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Tag: Kolade Johnson

  • Buhari condemns killing of Kolade Johnson by SARS

    *Promises prosecution of perpetrators

    President Muhammadu Buhari has regretted the recent unfortunate action of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) operatives from the Lagos State Police Command, which led to the avoidable death of Mr. Kolade Johnson.

    In a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina, the President commiserated deeply with the family of the deceased.

    He acknowledged the genuine outrage regarding the activities of SARS and reassured the public that swift actions have already been taken.

    “Suspects are in custody and an orderly room trial is set to commence immediately, following which indicted officers will be prosecuted in court.

    Read Also: Buhari congratulates Chief Odeyemi at 80

    “Government will not tolerate in any way the brutalization of Nigerians or the violation of their rights. Any officer of the law enforcement agencies or any other government functionary caught in this act will certainly be visited with the full weight of the law.”

    Recall that following directives from the Presidency in 2018 to overhaul the management and activities of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, steps were taken by the Police leadership to restructure and reform SARS.

    The President recognized that a lot more remains to be done and this effort must be sustained.

    He reassured that this administration will continue to ensure that all officers in the Police and other law enforcement agencies conduct their operations in strict adherence to the rule of law and with due regard to International Human Rights and Humanitarian law.

  • Police name men who ‘killed soccer fan’

    The Police yesterday named the officers who allegedly killed a football fan, Kolade Johnson, on Sunday night, at Onipetesi near Ikeja, Lagos.

    They are Inspector Ogunyemi Olalekan and Sergeant Godwin Orji.

    A statement by Lagos State Command spokesman Bala Elkana, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said the officers, who are of the Anti-cultism Unit, are now in detention.

    The statement said Police Commissioner Zubairu Muazu led some of his men to visit the bereaved family yesterday.

    On Muazu’s entourage were the Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) Ayuba Elkanah, Mohammed Ali and Yetunde Longe, who are in charge of Administration, Operation and the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID).

    Read also: Lagos committed to making the state work for all, says Ambode

    Muazu assured the family that justice would be done and prayed for the repose of Johnson’s soul.

    He said the arrested officers had been subjected to internal disciplinary measures.

    Receiving the police chief in their home at 1, Beco Street, Onipetesi, the family head, Alhaji Remi Lukman, hailed him for the ‘’bold step’’ taken to expose those behind the shooting.

    According to eyewitnesses, a police team, which stormed Olu Aboderin Street, Onipetesi on Sunday to arrest a suspected cultist, shot sporadically into the air after apprehending their target.

    The late Johnson, who was then watching the Liverpool versus Tottenham match, was said to have been hit by a stray bullet.

     

  • Kolade not killed by stray bullets, family insists

    Kolade Johnson was not killed by police stray bullets as widely reported, his family has declared.

    Rather, he was deliberately shot and killed by trigger-happy cops.

    His foster, Alhaji Remi Lukman, told our correspondent exclusively on Tuesday at the family’s residence in Lagos that stray bullets couldn’t have penetrated his body twice.

    He claimed the family has video evidence to prove the deceased and his friends were aimed at the policemen as against media reports they mistakenly fired.

    Lukman said: “We have been hearing that it was a stray bullet but I must tell you that a stray but cannot penetrate twice. If he had not directed the gun at them two bullets will not touch him.

    “He was the hope of the family and a gentle boy and as I am talking to you, I have gone beyond this level and I’m just trying to set everything in motion to prove it was not stray bullets at all.”

    Describing how the incident happened, the foster father said: “He was just there at that spot catching fun with his friends and watching football match, which of course anybody could have done.

    Read Also: Family of slain Kolade Johnson demands justice

    “It was a response to a lady screaming kidnappers that made them all leave the Kingston Jo eatery to come out to know why the lady was shouting kidnappers.”

    He described Kolade as the hope of the family, a gentle boy who was very intelligent.

    “You really needed to have known him. He was a very gentle boy. Some of the video clips will carry in summary the kind of person that he was.

    “While the gunshots were fired towards the group the video clip shows that he was walking behind them all. He wasn’t intrusive at all.

    “It was just unfortunate that he happened to be a victim in the group. All we are asking for is justice and what these people have done to us should be done to them.

    “He was gentle, intelligent, full of future, the family had a bright hope concerning him and it is very unfortunate that someone like him died at a very tender age.

    “He’s a very gentle boy, listened to home training and we trained him well.”

    Elder sister of the deceased, Toluwani Lukman, also described him as her companion, saying she will miss him for so many things.

