BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
The family of the deceased police officer allegedly killed by three agents of the Department of State Services in Osun State has begged the government not to allow the death to be in vain, alleging that the case might have been swept under the carpet.
It was gathered that the deceased, Rauf Fawale, who was attached to Dada Estate Police Station, Osogbo, was allegedly hit on the head with a plank while hanging out with some DSS operatives at a birthday party held by one Inspector Medinat Badmus on January 21, 2021.
Three DSS operatives including David Olowoporoku, Bamidele Mustapha and Ajanaku Ibrahim were accused of beating Fawale, a police corporal close to Riverside club, Oke-Fia area, Osogbo, the venue of the policewoman’s birthday party.
The injuries Fawale suffered on his head were said to have led to his death four days after, around 12:15pm on January 25, two years ago.
A coroner inquest set up by Osun State Government to probe Fawale’s killing, had in October 2022, rounded-off its sitting and ordered the DSS in the state to release its three operatives to the state police command for prosecution.
Delivering judgment on the inquest, Chief Magistrate Olusegun Ayilara, said the three secret police officers have questions to answer on the death of Fawale, and ordered the DSS authority to release them to the police who have the constitutional right to investigate them.
The DSS, Osun State Command had refused to make the accused operatives available to police during investigation of the matter.
One of the police officers who investigated the matter, CSP Gabriel Oluwasesin, Officer in Charge of the Anti-Cultism Unit in the state, had informed the court that Olowoporoku, Mustapha and Ajanaku had taken Fawale, who was in mufti for a ‘Yahoo boy’ before beating him.
But, Olowoporoku and his colleagues had denied the allegations.
Olowoporoku’s counsel, J. P. Jones had informed the court that a police Inspector, Medinat Badmus, who reportedly arrested Olowoporoku at the scene, had signed the discharge of Fawale at the hospital against medical advice, arguing that such an act was responsible for the policeman’s death.
Ayilara said Badmus’ unilateral decision to apply for discharge of the deceased was an act of negligence, adding that she arrogated the power she didn’t possess to herself.
The Chief Magistrate had said the three DSS operatives involved in circumstances that led to the death of the deceased should be investigated within two weeks from the day he delivered the judgement.
He said the report of their investigation should be submitted to the Department of Public Prosecution in the state for necessary action.
Ayilara stated that the deceased died of massive cerebral bleeding due to a severe head injury, which the pathologist from the Osun State University Teaching Hospital, Waheed Oluogun, had attested to during hearing.
Meanwhile, about nine months after the coroner gave the order, The Point findings revealed that the DSS failed to release the affected operatives to the police for investigation.
It was gathered that the rivalry between DSS and police in the state has made it difficult for the two sister agencies to obey the court’s order which states that the case be reopened and all parties be invited for fresh interrogation.
Amid the development, family members of the deceased including Fawale’s wife and parents, in their separate interviews, lamented frustration over the silence of the state government, DSS and police over the matter, saying the alleged murder of their bread winner has thrown them into hardship and financial distress.
The deceased’s wife, Balikis Fawale, while sobbing profusely, said it has been difficult for her to train the three children left behind by her husband, adding that she now does menial jobs in the market including carrying people’s loads, to make ends meet.
“It’s now difficult for us to feed. I have to struggle in the market with menial labour. We didn’t hear anything from the police and DSS and neither did any of those who killed my husband showed concern for our welfare. We are suffering and it has been difficult training the children in school and also feeding them. Government should assist us and ensure that we get justice. The case has lingered for long and it appears some people have swept it under the carpet. Thank God for some human rights lawyers including Barrister Lekan Alabi who are still fighting for us,” the widow lamented.
The deceased’s father, Rabiu Fawale, said he has been suffering an ailment ever since his son was beaten to death and there is no money to treat it, adding that the late Fawale was the breadwinner of the family.
He explained, “My son was just being promoted at that time before the DSS operatives clubbed him to death. That was how he was killed. He was our bread winner and has been taking care of me and the family. Ever since his death, the children have been finding it hard to continue with their education. The Osun State Government should not allow this case to be swept under the carpet, justice must be done.”
Corroborating her husband’s narration, the deceased’s mother, Semiatu Fawale, lamented that, “We have been in pain ever since my son died and we have not been able to raise the children alone. We want the government to help us so that those who killed our son will pay for their crime.”
Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Yemisi Opalola had assured that those involved in the alleged murder of Fawale would not go unpunished.
