are premeditated attempts to cover acts of criminality by the police and the OYRTMA and they will fail.

The circulating video online has withdrawn the carpet from under their feet.

Even after the officers of OYRTMA and the Police have discovered their heinous act, they did not show empathy by rushing the poor boy to the hospital.

Some of them could still be heard threatening the father of the poor boy with tear gassing if he didn’t leave the police officer he was holding.

I am also surprised that the Oyo state House of Assembly rushed to the conclusion that the incident had to do with the police and suspected Yahoo boys.

Who even knows, whether the action was also part of premeditated attempts to cover the dastardly acts?

I will now address the statement by the Oyo state Government.

If indeed, the statement, published by a popular online medium actually emanated from the Government, then, we are seriously in soup.

Let me point out here that the reckless statement which sought to provide excuses for the killing of the young student was cleverly conceived in a way that it was not ascribed to any particular Government official.

It is deliberate and the intention was simple. Confuse the public by attempting to whittle down the responsibilities of the state Government in the unfortunate but avoidable disaster.

Let me address the issues raised in the unfortunate statement.

First, the Oyo state Government admitted that the incident was avoidable and was caused by issues around a mere traffic offence.

I agree with them. Secondly, the Oyo state Government admitted that the incident involved OYRTMA officials, policemen attached to the Agency and a road user whom they claimed was driving against traffic.

I do not have much issues with that because it is obvious that OYRTMA officials and policemen attached to the Agency were involved from the videos circulating online.

I may not be able to determine whether the gentleman involved was actually driving against traffic.

Where I begin to have issues with the statement is when the Oyo state Government began to downplay the involvement of OYRTMA and began to make it look like the killer policeman who fired the shot that killed the young boy was acting alone.

Government admitted that it dragged policemen to join the operations of OYRTMA because, according to the statement, its officials were being attacked by the public.

That statement is a testament to the fact that both the OYRTMA and the policemen were on a joint operation to effect a traffic Law made by the Oyo state House of Assembly and signed to Law by the Governor.

As a result of that, the Governor must accept responsibilities for the actions and inactions of both the OYRTMA officials and policemen attached to the Agency.

Not only that, the purported claim by the Government of Oyo that the police officer who fired the shot that killed the young boy aimed for the tyre of the vehicle but missed, occassioning the death of the young boy is a terrible indictment.

Why did I say so?

In the first instance, what the Government is saying could be construed to mean that the police officers attached to the Agency could actually fire shots at fleeing vehicles.

That assumption is not only wrong. It is also criminal.

You will also note that the state Government and the Police have contradicted themselves.

The state Government said the incident started as a mere traffic offence but the Police said that the officers suspected a case of abduction!

By the time the Oyo state Government was making the release, you would have expected that the Governor of the state, as the chief security officer must have been properly briefed on the outcome of the investigation.

I expected the Government of Oyo state to condemn, in very strong terms, the fact that a police officer would draw his gun, aimed and shot at a traffic offender who was evading arrests since it believed that the incident started as a mere traffic offence.

I challenge the Government of Oyo state to make public, the areas of the OYRTMA Laws that empowers the Agency to fire shots at traffic offenders.

Such reckless statements could actually encourage the Agency to indulge in such silly acts in the future.

The actions of both the OYRTMA officials and the policemen attached to the Agency in this instance was completely unprofessional.

From the videos trending online, they were close enough to the driver of the car to have seen that he was carrying innocent children regardless of the afterthoughts of excuse by the police that they suspected a case of abduction.

Assuming without conceding that the driver of the vehicle actually abducted the children in the vehicle, so, firing to kill the abducted children is the solution?

It is the height of madness for anyone to draw a gun and aim at such a vehicle whether the aim was to shoot at the tyre or not.

Shouldn’t the OYRTMA have just taken the vehicle plate number and track it down?

Both the OYRTMA officials and the policemen behaved like bandits and they should be treated as such.

It also funny that Government said that the police were investigating the matter as at the time they made their statement and drawing conclusions that the police officer aimed at firing at the tyre of the fleeing vehicle.

The claim that the Government will collaborate with the police to investigate the matter has fallen flat because the police have now come out to release a statement that contradicts that of Government.

The videos of the incident speaks volumes and this is not a matter for just one police officer to be held responsible and discharged on a silly claim that a case of abduction was suspected.

I am surprised that the Government of Oyo state think that we are all fools.

In one breath, you claimed that one police officer is under investigation.

In another breath, you claimed that the officer who is supposed to be under investigation aimed for the tyres of the vehicle carrying the deceased.

Haba! Oyo state police command is investigating the matter according to you.

You did not tell us that a report has been submitted.

Yet, you came out with a preemptive statement that the policeman was actually aiming for the tyre of the vehicle.

Even at that, the police officer would still be liable to be tried for murder because he was not attached to the anti-robbery squad.

He was attached to an Agency which responsibilities are to maintain traffic Laws.

Sadly and unfortunately, the police are saying something else now that they suspected a case of abduction and that is contrary to the views held by the Oyo state Government who, ordinarily shouldn’t have made any conclusions until investigations are concluded.

The scenario above points only to a fact that both the Oyo state Government and the Police have been busy, trying to protect their officials involved in the criminal acts instead of looking for justice for the poor boy whose life was cut short as a result of the recklessness and stupidity of some overzealous Government officials.

I call on members of the public to rise up and fight for justice for this hapless family.

I call on the civil societies to rise up and demand justice.

I especially invite Chief Femi Falana to please get involved in this matter.

Personally, I do not trust the Government of Oyo state to do what is necessary in this matter.

The statement released by the Government is a pointer to the fact that it could not guarantee justice.

The anticidents of this Government is also not encouraging when it comes to issues like the present case.

We all know how the case of Rahman was treated.

The murder of the young man was left for years despite hues and cries and was only revisited for purposes beyond seeking justice for the deceased.

We all know how the Government treated the unfortunate deaths at the Bashorun High School.

In 2021, during the Local Government election conducted by this same Government, lives were lost at Eruwa and up till today, nothing was done by this Government to apprehend the suspected culprits.

If justice will prevail on this matter, it won’t come from the Oyo state Government.

I am making a passionate appeal to the Federal Legislators on whose jurisdiction this unfortunate incident happened to please show interest in this matter.

That poor boy must not die in vain.

Sola Abegunde writes from Eruwa