Urges IGP to bring bad eggs to book
A Lagos coroner, Mukaila Fadeyi, sitting at the Magistrate’s court, Ogba, Lagos, yesterday, indicted the police for the death of a 25-year-old lady, Jumoke Oyeleke, on July 3, 2021.

Oyeleke was shot dead when the police fired shots and tear gas canisters in an attempt to disperse a peaceful Yoruba Nation rally at Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park, Ojota, Lagos.

Thereafter, an inquest was set up to unravel the circumstances surrounding Oyeleke’s death.

Delivering a report on his findings, the coroner noted that the only logical conclusion is that the deceased died from a weapon by the Nigerian police.

In his recommendation, Magistrate Fadeyi  said that there is a need for “training, retraining and reorientation of the police on the right to hold protests, especially in a democratic setting.”

He urged the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to “fish out the bad eggs and ensure they are brought to book to forestall further accidental killings.”

He also recommended that the Federal Government compensate the deceased’s family and advised the police authorities to provide mental and medical checkups for their officers to determine their suitability to bear arms.

The court further said the security operatives deployed to protest grounds should not be given live bullets, noting  that the scene of the incident -Ojota, should ‘never be cordoned off.’

“The commissioner for Justice should be mandated by the state government to forward the recommendations to the relevant authority for implementation.

“There is a need for the state to fund the activities of the coroner’s Act 2015,  to stem unwarranted and unlawful killings in the state and to bring to book the perpetrators,” the court added.