I saw police kill my father – 6-year-old girl

 

Mariam and slain father Adeniyi
A six-year-old girl, Mariam Adeniji, is currently in
shock after witnessing the killing of her father,
Rafiu Adeniji, who was allegedly shot dead by
policemen on Sunday.
The little girl, who spoke to jetlinking Metro while
trying to fight back tears, said her father was
killed after challenging policemen over an
accident along the Mangoro end of Lagos-
Abeokuta Expressway.
She said, “My daddy was driving home when
someone hit his car. He went to see the
policemen; they just brought out their guns and
shot him. They then ran away.”
Another occupant of the vehicle, Lateef Okesola
,
who expressed shock at the incident, said it
occurred in broad daylight.
He said, “Adeniji, Mariam and I, were all in his
Honda car; Adeniji was driving. We were headed
towards Agege when we saw a white police
patrol vehicle with the inscription, OPS Attack,
chasing a commercial bus. So, Rafiu swerved to
the side and allowed the vehicle to pass.
“We continued on our journey but after a while,
we found ourselves behind the same bus.
Suddenly, the driver of the bus applied his
brake.”
Unfortunately for Adeniji, he couldn’t stop his
car fast enough as his vehicle was said to have
hit the bus from behind, causing Okesola to
sustain a bruise on his head. An argument was
said to have ensued between the bus driver and
Adeniji after the motorist demanded payment
for the repair of the bus.
The deceased allegedly told the bus driver to
blame the policemen for causing the accident.
“The policemen were parked on the side of the
road and when Rafiu approached them to
discuss what had happened, one of them
alighted and shot him in the chest before
fleeing.
“It was the sympathisers who gathered, that
flagged down another commercial bus to take us
all to the Isokoko Police Division,” Okesola
added.
After obtaining a police report, Adeniji was taken
to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital,
Ikeja, where he was confirmed dead.
Not long after his corpse was taken to his family
home at Oshodi, Adeniji was said to have been
rushed to a private hospital after a sympathiser
claimed he saw the corpse move.
However, Adeniji was confirmed dead again at
Jericho hospital.
When our correspondent visited Adeniji’s
mother’s home located on Samura Street,
sympathisers were seen coming in droves to
condole with his aged mother said to be in her
70s.
Jetlinking Metro gathered that Adeniji was an
employee of NAHCO. His colleagues, who came
to sympathise with the family, described him as
a hardworking man.
Elder sister of the deceased, Titilayo Akintunde,
described the incident as a nightmare, saying
there was a need for the government to curb
the excesses of policemen.
She said, “One wonders why it is those that are
paid to protect lives and property that “continue
to add sorrows to our lives in this country.
“My brother was not a thug. He was gainfully
employed at NAHCO. He had a wife and two
children. Unfortunately, his life was cut short in
his prime.
“The case is even more pathetic because he was
killed in the presence of his six-year-old
daughter and she has refused to eat since the
incident. It is a sight that she will never “forget.
We want justice for him. Imagine what our
mother is going through right now?”
When contacted on the telephone, the Deputy
Police Public Relations Officer, Damasus Ozoani,
said, “There was a shooting in Agege area which
led to loss of life. The patrol team within that
area has been arrested and their arms have
been taken for ballistic examination.”