Protest as policemen gun down Kwara Poly student at checkpoint

Students at the Kwara State Polytechnic are protesting the killing of their colleague at a police checkpoint in Ilorin.

The institution’s student union government has also mobilised members of the polytechnic campus in a procession to the state’s police headquarters to demand an open investigation into the matter.

Quayum Abdulyekeen Ishola, an ND2 student of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Kwara Poly, was killed on September 4.

Student sources say the deceased was shot at a checkpoint along the Panat-ShopRite Road in Ilorin by men in police uniforms.

Ishola, who was said to have ruptured a vein, died from blood loss on September 5 at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH).

Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the police force PRO, identified the police officers involved as Abiodun Kayode (inspector), James Emmanuel (inspector), and Oni Philip (sergeant), all from the operations department of the state’s police command.

Adejobi stated that the officers have been detained pending investigation at the force’s criminal investigations department in Abuja.

It is not clear what transpired to warrant a discharge of ammunition but campus sources say the checkpoint along the Panat-ShopRite Road had become notorious for police extortion and harassment targeted at students.

Saheed Olalekan Ishola, Kwara Poly’s student union president, spoke on the matter at a press conference on Monday.

He said the campus community demands a comprehensive probe into the case and an end to extortionist activities targeted at students.

“The investigation must be conducted without any form of secrecy or ambiguity whatsoever. We’re sure that there are several houses in the vicinity of the murder with CCTV,” he said.

“We demand an immediate and permanent halt to stop-and-search operations along post office/polytechnic routes, which have become notorious for police brutality and extortion. Police officers should be officially restrained from checking cell phones on highways.”

The protesters demanded that a police-student relations committee be set up to tackle issues affecting the safety of campus communities.

They sought compensation for the bereaved family and a public parade of the officers involved in the killing of the student.

The protesters gave a 48-hour ultimatum to the force to respond to the demands or risk an “unceasing protest” for justice.