Yoruba Nation Rally: Jumoke Must Not Die In Vain -By Isaac Asabor

THE untimely death of Citizen Jumoke Oyeleke who was allegedly killed by a stray bullet during the Yoruba Nation rally in Lagos on Saturday, July 3, 2021, has brought to the fore once again, the level of desecration of human life in the country. It is sad that human life has become very cheap; literarily as “Wazo-Wazo” that it is been cut short by the wicked without the exhibition of a smidgeon of remorse. It appears as if the society has unwittingly bred a stock of trigger-happy killers who are always waiting in the wings to snuff out precious human life for the flimsiest of excuses. As gathered, Jumoke met her death while displaying soft drinks at her boss’ shop located in a compound close to the rally ground. It is been speculated that she might have being hit by stray bullet when security men chased some agitators into the premises.

However, as the accusations and denials of who killed the innocent girl continue to dominate news space, the Lagos State Police Command said “findings showed the deceased must have died before the protest and that she didn’t die from bullet wounds but from a ‘sharp object”, and explained that the location where neighbors and other sympathizers found the body was far from the protest venue.

Yoruba nation rally

“The command did not fire a single live bullet at Ojota rally today. The said corpse was found wrapped and abandoned at a distance, far from Ojota venue of the rally, behind MRS Filling Station, inward Maryland, on the other side of the venue, with dried blood stains suggesting that the corpse is not fresh.

“After a close look at the corpse, a wound suspectedly sustained from a sharp object was seen on it. The news is false and mischievous. The command, therefore, urges the public to disregard the news and go about their lawful normal daily activities while investigation to unravel the incident will commence immediately,” the police spokesman said in a statement.

Whichever was the case, the innocent girl has being sent to an untimely death, and the irreversible damage has been done. Aptly put, another life has been needlessly cut short in its prime. This is pathetic and patently unacceptable.

To be sure, there can be no just cause for firing shot at the time under any circumstance as it was reported that the crowd was not uproarious. Even if they were, the Police had tear gas canisters and water cannons to disperse the crowd on that black Saturday. Then the question, “Who Killed Jumoke?”

The brutal termination of the life of Jumoke by an unknown killer is a gruesome event and the perpetrator must have his or her day in court.

It is important that Lagos State Government, Nigeria Police and organisers of the Yoruba Nation Rally take this issue very seriously as the girl’s death has no doubt cast pall over the meaningfulness and essence of the rally. No nation that lays claim to any modicum of decency should brook the death of its own as it is axiomatic that shedding of innocent blood is a blight on any nation. Many innocent Nigerians have lost their lives in circumstances similar to that of Jumoke. This must stop. The government and the society at large must work assiduously to rein in unjustified killings. No one, not even a law-enforcement agent, has the right to take the life of any human being without the pronouncement of a court to so do.

The security agents that sometimes kill or maim are expected to do so permissively under inevitable and special circumstances to protect themselves and other citizens, and even at that, they have stringent rules of engagement and codes to follow. It is barbaric, vicious and uncivilized to engage in or condone termination of someone’s life.

Perhaps, it should be stressed that even if a criminal is caught in the act, no person, not even the police, can punish him/her except the court of law. All forms of leadership, being it government, traditional and religious, have a duty to help put all of this in intense advocacy so that everyone is sensitized that the law abhors unjustified killings or any semblance of it under whatever guise. It is equally imperative to activate the mechanism for deterrence against unjustified actions.

Culprits should be severely punished for participating in miscarried justice even when it is officially established that victims of miscarried justice were indeed criminals. The law must always be allowed to take its course; there should be no room for self-help or anarchy. Meanwhile, the killers or Killer of Jumoke should be apprehended and brought to book to serve as a deterrent to potential perpetrators of such heinous act. Citizen Jumoke must not be allowed to die in vain.

It is gratifying to note that Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has ordered an investigation into her death. The Lagos State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, Moyosore Onigbanjo, in a statement, said a coroner’s inquest had been requested by the state government to determine the cause and circumstances of the girl’s death.

The statement read: “Our attention has been drawn to the death of a 14-year-old girl in Ojota during the Oodua Republic Mega Rally on Saturday, 3rd of July, 2021.

“We commiserate with the family of the deceased. The Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has ordered a thorough investigation of the death. A coroner’s inquest has immediately been requested in line with Section 14 and 15 of the Coroners’ Systems Law, Laws of Lagos State 2015, to determine the cause and circumstances of death.

“By Section 14(1) (d) of the Coroners’ System Law of the State: ‘A report of death shall be made to any of the agencies for the report of death or the office of the Coroner and be subject to post-mortem examination where there is reasonable cause to believe that the cause of death was violent, unnatural or suspicious.’
“Section 15(1) and (9) further enjoins the Coroner to hold an inquest whenever he or she is informed that the death of the deceased person was in a violent, unnatural or suspicious situation or believes an inquest is desirable following the report of a reportable death.

“As a government, the security and well-being of citizens are of utmost importance to us. The state assures the public that everything will be done to ensure that the cause of death is known. The findings of this investigation will be made public in due course and appropriate sanctions meted out to anyone found culpable.”
Against the foregoing backdrop, every step that will ensure that Jumoke did not die in vain should be taken individually by the Nigeria Police, Lagos State Government and the organizers of Yoruba Nation Rally.