“If
we had known, we wouldn’t have asked him to come back to Nigeria from
the United Kingdom in 2011. He came back, and now, look at what has
happened.”
These
were the words of Omokurie Emoekpere, while tearfully lamenting the
gruesome murder of her younger brother, Oyoma Edewor, a week ago.
If
Oyoma, a building finishing contractor, who was helping to manage his
late father’s real estate business, had had the slightest inkling that
Saturday, May 10, was going to be his last day on earth, perhaps he
would have stayed back. But certainly, because like any other mortal, he
‘knew not the time or the hour,’ he embarked on a short journey from
which he never returned, as his life was snuffed out abruptly by a
trigger-happy policeman.
On
that fateful day, Oyoma, who was just a couple of months away from his
33rd birthday, was on his way back home at FESTAC Town in Lagos in
company of one of his cousins, Olayinka Tijani, and a friend, Olaleye
Simon. The Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) they were all driving in was
said to have had a flat tyre at Mile 2 area of the state, which prompted
Oyoma and others to seek the services of a towing van operator to get
the vehicle home.
Oyoma’s
first stint with trouble was said to have occurred at Mile 2 when they
were accosted by a couple of policemen, who were apparently attracted to
an expensive ‘jeep’ being towed at around 10pm.
After
being quizzed by the policemen, and after allegedly parting with some
undisclosed amount of money, Oyoma and his colleagues were eventually
allowed to go.
The
journey from Mile 2 to FESTAC is always a short one, and so it proved
for the group of young men, who at this time were desperate to get to
their residence at 5th Avenue in FESTAC Town. This was especially
because the following day (a Sunday) was Oyoma’s younger brother (Moses
Edewor Jnr)’s introduction ceremony (a pre-marriage familiarisation
ceremony often held between a groom and a bride-to-be’s families).
However,
trouble started when, on getting to FESTAC, they were met by yet
another set of policemen from the Area E Command, who demanded that they
stopped.
When
narrating what transpired, Oyeleye Simon, who had gone to sit with the
towing van driver so as to show him the way home, said, “The van driver
refused to stop. I urged him to stop so that I could explain our plight
to those policemen, especially given the notoriety of FESTAC police. But
all my entreaties fell on deaf ears, as he just kept on speeding,
thinking he could ditch the policemen.”
According
to Simon, no one saw what was coming next, as the policemen, who were
two in number, commandeered a Toyota Sienna van, which was being driven
by an unidentified woman, and gave the late Oyoma and his colleagues a
hot chase.
“The
van (Sienna) hijacked by the police eventually caught up with us and in
the process of trying to obstruct us, was hit by the towing van from
behind. One of the policemen jumped out of the Sienna, cocked his gun
and moved menacingly towards us. The van driver still refused to stop as
he was still able to manoeuvre his way and drove off. This time, I was
really fed up with the driver’s antics and I had to struggle the wheels
with him so as to force him to stop. I had to do this because I felt
that since we were not robbers and since we had no sinister motive,
there was nothing stopping us from stopping for the police,” Simon
stated further.
According
to information gathered, to save his own skin, Simon managed to get
down from the van as the obdurate driver drove off still, but this time
in a wrong direction towards Alakija (also in FESTAC). It was here the
van came to a halt after it hit a roadside structure. It was here, too,
that the policemen eventually caught up with the ‘fleeing suspects’, now
seething with anger.
The
stubborn driver of the towing van, on sensing the danger and the
implication of his refusal to stop earlier, was said to have bolted,
leaving the two occupants of the SUV (Oyoma and Olayinka Tijani) to sort
themselves out with the policemen.
Yet
another account of the incident said that the driver of the (towing)
van was actually caught by the policemen, but was, strangely, allowed to
run away after repeatedly shouting “It’s me! It’s me! Don’t you know
me?”
When
narrating what transpired at that point, Tijani said the policemen
dragged them (Oyoma and Tijani) out of the SUV and ordered them to take
off their shirts and sit on the floor.
“We
were dragged out of the car with such brutality I had never seen. We
were kicked and asked to pull off our shirts – which we did. All along,
we were shouting that we were not robbers, but they were not ready to
listen. We were ordered to sit on the floor – which we did, and raise
our hands. It was then one of them, after first appearing to be going
away, turned round and shot Oyoma at close range,” Tijani said.
“We
did not insult them; neither did we struggle with them. All we were
saying was that we were not robbers, and that they should go after the
driver of the van since he was the one who put us in the mess in the
first place. Yet, they did not listen; rather, they opted to shoot and
kill a harmless Oyoma in such a way,” he added.
The
bullet was said to have shattered Oyoma’s right arm before eventually
piercing his abdomen. Tijani said the officer who pulled the trigger,
and who was eventually identified as Godwin Otene, subsequently vanished
into thin air.
“Oyoma
was crying that he was losing blood while I did my best to stop his
bleeding. All along, a group of policemen from another area saw the
whole thing, but they refused to give any assistance. They did not make
any attempt to even allow the Volkswagen ‘Faragon’ van they had with
them to be used to take the bleeding Oyoma to a hospital. I tried to
look around for what could be useful in stopping the bleeding but before
I could come, Oyoma was already dead,” Tijani narrated.
In
the meantime, Saturday Tribune gathered that Godwin Otene (the killer
policeman) was detained at the Area E station where he was reported to
have said that he had no idea what got over him. He was said to have
declared that he must have shot the young man because he (Otene) was
being remote-controlled by unseen forces.
“But
all along, I observed he was speaking incoherently and appeared like
someone who was drunk,” said Simon, who was among those who had gone to
the police station to report the incident.
Family demands justiceThe
family of the slain Oyoma, who was described as a very gentle and
easy-going fellow, has already petitioned the Lagos State governor,
Babatunde Fashola.
The
family’s spokesperson, Mr Tony Emoekpere, who is the husband of the
deceased’s sister, called for a thorough investigation on the issue and
urged the police to bring the culprit to justice.
Also
calling for justice was the ECOWAS Coordinator, Human Rights League of
Nigeria, Mr Godwin Okonkwo, who said that the police in FESTAC had long
been known for their brutality and cold-blooded murder. He said Oyoma’s
case would be the third associated with the same station.
Police reactThere
was, however, initial drama, as Otene was said to have been disowned by
the Area E Command. But according to available facts, he was said to
have emerged from there.
However,
the Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, in a statement, said
Otene, a sergeant, was already in police custody and that the
circumstances surrounding the shooting incident were being investigated.
“The
Lagos State command has arrested one Sgt. Otene Godwin with F/No.
355272 attached to Area ‘E’ command for allegedly shooting one Oyoma
Edewor.
“The
incident occurred on May 10th, 2014 about 2300hrs along Alakija area of
FESTAC Town. Sgt. Otene abandoned his duty post as the Station Guard at
Area ‘E’ command and left for Alakija area where the unfortunate
incident occurred,” Braide said.
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