Group demands public prosecution of policemen involved in shooting of teenager

A group known as Oworo Youth Forum has demanded that the police officers involved in the shooting of 16-year-old Tina Ezekwe must be arrested, paraded and prosecuted publicly.

Towolawi Jamiu, a spokesman of the group, made the demand in a statement on Friday.

Bala Elkana, spokesman of the Lagos police command, had earlier confirmed to TheCable that two policemen have been arrested in connection with the incident.

The group said aside the prosecution which must be made public, there must be compensation for the victim’s family.

Narrating the incident, Jamiu said the policemen were allegedly drunk when the incident took place on Monday.

“We write to draw the attention of the Police and the general public to the gruesome murder of a sixteen-year-old SSS 2 student named Ezekwe Tina by men of the Nigeria Police Force who were enforcing a curfew at the Iyana Oworo Berger bus-stop of Lagos on the night of Monday, May 26th, 2020,” he said.

“This incident happened after the policemen on duty at Iyana Oworo who were allegedly drunk were trying to stop a commercial bus for breaking the curfew rule and eventually shot the the driver and later, Tina.

“The bus driver’s condition was unknown but Tina was immediately rushed to the hospital and later died yesterday, 28th May, 2020.”

According to the group, killing and illegal extortion by police officers were becoming frequent occurrences, which they said would not be allowed to continue.

“Tina’s death is one too many as the Police have been responsible for the killings of countless innocent citizens and illegal extortions of young Nigerians,” Jamiu said on behalf of the group.

“We at Oworo Youth Forum are not only calling for the perpetrators to be arrested, paraded and prosecuted publicly but also demanding that the family of Tina must be adequately compensated for their painful loss.

“We also use this opportunity to call on all civil society groups, activists, NGOs and well meaning and progressive Nigerians to also lend their voices to the call for justice and an end to police brutality and impunity, as we cannot continue to be onlookers when the lives of young and vibrant Nigerians are being cut short by undisciplined, unprofessional, corrupt and trigger-happy police officers.

“We want to make it categorically clear that this will not be one of those cases that will be swept under the carpet under the disguise of orderly room trial and prosecution. We will engage and resist with everything we have within the ambit of the law to make sure justice is not beheaded.

“Those who makes peaceful resolution impossible makes violent revolution inevitable.”