Yoruba Nation Rally: Mother of 25-year-old Salesgirl Demands Justice for Her Daughter

The mother of Jumoke Oyeleke, the 25-year-old salesgirl who was allegedly killed by a stray bullet during the Yoruba Nation rally in Lagos on Saturday, has demanded justice for her daughter.

Agitators for the Yoruba Nation gathered at the Gani Fawehinmi Park in the Ojota area on Saturday amid heavy presence of armed policemen and soldiers.

Some of the operatives reportedly fired gunshots, tear gas canisters and cannon water to disperse the demonstrators and journalists shortly after the rally took off.

Jumoke was displaying drinks at her boss’ shop in a compound close to the rally ground when security men chased some agitators onto the premises amid shootings.

She was said to have been hit by a stray bullet, which ripped through her stomach and left a deep hole.

Her corpse was later taken away in a police van.

PUNCH reports that the victim was 25-year-old and not 14, as widely reported.

During a visit to her parents’ house on Sunday, the mother, Ifeoluwa, said the police threatened to shoot her when she demanded her daughter’s corpse.

She said, “I was not at home when the incident happened yesterday (Saturday). I went to work in Ikeja and was called to start coming home. When I got home, I was told that the bullets shot by the police killed my daughter.

“We immediately went to Area H Police Command in Ogudu and they started threatening us that if we stayed long at their entrance, they would shoot us. It was when they saw that we would not retreat that they invited my brothers inside. I have not seen her corpse since yesterday. The police at Area H said it’s not in their custody, that we should go to other stations to check.

“I want the police to release the corpse for burial because we don’t know where they dropped her. The police should speak the truth because she was killed by a bullet. The police lied that it was an abandoned corpse; we both left home around 7.30am yesterday to our different destinations.

“Jumoke is my first child and she was a very healthy and good child; a very hard-working girl that won’t complain if you ask her to do anything. She said she wanted to save money from the job she was doing so she could own her shop and become a better person in life, but that dream has been cut short now.

“I want the state government to fight for me and render whatever help they can to me. It has not been easy since yesterday; it has affected me in every way because she’s the one helping to cater for her siblings.”

Jumoke’s uncle, Wasiu Afolabi, revealed that the family got to know about the incident through social media.

He said, “When we got to the police station, they didn’t allow us to enter until we started shouting, then they allowed two people to enter. When we entered, we met the DCO and he said he was not around when the incident happened, but asked us to go to the counter to drop our information and that they would get back to us. But my younger ones were not having it at all, so the area commander requested to see us and when we entered, he sympathised with us and said he heard that the bullet police shot hit the girl.

“He asked us to be patient so that the police could remove the bullet in her body and test it to know if it was from their station or other stations and he collected our details and said he would get back to us. About 30 minutes later when we got home, the area commander and the DPO came to visit the mother of the victim.

“What we heard now is that the police are saying it was not a bullet that killed her, but that she was stabbed. The woman that they were running together confirmed that she was beside her when the bullet pierced her and she fell on the ground. We want justice.”

A witness, Ibrahim Taofeek, who described the incident as tragic, said the police chased some of the protesters into the compound where the deceased died.

He said, “I and a lady were sleeping on a chair around 11.30am while the girl that was murdered was arranging her yoghurts out there. When the police started firing tear gas and bullets in the air, many people rushed into the compound.

“It was the gunshots that the lady heard that made her run inside with others. I was not sure what was happening, so I hesitated a bit. But when I saw that everyone was fleeing, I also left the scene and ran inside.

“When I got inside the compound, I found her lying on the ground. I initially thought she fell while we were fleeing, so I continued running. It was along the way I met a boy who also fled with us that told me that the police shot the lady who was in the house.

“As we returned to check her, we saw people running towards us, saying the police are returning to the scene, so we fled again. It was when the pandemonium settled that we realised that it was this lady that was shot. It was then we carried her body outside and the police carried the corpse away.”