•Keyamo, Okei-Odumakin, other activists seek justice
Prominent rights activists yesterday joined ace broadcaster Aisha Falode in her plea to the federal government to pressurise its Dubai counterpart to probe the death of her 19-year-old son, Oluwadamilola ‘Toba Falode, which occurred on February 15 in Dubai.
It was during a media parley which was held in Lagos on the circumstances surrounding the boy’s death. Falode was there.
The President, Women Arise, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin and rights lawyer, Festus Keyamo among others at the conference called on the government to place premium on the lives of every Nigerian.
They stated that the government must begin to ask probing questions on suspicious death of Nigerians abroad, lambasting the nation’s embassy in Dubai for treating the murder of a legal resident with levity.
Okei-Odumakin said her organisation had on May 12, written a petition to the Nigerian Embassy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which was copied President Goodluck Jonathan and Chairman, House Committee on Diaspora, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa.
She said while Dabiri-Erewa had acknowledged receipt of the petition and told her she had forwarded same to the Embassy in addition to a letter she personally wrote, the Embassy in the UAE and the Presidency were yet to reply.
“Toba’s death should put a stop to murder of Nigerians abroad. Government must ask questions and demand answers. We must show that we care about the lives of everyone. Some students have died under mysterious and unfortunate circumstances in the UAE and no one asked questions.
“We have taken up this case and will not rest until justice is done. For every single tear drop for Nigerian citizens outside this country who are seeking better lives as a result of government’s failure to provide same, justice must be served,” she said.
For Keyamo, lawyer to the Falodes, something untoward happened to the deceased and there is need for the government to take over the matter an expose what the Dubai police are hiding.
“We want Nigerian government to be proactive when it comes to lives of citizens; the government has no regard for lives of Nigerians. It is the lack of action on their part after we have written several letters and petitions that has forced us to hold this conference.
“We learnt in Dubai that Al-Nasser is the son of an influential Saudi Arabia man who has heavy investments in Dubai. That suggests that they are doing everything possible to protect him and we need our government to mount pressure on them so that they will know it is human life that is involved.
“We demanded the footages of the CCTV camera on the building and were told the camera does not cover the floors. Then, we demanded to see the footages on the day Toba and his friends entered and how they left; they told us it might not have recorded. How is that possible when it is common knowledge that Dubai has security cameras on all streets, buildings and malls?
“We also observed that there were alterations on the incident book for that fateful day. It is obvious people are trying to cover up. Moreover, one of the security men on duty that night, a Pakistani was transferred immediately the thing happened.”
Agony of a bereaved mother
Falode could not hold back tears when video evidence was aired during the conference. It indicated that the deceased must have been pushed or thrown from his 17th floor apartment at the Manchester Towers in Dubai Marina, contrary to the Dubai Police’ claim that the victim slipped from the balcony of the building.
Findings revealed that the deceased was not in the balcony with his girl as claimed by the Dubai Police, but the primary suspect, Faisal Aldakmary Al-Nasser, a son of a Saudi Arabian rich man, with major investments in Dubai, had a fight there with the late boy.
It was revealed that Al-Nasser, who had in December 2013, had scuffles with the deceased over a British girl, Olivia Melanie Richards Evans, left his apartment that day with blood stains on his cloth and knuckles and repeatedly told his friends that he would serve a maximum jail term of 27 years.
Falode’s helplessness has been compounded especially because international law does not allow for private investigation and it is only the federal government that can compel the government of Dubai to reopen the matter and possibly, invite Nigeria’s security agencies to work with them.
Falode said: “We travelled to Dubai in April and met with some of my son’s friends who were present in the apartment on that fateful day. The summary of their accounts (which they voluntarily gave as written statements) were totally different from what the police report indicated and it revealed a weak attempt by the authorities in Dubai to hide facts that showed my poor son was murdered.
“I was told that sometime in December 2013, the said Al-Nasser stormed my late son’s apartment and ordered Ms Evans (his supposed girlfriend) out of Toba’s apartment, accusing her of having an affair with Toba.
“A fight was to have ensued from this confrontation, but for the intervention of other mutual friends. Since then, there was no love lost between Toba and Al-Nasser. In the evening of February 14, Toba with his friends – Ebele Oladeji Onwugbufor, Nick Allison and Joachim Santene – went to a club in Dubai, which is known as M Deck, Media 1 Hotel, Media City.
“At the club, they met Al-Nasser and Ms Evans. That again, an argument started at the club concerning Olivia and shortly after, Al-Nasser and Olivia left. And Toba and his friends also left shortly after the other two left. On the trio’s return to Toba’s apartment, they were shocked and surprised to find Al-Nasser and Ms. Evans outside Toba’s door, waiting and Ms. Evans was crying and appeared frightened while Al-Nasser appeared calm, with a determined look on his face.
“After they all entered Toba’s apartment, he, Al-Nasser and Ms. Evans entered his room to sort things out and the three of them later exited the room and moved to the balcony of the apartment on the 17th floor.”
Continuing, Falode said she was told that there were signs of serious argument coming from the balcony with raised voices.
“After about 20 seconds, Al-Nasser and Ms. Evans came back into the room and announced that Toba had fallen off the railings. However, Al-Nasser had blood splattered all over his shirt and had bloody knuckles with a noticeable cut on his finger.
“They said at this point, they all rushed downstairs to see Toba’s dead body lying approximately 12 to 15 metres away from the building, and the position of his body was not consistent with someone falling from a balcony as it was not close to the building.
“They said the police arrived and arrested them all and took them to the station; before and during the journey to the station, Al-Nasser repeatedly said to the hearing of everyone that his maximum punishment would be 25 years. He told the other boys not to worry, but Ms. Evans remained hysterical.
“Suddenly, the police took him by the side and told him in Arabic to stop making the statement and at the station, Al-Nasser and Ms. Evans were kept away from the rest and were interviewed separately while the other three were kept in another room and interviewed separately.”
“The witnesses were clear that the above account was what they narrated and wrote as statements at the police station, a vital piece of information deliberately omitted in the police report which did not make any reference of to Al-Nasser or Ms. Evans at the balcony. Al-Nasser was released without taking the blood stained t-shirt from him as should have been done in any investigative matter,” she said.
Falode said all she wants for her late son is justice, adding that justice must prevail not just for Toba, but for all other young lives that have been cut short brutally.
“I am appealing to the government that I have done much more than I should do as a grieving mother who was left with no option but to start investigating my own son’s murder by myself. I implore the Nigerian Government to prevail on the authorities in Dubai to re-open investigations into the murder of my son to bring Al-Nasser and Ms Evans to book.
“The loss of a son is not what any parent should have to suffer, let alone a brutal murder. I do not wish this on any one because the pain is not only excruciating but almost unbearable.
“I am asking for justice for my son and prayers from everyone that God in his infinite mercy gives my family and I the strength to bear this great loss,” she said.
