Published 3rd Dec, 2021

By Tola Owoyele

Mallam Kabir, a truck driver, was on Friday shot dead by a trigger-happy police officer at the Ota-Efun area in Osogbo, Osun State.

Adam Ibrahim, the deceased’s brother, said the unfortunate incident happened when Kabir’s borehole-drilling truck broke down along Ikirun way in Osogbo, causing a traffic jam.

The victim was trying to find a way to fix the faulty truck when three police officers arrived in a minibus popularly called Korope, according to eyewitnesses.

The deceased’s brother said the officers accused them of blocking a major road and “causing unnecessary traffic”.

“When Kabir pleaded with them that he was only trying to fix the faulty truck, they started beating him,” eyewitnesses told FIJ. “As he was trying to dodge the heavy beating, one of them shot him in the chest.”

FIJ gathered that immediately the driver was shot and killed, the three policemen fled the scene. One of them was, however, caught by angry youths who witnessed the incident.

“He has a three-year-old child. His wife is also presently heavily pregnant and could give birth any moment from now,” the deceased’s brother said.

Adegboyega Olaide, the spokesperson of the Osun Borehole Drillers Association, condemned the killing of a member of his association.

“We want the police to reveal the identity of the policeman that killed Mallam Kabir,” he told FIJ. “We also want justice for the family of the deceased. Who will take care of the heavily pregnant wife and child that he left behind?”

However, Yemisi Opalola, the Osun State Police spokesman, did not answer her calls when contacted by FIJ. She also did not respond to text messages sent to her.

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