Coroner indicts police for Jumoke’s death, cop’s identity demanded
A coroner’s inquest at the Ogbà Magistrate’s Court, Ikeja, Lagos, on Monday, revealed that the death of Jumoke Oyeleke, a salesgirl who lost her life during the Yoruba Nation rally on July 3, 2021, was caused by the police.
The Coroner, Magistrate Mukaila Fadeyi, said the police were liable for Oyeleke’s death, adding that the deceased deserved the country’s sympathy.
Delivering the findings of the inquest, Fadeyi said, “The only logical conclusion is that the deceased died from a weapon by the Nigeria police.”
He asked the Federal Government to compensate Oyeleke’s family.
Other recommendations included mental and medical checkups for police officers to determine their suitability to bear arms, training and re-orientation of police officers on the right to hold protests in a democratic society, an overhaul of the police force to remove corrupt officers and ensuring that they are brought to book to prevent further accidental killings.
He also recommended that police officers should not be given live bullets during peaceful protests.
The coroner said the state attorney general should be mandated to see to the implementation of the recommendations.
Oyeleke, 25, was hit by a stray bullet when the police were dispersing Yoruba Nation agitators who converged on the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park in the Ojota area of the state on July 3.
The police had denied using live bullets to disperse the agitators.
Speaking to our correspondent after the verdict, counsel for Oyeleke’s family, Taiwo Olawanle, said the police must be ready to reveal the identity of the officer who fired the shot.
He said, “The judgement of the coroner goes a long way to show that ordinary citizens can get justice. Nobody can bring back the deceased but someone must be held responsible.
“We are not going to stop here. We are pursuing this case with the IGP to ensure that whoever shot the deceased is brought to justice. It has been established that a member of the Nigeria Police Force fired the shot. So, someone must be held responsible. The NPF must fish out that officer and discipline him. That is our next agenda.”
(Punch)
