CURTAIN DRAWS FOR BUDDING SOCCER STAR, AS POLICEMEN STAB HIM DEAD
Victim
Mr. Abiodun Adamayeloye is a footballer, who played for one of the local teams in Lagos and he aspired to hit the goldmine one day, to become an international soccer star. But the curtain has drawn for the budding star and the shining light, abruptly put off by some overzealous policemen, attached to the Lagos State Police Command.
He was allegedly stabbed to death few weeks ago, and his corpse taken away by the police, leaving his parents with pains, anguish and broken-hearted.
According to Ademayeloye's family, since after their son's murder, life has never been the same again.
The deceased's father, Edward Ademayeloye, a painter by profession, is yet to come to terms with his son's tragic death and the reason behind his killers, taking away his corpse.
Daily Sun gathered that he had been running from pillar to post, trying to compel the police to release his remains for decent burial in their home town, Fiditi, Oyo State.
Besides, he has been making efforts to ensure that the policemen, responsible for the death of his son are brought to justice and compensation paid to the family.
Abiodun's death has, among others, adversely affected his mother's petty trading as she is said to have been indisposed since the brutal murder of her first son.
The family house of the Ademayeloyes at Lawanson, Surulere, has become Mecca of sorts as sympathizers troop in every second to commiserate with them, over the sudden demise of their promising son.
The victim, who is the eldest in the family of six boys, Daily Sun gathered, was coming back from a football training the fateful day he met his untimely death.
Our checks revealed that he had boarded a commercial bus with the registration number, XY 866 GG, from Ile-Epo, to Iyana-Ipaja bus-stop, along the Lagos/Abeokuta expressway. When an argument ensued between him and the bus conductor over what he perceived as exorbitant fare.
The father told the reporter that, if he knew death was lurking in the corner, he would have left the balance for the conductor, when he (conductor) refused to give it to him. It was the bus conductor's refusal to give him the balance, which resulted in the argument that later degenerated to fracas and consequently, Abiodun's death.
According to a source, the bus driver, later identified as a mobile policeman but in mufti at the time of the incident, pretended to have intervened in the matter between the deceased and his conductor.
But when he got to Iyana-Ipaja bus-stop where Abiodun was to alight from the bus, the driver allegedly drove straight to where his colleagues (mobile policemen) in uniform were standing.
And after he narrated what transpired between them and Abiodun, the mobile policemen descended on the deceased, torturing him with all kinds of weapons they could lay their hands on.
It was in the course of torturing him that one of the policemen allegedly brought out a jack knife and stabbed him in the waist region.
But when the policemen saw the gravity of the damage done to the victim by the deadly stab, they tried to escape, but the large crowd that gathered at the scene apprehended two of the suspected assailants.
The suspects, one of the policemen that the driver reported the deceased to, and the driver himself, are being detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba, Lagos, for interrogation.
An eyewitness also told Daily Sun how Abiodun bled profusely and later collapsed and died.
Describing the death of his son as a big shock to the family, Edward said: 'The policemen jointly beat and battered my son to death. In the orgy of their ferocious attack on him, one of the policemen brought out a jack knife and stabbed him in the waist region. He collapsed and died.'
He laments further: 'Abiodun is everything to us in the house because he is the eldest in the family of six boys. Everybody has been looking up to him as the shining light. I will miss him the most, because he was the one that would have taken care of the family in my absence. He had lived an exemplary life for his siblings to emulate. I feel his death and I think about him everyday. Everything that I invested in him has come to naught. No amount of money can compensate for the feeling I have for my son.'
Despite his present travails, caused by his son's death, the grieving father told Daily Sun how he wants to give his late son a befitting burial in their village.
He has therefore, appealed to the Lagos State police command to release his corpse to him.
He said: 'I do not know the intention of the police over the death of my son. I am, however, appealing to them to release his corpse to me, for me to give him a befitting burial. My kinsmen want to see the corpse for that purpose. They are anxiously waiting. The police said they are still investigating and as such, refused to release the corpse to me.'
But according to the embattled man, he has been getting cooperation from the police authorities, since his son was murdered in cold blood.
The family has also written a petition to the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Ringim, urging him to compel his men to carry out a thorough investigation on the murder of Abiodun.
The petition was written on behalf of the family by their lawyer, from Oba Taiwo and Associates Chambers. It was dated, November 1, 2011.
Signed by Mr. Taiwo Oladunjoye, the petitioners further appealed to the IG, to ensure that the suspected police officers are brought to face the full weight of the law, and to ensure that justice is done at the end.
Hear Oladunjoye: 'At the stage, we, on behalf of our client and his entire family, request a letter of apology over the gruesome murder of their son, Abiodun Ademayeloye. We also demand a conservative sum of N500 million, being compensative damages for the trauma, disaster, tragedy and irreparable loss, foisted not only on our client, but the entire family members, who are finding it extremely difficult to cope with the fact, that Mr. Abiodun Ademayeloye is no more.'
When Daily Sun contacted the command's Public Relations Officer, Mr. Samuel Jinadu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), he confirmed the incident, adding that the two suspects are being detained in connection with the matter.
According to Jinadu, the case is still under investigation. He said: 'Yes, there was an incident at Iyana-Ipaja, where a young man lost his life. The case is under investigation. The two suspects are in our custody at Panti, Yaba. They are, the driver of the bus and a policeman.'