Lagos rally: Stray bullet killed 14-year-old drink seller as police disperse Yoruba nation agitators

Sade AdewaleJuly 3, 2021

2 minutes read

A yoghurt seller, identified simply as Jumoke, has been killed by bullets reportedly fired by a security operative dispersing Yoruba Nation agitators at the Gani Fawehinmi Park in Ojota, Lagos.

Our reporter, who sighted the girl’s corpse, observed that bullets had ripped open the victim’s stomach. She is said to be 14 years old.

She was reportedly displaying drinks at a shop when the bullet hit her.

Her body has been covered with a piece of cloth as a crowd gathered at the spot.

The victim's dead body being covered with cloth — **The victim’s dead body being covered with cloth**

Despite the heavy presence of armed policemen and soldiers around the Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota, Lagos, agitators of Yoruba Nation had started coming out in their numbers waving ‘Oduduwa nation’ flags and banners and clamouring for a ‘sovereign’ state.

They were chanting different kinds of freedom songs, including, “No going back,” “We want Oodua Nation,” among others.

The police fired guns and tear gas canisters into the air and used water cannons to spray water at the crowd in an attempt to disperse them.

The police action came shortly after Commissioner of Police Hakeem Odumosu addressed journalists at the park saying the police were there to ensure there was no “security breach” in the state.

“We are not saying you should not protests, we want you to send a detailed letter to the police stating the number and identities of the protesters. Also, the location should be in the letter,” he said.

He said the Yoruba nation letter received by the command was “open-ended.”

As of the time of filing this report, two of the agitators had been arrested along the Ketu exit point in Ojota.

The two, a man and a woman, were arrested during a stop and search operation for purportedly decorating their blue Toyota Highlander vehicle with a Yoruba nation banner.

They were taken away in a police vehicle.

The police had earlier sealed off the park, before the 10 a.m. scheduled starting time for the rally.

Despite a warning from the police in Lagos against the rally, the organisers had vowed to proceed with the event.

Sunday Igboho, a pro-Yoruba self-determination campaigner and one of the organisers, also insisted the rally would go ahead despite the attack on his home by operatives of the State Security Service.

Keywords: Lagos rally, Drink seller, Yoruba Nation, Police