Man Cries Over Killed Son in Police Custody

"That child was my only hope. How am I going to survive without him? Those who killed him did not kill only him, they killed me as well. What am I living for? Who will take care of me? Who will bury me when I die? How can I be the one to bury my only child? No, I can’t take it! Bring those who killed my son, let them equally kill me,” Mr. Olawale wept profusely as he begged the Area Commander of the Surulere Police Station to bring out the killers of his son from the cell.

soar taste in the mouth of his father. The late Yusuf and two of his friends were said to have gone to hotel located on Oduduwa Street in Surulere, Lagos, to catch some fun during the Sallah celebrations but they never envisaged that danger was lurking around the corner.

As they were drinking and listening to music, some security men, who were working in the area as gaurds in a nearby hotel, stormed the beer parlour. The men were alleged to have attempted to extort some money from Yusuf and his friends, but they resisted the move. Feeling ashamed or insulted by the 'boys', the security men were said to have rushed back to their duty post and returned with guns.

As they returned to the spot, they threw empty bottles at the beer parlour, an act which was said to have angered Yusuf and his friends. So they moved closer to the security men to inquire why they did such. It was at this point that tragedy struck. One of them allegedly pulled the trigger directly to Yusuf's mouth and chest. The agents of death didn’t stop there, they also used broken bottles to attack Yusuf’s friends. The victims were later rushed to a nearby hospital while their assailants bolted. Yusuf died shortly after.

The next day as news filtered into the city that some security men had shot and killed Yusuf, friends and sympathisers of the victims moved to the hotel in search of the attackers. The guys were no where to be found. The youths visited their anger on the hotel, destroying several valuables in the process. They went ahead to set the hotel ablaze but the fire was quickly put off by the late Yusuf’s boss, Akeem.

On hearing the news of his only child's death, Yusuf’s father, Mr. Olawale, broke down in tears. He wept profusely until he got to the police station where some of the alleged perpetrators of the act where being held. While speaking with the police boss at the station, Mr. Olawale could not control his tears.

In his words: "Police, who killed my son? I want to see those who killed my only child. Bring them out from the cell and let me confront them. I want to know what my son did wrong before they killed him. Please, bring them out because they owe me an explanation. Area Commander, please, I want you to show me those who killed my son. He is my only child. As I am sitting here in your office, I am prepared to die. Bring those murderers and let them also kill me like they did to my son. That child was my only hope in life. I have no wife and no other child. I lost my wife years back. I don’t even have a job now."

In his brief speech, the police boss said he and his men would not leave any stone unturned, to ensure that all the perpetrators of the cruel act were punished according to the law of the land. Meanwhile, the owner of the hotel, Chief Friday Agbaja, has condemned the killing of the young man and promised to corporate with the police in bring the killers to justice.

He said: "The security men were employed to secure lives and property in the hotel. What were they doing outside the hotel? What were they doing at the bar? They shouldn’t have left their duty post, to go and make trouble. They should be punished for their sins. Look at what they have done to this elderly man (pointing at the bereaved). They killed his only child. My God! They killed a child that would have buried him? Who was supposed to bury who? This old man has no job, as he said, his son had been sustaining him."

Chief Agbaja said he knows that money cannot replace life, but he just have to assist the father of the victim as much as he could. He promised to give Mr. Olawale a job after the burial of his son and gave him a cheque of N600,000 to assist in the burial of late Yusuf... The killers will be charged to court soon, a police source disclosed. May his sould rest in peace. Amen.