“I don’t want the Commissioner of Police to come for fun, because that’s not what will wake my son from death. I just want justice," Nafiu's father said.
Chief Saditu Nafiu Ayodele, father of Tunde Nafiu, the young man was shot in Osun State on August 23, has called on the Police to ensure that his son gets justice.
Nafiu, a graduate of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, is the first male child and the fourth of eight children of the same parents. He was shot at close range by an official of the Special Anti-Ribbery Squad (SARS).
He was shot on his way from Ile-Ogbo, a sleepy community in ancient Iwo, in Ayedire Local Government Area of Osun State.
His murder sparked public outrage, leading to a protest that resulted in the burning down of a police station in the area.
Nafiu’s father, a chief and a retired teacher of Ansar Udeen Elementary School, Ile-Ogbo, told SaharaReporters what he was told about the incident.
“This incident happened on the night of Thursday, August 23. He had informed me that he was going to Oluponna to meet his friend and while coming, they would alight at Iwo," he recalled.
“He was with his friend, Suleiman, and they were both on their way home. While they were waiting for a bike, Suleiman said he heard a gunshot and Tunde fell down. He was rushed to the General Hospital at Iwo, where he was finally confirmed dead. He was shot in the right side of his chest; the lower part.
“The SARS officials — four of them — were taken to Iwo olice Station. From what I was told, four SARS officers were detained at the Police headquarters, Osogbo, where further investigations are being carried out.”
When asked how the killer of his son would be identified among the arrested policemen, he said: “The Police said an autopsy would be conducted to ascertain who the gun, from which the bullet was dislodged, was issued to".
Lamenting the death of his son, his father said: “Tunde was one of the breadwinners in the house, although he has four sisters. He has been so supportive in the house in terms of finance. He is very responsible and trustworthy.”
Speaking on what the Police had done in the meantime, he said they had paid him a visit and promised to get to the root of the matter.
“On the evening of that day, the Commissioner of Police came to my house on the instruction that the IG said they should come and express their condolences," he said.
"The commissioner said he first asked the DPO of the area to call me first, to know if it would be safe to come and console me. He said the IG had called him up to 10 times before he came, just to ascertain that he actually came. He said they would get to the root of the matter. I was told that the SARS officials had been arrested because his action had dented the image of the force.
“I don’t want the Commissioner of Police to come for fun, because that’s not what will wake my son from death. I just want justice.”
The Osun killing came less than a month after Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, while acting as President when President Muhammadu Buhari was on vacation, directed the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to overhaul the activities of SARS with immediate effect.