    Late Kolades’ niece, Khadija Lukman, added the deceased never got angry and was a good cook.

    Deceased’s mother, Mrs. Esther Odebiyi kept quiet all through the interaction with the family, ostensibly soaked in sorrow.

  • Family of slain Kolade Johnson demands justice

    The family lawyer of slain Kolade Johnson, Wale Ademoyejo, has demanded for justice over the gruesome murder of the 2012 University of Benin Business Management and Enonomics graduate.

    He said Johnson, who was killed by trigger-happy policemen, while watching English Premiership match last Sunday in Onitepesi, Lagos, must not die in vain.

    Ademoyejo told our correspondent on Tuesday in the family’s residence that the death of Johnson must teach policemen how to use their guns.

    He said: “What we are seeking is justice. Justice not only for the father, not only for the person that was killed but for the whole community and Nigeria as a whole.

    “So, if you allow them go scot free with this particular action, they will continue to do the same thing and we want that to stop.

    “Who knows, the Commissioner of Police in Lagos could be the Inspector General tomorrow. They should start from now and start reorienting the police on how to use gun.

    “Gun is not a toy. If Nigerians are so used to watching home videos and taking it to reality, they should re-orientate them.”

    He added: “The way Nigerian Police behave, this should have been a good opportunity to let the police know that they don’t know how to use gun.

    “The philosophy behind the use of gun should be observed properly and the truth is I have seen a police man using his gun to open a bottle of beer.

    “Is that how it is done? If you say you have freedom of using gun, has it ever been heard that a police officer faces his mother and shoot her or faces his son or brother or any member of his family?

    “But all they can do is to shoot people any how just to prove a point. What kind of point? They have power to take life, who gave them that power?

    “There is a social contract delegate that power to them? And why should you now turn back against those people who gave you that power.

    He continued: “Secondly, if you look at the Nigeria armed forces, they don’t use gun anyhow and they could use the gun.

    “They are trained to kill but they do not use it except it is absolutely necessary with order from above. They don’t abuse the gun but use it wisely.

    “The Nigerian police should talk to their people, retrain them how to use gun and they should let them know the philosophy behind the usage of gun and it should be the last option and it could be used after taking the last order from their superior officer.”

  • Police reveal cop-killers of Kolade Johnson

    The Lagos State Police Command has revealed the identities of the anti-cultism unit officers whose stray bullet killed Kolade Johnson, a soccer fan on Sunday night at Ikeja.

    The officers currently in detention were identified as Inspector Ogunyemi Olalekan and Sergeant Godwin Orji.

    Eyewitnesses stated a police team, which stormed Olu Aboderin Street in Onipetesi to arrest a suspected cultist, had released sporadic shots into the air after picking their target and one of such bullets hit Johnson, an only child, said to be watching Liverpool match at the time.

    Although the policemen were arrested and detained after the incident, a statement by spokesman Bala Elkana on Tuesday disclosed that Commissioner Zubairu Muazu had paid a condolence visit to the family.

    He said the police boss reassured the family that justice would prevail, adding he was accompanied on the visit by the Deputy Police Commissioners (DCPs) Administration, Operations and State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) Ayuba Elkanah, Mohammed Ali and Yetunde Longe, respectively.

    “The Commissioner of Police was received by the head of the deceased’s family Alhaji Remi Lukman in their residence at 1, Beco Street, Onipetesi, Mangoro bus stop.

    “The Commissioner of Police condemned the action of the members of the Anti-Cultism team suspected to have carried out the shooting and reiterated his commitment in ensuring that justice is done in the matter.

    “He stated that the men suspected to have carried out the shooting have been apprehended and subjected to internal disciplinary procedures. He revealed their names as Inspector Ogunyemi Olalekan and Sergeant Godwin Orji attached to Anti Cultism Squad

    “The CP prayed for the repose of the soul of Kolade Johnson and also prayed that the Almighty God will grant the family, friends and well- wishers the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss,” said Elkana.”

    According to him, the family head expressed gratitude to the Commissioner for visiting them and his assurances of justice.

    He commended the CP for the bold steps taken in exposing those behind the shootings.

    He said: “I thought it is going to be a one man’s fight but seeing the Police high Command joining our family in this fight has shown that justice will not only be done to Kolade but to the entire Nigerian youths. I am glad that we have a new police force which believes in Justice.

    “He described his late son as a peace- loving person and called on well- wishers to remain calm and allow the law to take its cause,” Elkana stated.

