The joy of every parent is to see their child advance educationally. But for the family of Akinola Adegbite, a National Diploma year two student of the Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa State, this would never happen.
Akinola, an Engineering student, was allegedly shot dead by policemen over an alleged attempt to kidnap one Bode Micheal at Angwan Tama area of the state on September 17, 2015.
Saturday PUNCH spoke with Akinola’s father, Adewale Adegbite, recently in an emotion-laden interview, where he explained what happened.
The bereaved father said, “On September 17, 2015, I got a strange call from the polytechnic that the police had shot my son. I asked the person what could have possibly led to that. I just could not believe it because I knew my son could not have been involved in any violence.
“I asked the caller whether there was any riot in the school but the person said no. Many calls kept coming in but I just could not wait any longer, so I had to rush to the school campus to see what happened for myself.
“Just few meters away from the school gate where my son was allegedly killed by the police, I saw a huge crowd of students and residents. In the middle was my son, lying in the pool of his blood.”
Saturday PUNCH learnt that it was at this point that the shocked father slumped and fainted.
He said he only found himself in the hospital the next day, wondering what happened.
“I was told that I had been unconscious since the previous day,” he said.
According to the bereaved father, Akinola was neither a kidnapper nor a cultist and he was sure he never joined any other bad gang.
With nowhere else to turn to, Adegbite has called on the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, and the National Human Rights Commission to intervene in the matter and fish out the policeman that killed his son.
“Almighty God will fight for me, but anybody who has a hand in my son’s death will surely pay for it. My family members will decide the next line of action,” he said.
The deceased’s elder brother, Damilola, who accompanied his father when he first went to the school campus to see Akinola’s body, told our correspondent “When we arrived at the school an eyewitness told us that someone came to his house while he was washing his clothes few metres from the school gate that his friend was engaged in a fight with some students and he immediately drove off to the scene of the event and upon arrival he saw a huge crowd of students gathered and trying to separate the fight.
“But he said at the moment he was about to leave with his friend, a team of armed policemen in a Hilux van arrived at the scene and started shooting sporadically in the air. We learnt Akinola was shot in the process.”
Damilola said the sudden death of his brother was like a bad dream. He said the deceased was being expected back home because he had just finished his ND programme.
He said what they saw in the newspaper was an allegation that Akinola was a kidnapper and engaged in a gun duel with the police.
A statement made by the complainant (Mr. Bode Michael) at the Department of Criminal Investigation was that Akinola was threatening to kidnap Michael.
“If you look at the picture you will realise that my brother was shot at the back at a close range,” Damilola said.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Ismaila Numan, had on September 19, claimed that the diseased was a suspected kidnapper who was shot dead in a gun battle with the police.
The police spokesperson added that the vehicle which the suspects used for the operation was impounded by the police.
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