A petitioner, Olusegun Olaosebikan told the Osun Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Police Brutality, Human Rights Violations and Related Extra Judicial Killings at its resumed sitting on Friday that the killing of his father made him to become a school dropout.
Olaosebikan, who approached the panel to seek justice for the murder of his father, said the killing also rendered the family wretched as tangible and intangible properties of the deceased were disposed of to take care of his hospital and other bills following the gunshots he received from a police officer.
Narrating his ordeal, Olaosebikan said his late father was shot by the police on January 1st, 2001 when he and the deceased were returning from crossover prayer night to herald the New Year.
Breadwinner of the family
The petitioner in his petition said the deceased who was the breadwinner of the family was gruesomely killed by overzealous officers who were on patrol in Iwo.
He said the incident had wreaked havoc on the family as the entire property and personal belongings of the deceased were disposed off to save his life before he finally died.
The petitioner, who was crestfallen, said he was forced to drop out of school when he couldn’t afford the tuition fees.
“I had to drop out of school when I couldn’t afford to pay the tuition fees. I was studying statistics at Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, before the incident occurred.
“On that fateful day, my daddy and I were returning from worship centre where we went to pray to herald the New Year when some police officers drove across our path and started shooting.
“It was in the process that my father was shot on the head. We rushed him to the hospital in Iwo before he was transferred to Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, where he spent six months.
“On that fateful day, there were five police officers in the patrol vehicle, but the only one I could identify was Olalekan Jimoh, who was not produced to face the law.
“Unfortunately, all efforts to keep the deceased alive and save him proved abortive as he died after six years of excruciating agonies.
“The incident made me to drop out of school when I couldn’t afford to pay the tuition fees. Not only that, I was unable to stay at school because of his serious sickness and we had to sell virtually all his belongings, including landed property and farm lands to save his life before he finally gave up the ghost.
“Though we took the matter to Iwo High Court in 2002, we were forced to withdraw the case when there was a palpable ‘threat to life’ by some top police officers.
“We are here after 20 years to re-present the case in line with the government’s directive to forward any petition on police brutality.
“I am appealing to the panel to grant all my prayers to fish out the killers and order adequate compensation to the tune of N100million,” he stated.
Ruling in the case, the Chairman of the panel, Justice Akin Oladimeji (rtd.), ordered the presentation of final addresses by the two parties and adjourned the case to March 19th, 2021 for the adoption of the said addresses.
The panel, after legal arguments by both counsels to determine whether or not it had the territorial jurisdiction to entertain the petition filed by Mr. Mustapha Muideen and two others whose petitions premised on the gruesome killing of eight out of ten occupants of a commercial bus attacked, robbed and burnt by police officers in Kogi State few years ago, adopted the final address presented by the petitioners’ counsel.
The panel also adopted the final address filed by Mr. Wasiu Jimoh against Osun State Commissioner of Police, while cases filed by Mr. Adeola Paul Sunday; Mrs Kafayat Ibitoye &1OR; and Mr. Kehinde Ajibola all against Osun State Commissioner of Police were further heard by the panel.
Lateefah Ibrahim