  • Photos: Lagos CP visits family of slain Kolade Johnson

    The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Zubairu Muazu, on Tuesday, paid a condolence visit to the family of late Kolade Johnson.

    Johnson was shot dead by operatives of the Anti-Cultism Squad at Mangoro area of Lagos State.

  • Police apprehend suspected killers of Kolade Johnson

    The Nigeria Police Force on Tuesday said it has apprehended suspected killers of Kolade Johnson.

    Johnson was shot dead by operatives of the Anti-Cultism Squad at Mangoro area of Lagos State.

    The police via Twitter identified the suspects as Inspector Olalekan Ogunyemi and Sergeant Godwin Orji both attached to the Anti-Cultism Squad.

    The statement reads “The men suspected to have carried out the shooting of Kolade Johnson have been apprehended and subjected to internal disciplinary procedures. The CP has revealed their names as (1) Insp Ogunyemi Olalekan and (2) Sgt Godwin Orji attached to Anti Cultism Squad.”

    The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Zubairu Muazu, on Tuesday, also paid a condolence visit to the family of late Kolade Johnson.

    Photos of his visit were posted on the verified Twitter handle of the Nigeria police, @PoliceNG.

  • Police detain team ‘behind soccer fan’s death’

    Policemen attached to the Anti-Cultism Unit, fingered in the killing of a soccer fan, Kolade Johnson, in Ikeja on Sunday night, have been detained, spokesman Bala Elkana said yesterday.

    He disclosed this in a statement, saying the team members would undergo internal disciplinary procedures and would be prosecuted if found culpable.

    It was gathered that the team had stormed Olu Aboderin Street, Onipetesi, to arrest a man with dreadlocks on suspicion that he was a cultist.

    After allegedly arresting their target, the policemen allegedly shot sporadically and a stray bullet hit Johnson, said to be an only child, who was watching Liverpool Football Club versus Tottenham Hotspur match.

    REad also: Police arrest 21 robbery suspects

    An eyewitness said Johnson, who recently became a father, died before he was taken to the General Hospital, Ikeja. This caused a protest, which spread to Mangoro Cement and Dopemu areas of the state.

    Elkana said Police Commissioner Zubairu Muazu had appealed for calm, adding that the police identified the suspect team based on an eyewitness’ account.

  • Police team arrested over killing of youth in Lagos

    A police team under the Lagos State Police Command had been arrested over the alleged killing of a youth, Kolade Johnson on Sunday.

    The command’s spokesman, DSP Bala Elkana, confirmed the arrest in a statement on Monday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) had reported on Sunday that some residents of Mangoro/Onipetesi community in Lagos went on a rampage blocking the Oshodi/Abeokuta expressway in protest against the killing of a youth in the area.

    The angry residents blocked the major roads with tyres and woods after a youth was allegedly shot dead by policemen from Anti-Cultism Unit of Lagos State Command.

    NAN learnt that an unmarked commercial bus occupied by the policemen had visited the community on Sunday afternoon in search of youths dressed wildly and wore dreadlocks.

    It further gathered that one of the police operatives allegedly shot dead the youth from behind in an attempt to disperse a crowd which had gathered during the raid.

    According to Elkana, on March 31, at about 5.05p.m., the Command received a distress call that Lagos- Abeokuta Express Way has been blocked by some angry youths who were protesting the shooting of one Kolade Johnson of No.1 Beco street, Onipetesi, Mangoro Bus Stop.

    He said the shooting was done by a team of policemen from Anti Cultism unit, stressing that a team of policemen from the Rapid Response Squads and Metro Patrol were promptly drafted to the scene.
    Elkana said the account of eye witnesses helped in identifying the team which fled the scene immediately after the incident.

    READ ALSO: Police detain team behind soccer fan’s death

    “Members of the team suspected to be involved in the shooting have since been arrested and are currently in police custody undergoing interrogation.

    “They will be subjected to internal disciplinary procedures, and may be prosecuted in conventional court if implicated by ongoing investigation.

    “Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, CP Zubairu Muazu calls for calm, assuring that justice will prevail in this case.

    “The CP also condoles with the family, friends and well wishers of Kolade Johnson,” he said.

    The spokesman said that the CP has promised to initiate far reaching reforms to help in repositioning the Anti Cultism Squad for effective service delivery, particularly in areas of respect for Human Rights and proficiency in the use of firearms.

    “Members of the public who have complaints on the activities of Anti Cultism Squad or any of our Police teams should call the following numbers 08063299264, 08065154338 and 08060357795,” he added