Odunayo Alade, father of a boy killed by a stray bullet in Ibadan on Tuesday, Kehinde Alade, has spoken on his final moments.
He said he initially never realised the bullet had hit the boy, noting that it was when the deceased, who was going to sit for WASSCE, was shouting ‘Daddy!’, ‘Daddy’ that he knew tragedy had struck.
“I asked him why he was shouting because we left them, and we were safe. Then his twin brother told me he has been shot. Immediately I heard that, I parked.
“I brought him out, his clothes was soaked with blood…,” Alade said.
The deceased was in his father’s car, heading to the exam centre, when the incident happened at Gbagi Market Road, Ibadan, in the Egbeda Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Police said Alade had taken one way and refused to stop when asked to do so.
Speaking in an interview with News Central at his home in Ibadan, the state capital on Wednesday, Alade denied breaking the one-way traffic law.
According to him, the road he used was just a stone’s throw from the main lane and it is a regular route for drivers in the area.
“I was taking the children to school yesterday morning and at the entrance of my junction, there is maybe a stone’s throw, not up to one pole or two poles, to where we just follow and then branch to normal way. I had to gauge my tyre.
“To my surprise, I saw OYTMA. They came and blocked me, even hit my vehicle and I had to reverse to bypass them.
When asked why his vehicle was hit, he said he had no idea as he denied driving through a one-way route.
“I don’t know. I won’t say one-way because the place is a very short distance.
“To them, they said I followed one-way, and I let them know that this is the road all the neighbourhood use. It’s a very short distance to the main junction,” he added.
When asked why he did not stop when security officials tried to stop him, Alade said he was only focused on getting his son to his examination centre early, so they don’t get there late.
“You know how Nigerian government works. If you’re on your own, once you fall into their trap, you understand.
“Moreover, the elder brother of the deceased was supposed to be writing WASSCE yesterda
“He was having 8:30am WAEC paper yesterday and if I should stop, they would have delayed the boy. That was why I had to maneuvere my way,” he said.
Alade added that he heard the gunshot but didn’t stop until his son began screaming in pain.
“So, after I left there, I did not stop, then the boy in question was shouting ‘daddy, daddy.’
“I asked him why he was shouting because we left them, and we were safe. Then his twin brother told me he has been shot. Immediately I heard that, I parked.
“I brought him out, his clothes was soaked with blood…” he recounted
Alade said he later realised that both Oyo Traffic Management Agency personnel and policemen were after him, and he quickly held one of the operatives when he saw them.
Meanwhile, a parent at the scene helped take the slain boy to Welfare Hospital in Alakia, Ibadan, where they helped the boy with oxygen while transferring him to University College Hospital with an ambulance.
Unfortunately, the boy passed away before they reached the hospital.
When asked if he thinks his son’s death could have been prevented if he had stopped to listen to the law enforcement officers, he replied, “I can’t really say, it’s only God that knows the situation of things.”
The deceased’s body has been deposited at the Adeoyo State Hospital mortuary for autopsy and preservation.
Meanwhile, the Oyo State Police Command confirmed that the officer responsible for firing the shot has been taken into custody, along with other members of the team.
A statement from the Command’s spokesperson, Adewale Osifeso, on Wednesday stated that the Commissioner of Police, Johnson Adenola, has ordered a thorough investigation into the incident, to be led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State Criminal Investigation Department.
Osifeso assured the public that the investigation would be transparent and the findings would be made public.
