Coroner says police responsible for death of Oyeleke at Yoruba nation rally
A coroner's inquest seeking to ascertain the circumstances surrounding Jumoke Oyeleke's death has charged police.
Coroner, Mukaila Fadeyi, sitting at Ogba Magistrates Court, Lagos, said police caused his death.
Ms Oyeleke, 25, was shot dead on July 3 when police tried to disperse the peaceful gathering of the Yoruba nation at Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park in Ojota by firing guns in the air and tear gas canisters.
The coroner noted that the only logical conclusion is that the deceased died from a Nigerian police weapon.
Magistrate Fadeyi, in his recommendations, said there was a need to “train, retrain and reorient the police on the right to protest, especially in a democratic setting.”
He urged the Inspector General of Police to "dredge up the bad eggs and ensure they are accounted for to prevent further accidental killings".
He also recommended that the federal government compensate the family of the deceased.
He advised law enforcement authorities to provide mental and medical examinations to their officers to determine their fitness to bear arms.
Mr. Fadeyi stressed that security guards deployed at protest sites should not receive live ammunition.
He added that the scene of the incident - Ojota, should "never be sealed off".
"The Commissioner for Justice should be mandated by the state government to forward the recommendations to the appropriate authority for implementation.
"There is a need for the state to fund the activities of the Coroner's Act of 2015, in order to stem wrongful and unlawful killings in the state and bring perpetrators to justice."
On July 3, Yoruba nation agitators converged on the Ojota region of Lagos to demand an independent state for the southwestern region.
It was reported that the police fired in the air and used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
During the protest, Jumoke, a 25-year-old vendor, was found dead after police fired to disperse the agitators.
Police denied firing live ammunition at the protest and said an examination of his body revealed stab wounds as the probable cause of his death.
But, an autopsy report from Lagos State Teaching Hospital showed that Jumoke had died of "hemopericardium, heart and lung disturbance and missile injury to chest".
Following the controversy surrounding the death and public outcry, the state government set up a coroner's inquest to unravel the misery behind the cause of death and provided a recommendation.
>ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
Coroner says police responsible for death of Oyeleke at Yoruba Nation rally
Coroner says police responsible for death of Oyeleke at Yoruba Nation rally
A coroner's inquest seeking to ascertain the circumstances surrounding Jumoke Oyeleke's death has charged police.
Coroner, Mukaila Fadeyi, sitting at Ogba Magistrates Court, Lagos, said police caused his death.
Ms Oyeleke, 25, was shot dead on July 3 when police tried to disperse the peaceful gathering of the Yoruba nation at Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park in Ojota by firing guns in the air and tear gas canisters.
The coroner noted that the only logical conclusion is that the deceased died from a Nigerian police weapon.
Magistrate Fadeyi, in his recommendations, said there was a need to “train, retrain and reorient the police on the right to protest, especially in a democratic setting.”
He urged the Inspector General of Police to "dredge up the bad eggs and ensure they are accounted for to prevent further accidental killings".
He also recommended that the federal government compensate the family of the deceased.
He advised law enforcement authorities to provide mental and medical examinations to their officers to determine their fitness to bear arms.
Mr. Fadeyi stressed that security guards deployed at protest sites should not receive live ammunition.
He added that the scene of the incident - Ojota, should "never be sealed off".
"The Commissioner for Justice should be mandated by the state government to forward the recommendations to the appropriate authority for implementation.
"There is a need for the state to fund the activities of the Coroner's Act of 2015, in order to stem wrongful and unlawful killings in the state and bring perpetrators to justice."
On July 3, Yoruba nation agitators converged on the Ojota region of Lagos to demand an independent state for the southwestern region.
It was reported that the police fired in the air and used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
During the protest, Jumoke, a 25-year-old vendor, was found dead after police fired to disperse the agitators.
Police denied firing live ammunition at the protest and said an examination of his body revealed stab wounds as the probable cause of his death.
But, an autopsy report from Lagos State Teaching Hospital showed that Jumoke had died of "hemopericardium, heart and lung disturbance and missile injury to chest".
Following the controversy surrounding the death and public outcry, the state government set up a coroner's inquest to unravel the misery behind the cause of death and provided a recommendation.
>ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
Coroner says police responsible for death of Oyeleke at Yoruba Nation rally
Coroner says police responsible for death of Oyeleke at Yoruba Nation rally
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