A petitioner, Olusegun Olaosebikan has narrated before the Osun state Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Police Brutality, Human Rights Violations and Related Extra-Judicial Killings, how trigger happy policeman caused sudden death of his father.
The development which the Petitioner said led to his dropping out of school.
He noted that the untimely death shattered the family as the deceased’s property was disposed to settle his medical bills while trying to resuscitate him.
Narrating the Ordeal, he said his father was killed by a policeman on January 1, 2002, while returning from crossover service in Iwo.
“On that black day, my dad 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.
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“there were five policemen 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 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 farmlands 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 added.
In a short ruling, 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
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