Lagos Rally: Police threatened to shoot me when I demanded my daughter’s corpse’

Ifeoluwa Oyeleke, the mother of a 14-year-old girl, Jumoke Monsurat, who was killed during the Yoruba Nation rally in Lagos on Saturday, says she has yet to see the corpse of her child.

The mother alleged that when she and her brother visited the Police Station where her corpse was believed to have been taken, the policemen on duty threatened to shoot them on their legs if they didn’t leave immediately.

She added that the policemen also threatened to fire a teargas canister at them. She, however, did not state which Police Station they had visited.

The distraught mother-of-four also disclosed that the victim was her first child.

Jumoke’s body was found sprawled on the ground in a pool of blood, with her stomach ripped apart. This was shortly after policemen had opened fire to disperse those at the rally who were agitating for a separate nation for the Yoruba nation.

The police have, however, denied playing any part in Jumoke’s death, saying that the blood found around her corpse was dry and that it was an indication that the body was not fresh.

When The PUNCH visited the mother of the deceased girl on Sunday evening, she was barely audible as she narrated her relationship with her late daughter and other family issues.

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When she found the courage to speak, Ifeoluwa said, “I got a call while I was in Ikeja where I had gone to work.

“When I asked to know what it was about, I was told that there was no issue but that my presence was needed at home.

“It was when I got home that I learnt of what had happened. I was told that the bullet shot by the police killed my daughter.”

Ifeoluwa stated that she had yet to see the corpse of her daughter since she got the news of her death yesterday.

“They’ve not released her corpse to us. My brother and I, in last night’s rain, got there, but we were not allowed in. We heard them saying that if we stayed too long, they will shoot our legs and fire a teargas canister at us.

“After a while, my brother discussed with them and they allowed us in to see their Area Commander who said he heard that shots were fired but that he didn’t know which station the officers behind it came from.

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“He said this could be determined when the extracted bullet is examined.”

When asked if the police had told her anything about her daughter’s corpse, she said no, adding that she didn’t know where they took it to.

She stated that she would love to have a lawyer who would help her seek justice concerning the death of her daughter.

Speaking further, Ifeoluwa revealed that Jumoke was an apprentice at an ice cream shop and had just concluded Junior Secondary School education.

“She usually sat in the shop and never hawked.

“She had three siblings who are all girls. Her dad is dead,” she said; adding, “Jumoke was a good girl who hardly got annoyed; she was hard working.

“Anyone who can rise to our defence should please do,” she pleaded.

Keywords: Jumoke Monsurat Oyeleke, Police, Stray Bullet, Yoruba Nation, Lagos Rally, Ifeoluwa Oyeleke,

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