Two weeks after some trigger-happy police officers in the convoy of the wife of the Ekiti State Governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, allegedly killed two undergraduates of the Federal University of Oye, FUOYE, families and friends are yet to recover from the pain, writes YEMISI OLUSINA.
When some weeks before the gruesome killing of Joseph Okonofua, a 300-level Biology Education undergraduate of Federal University Of Oye Ekiti, visited his mother at their Ido – Ekiti home, little did he know it was going to be his last visit on earth. He had come briefly to collect some money, as is usual with students and had bidden his mother and other family members goodbye with a promise to be back after their second semester examination which was then approaching.
“Joseph was the first of my two children and I have laboured all these years to make sure they acquire good education and every basic need that can make them compete healthily and very well with their contemporaries. He is already at the third level and we were looking forward to the day he would graduate but the devil and its agents did not allow this to come to pass. They cut his life short in a way that nobody would have wished for even his enemies. How can I ever get over this?” the late Joseph’s mother, Mrs. Esther Omolemen Okonofua, lamented amidst fresh tears.
Indeed, relations of the 22-year-old young man have been plunged into mourning since he was confirmed dead a day after being shot during a peaceful protest he partook of with other students.
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A student, who was an eyewitness of the event that led to the tragic encounter, Gbile Oyeniyi, told The Nigerian Xpress that Joseph, on that day was standing with other students, protesting the epileptic supply of electricity on the campus while the convoy of the Ekiti State First Lady, Erelu Fayemi, was on the other side of the road.
“Everyone was gathered on one side of the road while the peaceful protest was going on. We did not know that the governor’s wife would be passing and so, none of us planned any attack. We just wanted to let the school authority know that our examination was fast approaching and we are tired of studying in darkness. We only wanted the authority to do something about it. But then, we met the entourage of the First Lady on the way and we saw it as an opportunity to air our voices,” he said.
Trouble, however, started when the police shot one of the students, Kekinde Dada, in the process and while everyone was trying to run for safety, Joseph, went to go rescue Kehinde, who happened to be his friend. “Kehinde Dada was shot and Joseph made way to go and render some help because they were friends and come from the same town. He had no weapon in his hands but the police shot him on the stomach and he fell down with part of his intestines visibly outside. It was horrible and pathetic,” recalled Oyeniyi.
While Kehinde died before he could get help at the hospital, Joseph got admitted into the hospital but gave up on life the following day.
Although Joseph was buried on Friday, 20th of September in Edo State, his friends and families remained inconsolable.
His bereaved mother said he was a child meant to shine light not only on his family but also on the nation as a whole. “Besides being an intelligent boy, he was a very talented child. He loved God and served Him. As a student of Notre Dam Grammar School, Usi Ekiti, he was the president of the children in the Province 3 of the state’s Redeemed Christian Church of God. He was never a trouble maker and loved to share all he had with others. He made me happy always and always assured me of a better future. All that have gone with the winds now, isn’t it?” she asked no one in particular.
Corroborating this was one of Joseph’s female friends, who spoke on anonymity. She said: “I have known Joseph since when we were in 100 level. He was a peaceful boy and would go out of his way to please anybody. I am sure that was what he was trying to do before he got shot. He was a very jovial person; he was an upcoming comedian, had a media concept through which he acted drama in the church and everywhere. His stage name was Icon. In fact, many of us do not know his surname; we just called him Joseph Icon. We will all miss him and will always pray that whoever pulled the trigger that killed those boys would suffer the sorrow that their parents and loved ones are currently suffering.”
For one of their neighbours, who wants to be simply known as James, justice must be served. “I am yet to recover from the shock I suffered over the way the boys were killed. Is something wrong with our police? Why are we like this in Nigeria? Are we the only nation and exactly what can we say is working in this country? What excuse or reason will the police involved in this give for killing the boys? Do they not have their own children? Were they students armed? Did they look like armed robbers, Boko Haram or Fulani herdsmen? Shouldn’t these officers have used tear gas or at the worst shot them at the legs? I mean, I really can’t get over this. My take is that the guilty policemen should be brought to book and be publicly dealt with. Just how much will be enough to console the parents? Honestly, only God can console them. I have been coming to see her (Joseph’s mother) almost every day since my house is close but, my sister, I just come and sit, I am short of words to console her,” he said.
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The same scenario played out at Mr. and Mrs. Dada’s place. Although then late Kehinde was not singularly raised by his mother, his parents are quite aged. One of their relatives, Mr. Banji, who spoke on their behalf told this medium that while his father, Mr. Emmanuel, is 64, his mother, Mary, is 61.
“It is a sad thing for any parent to experience this kind of thing in a lifetime. Kehinde’s parents are even old and are currently at a time when parents look forward to their children’s success for assistance in whichever way. They are retirees, who are merely struggling to keep the family together. Now, their son was murdered by an arm of government that should be protecting them. It is indeed sad,” he said.
Advising government on the situation, he said: “No doubt, this incident is bad and the culprits should be brought to book but beyond this, government needs to take a cue from this. What I am saying is that if government is able to punish the said policemen, families of the slain students, other students and the aggrieved citizens of Nigeria as it were will be a little bit pacified. But government still needs to re-train the police on how to be more professional. It is important as this will go a long way in preventing a similar occurrence in the future. Also, government should be careful and dig deeper into the personality of the calibre of people they recruit into the police force.”
Although Mrs. Fayemi in a statement has condoled with the bereaved families and had commissioned a state government delegation, comprising the Secretary to the State Government, Biodun Oyebanji; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Biodun Omoleye; Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs. Moji Fafure and Commissioner for Environment, Gbenga Agbeyo, among others, who visited the two families, the National Association of Nigerian Students, in a statement issued by its Zone D Coordinator, Adekiitan Lukman, insisted that the state government constitute a judicial panel of inquiry to investigate the killing of the two students and ensure that the guilty officers be fished out and made to face the music.
The statement read in part, “We condemn in the strongest possible term the gruesome killings of the two students, who lost their lives and pray to God to give the families of the departed the fortitude to bear the loss. We demand that Ekiti State government should take up all expenses of those injured and as well as compensate the families of the deceased.”
“We call on the state government to set up a judicial panel of inquiry to investigate the needless killings and barbaric show of force by the police and recommend appropriate sanctions as well as means of preventing future occurrence. We hope to get quick and favourable response on these demands within the next five working days.”
The institution has since remained closed to all academic activities and has categorically stated that it is not set to resume academic activities on September 27, as being rumoured around.