My father was shot and dragged into police station, petitioner tells Lagos panel

Funmilayo Adeosun, a petitioner, has narrated how police officers attached to Olosan police station in Mushin axis of Lagos state allegedly shot her father and dragged him away in a pool of his blood.

Funmilayo, who identified herself as the daughter of Adesina Adeosun, the deceased, stated this while testifying before the Lagos state judicial panel on police brutality on Tuesday.

The daughter of the deceased said the incident happened at FanMilk junction, around Mushin axis of Lagos, on October 20, 2020, during the #EndSARS protest.

Adeosun told the panel that her father was shot in the back.

“I am his last born. He is a taxi driver. That day, I went to buy food for him. After eating, he said I should return the plate. Later, he said I should come and pick my child,” she said.

“The time was around 11am. As I was going away with my child, I met a friend on the way, and some boys were running down. I gave my child to my friend and the police started shooting. Boys were running helter-skelter, and I was shouting to call my father’s attention. When I was about to reach where my father was, I saw police officers rushing from Olosan station.

“Then, a policeman shot and the bullet entered my father’s back and he fell down. When he fell, some boys were about to carry him, but they were scared of gunshots and he had not died at that time. The boys told me that I should go and beg the policemen as a lady.

“The man was still there in pain. The policemen did not answer me. This continued till around 4pm, and when they saw that he was still struggling, the policemen dragged him inside their police station, but my dad kept waving, struggling in pain.”

Funmilayo, however, noted that her father died while in the custody of the police.

She also added that she knows the officers attached to Olosan police station who killed her father and refused to let people rescue him.

Also testifying before the panel, Kudirat, the first wife of the deceased, appealed that the corpse of her husband be released to the family, and that financial compensation be awarded.

The case was adjourned till March 19, 2021, for further hearing.