Kolade Johnson, the young man shot dead by policemen while watching football in Lagos State was a musician in South Africa.
During a visit to 1 Beeco street, Onipetesi, Mangoro, Lagos, residence of Johnson, online medium, The Cable met Boluwade Awakan, the deceased’s stepbrother, who said he was a music lover in his lifetime.
Awakan, said his younger brother, who graduated from University of Benin, travelled to South Africa where he spent five years and returned to Nigeria in 2017.
He said Johnson was planning to revive his music career back home having failed to make something meaningful out of it abroad.
Awakan said things weren’t that easy for Johnson abroad, especially at a time aliens lived in fear of xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
Awakan: “I still can’t believe that my mother’s last child is gone.”
“So, he returned to Nigeria two years ago, and he chose to live here as against Ojota where he lived before he travelled. He wanted somewhere quiet where he could think and concentrate,” Awakan said.
“He had a baby boy with his South African partner and Kola was planning to bring his boy, Tayo Johnson, to Nigeria this December when he would be four years.”
Awakan described his brother as an easygoing man who hardly threw his own troubles at anyone.
“He will never allow you bear his burden, he will rather suffer the burden silently. Even if Kola is going through pain, he would go inside and try through the pain without telling you.”
With his eyes soaked in tears, Awakan told the medium that the deceased had just rounded off a seven-day fasting, seeking God’s intervention in his situation before his 36th birthday in July.
“He broke his fast around 4pm. He called me, he said brother, things are not easy and I need help, I need changes in his life and that was why he embarked on a seven-day fasting,” Awakan said.
Like most football lovers, Johnson left the comfort of his home Sunday evening to join friends at Kingstine-Jo, a nearby bar, to watch the live English Premiership match between Liverpool and Tottenham.
He was standing behind his vehicle when the bullet hit him
Perhaps, he would have missed those bullets if he waited home till 6pm. Awakan fought this thought, finding it hard to accept that the last born of their mother had died.
“He could sit back at home and watch the match, we have DSTV here!”
Johnson’s unfortunate death caught attention of celebrities and powerful people in government. President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed that his killers would be brought to book
…Buhari vows to prosecute killers
President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to prosecute the killers of Kolade Johnson, a football fan, who was a victim of the March 31 fatal shooting in Lagos.
The president also regretted the action of the special anti-robbery squad (SARS) operatives from the state police command, which he described as unfortunate and avoidable.
Johnson was a victim of a stray bullet when SARS officers tried to disperse a crowd during an operation to arrest another man they suspected was a criminal because of his dreadlocks.
The deceased was watching a Premier League fixture between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur in Lagos on Sunday when he met his untimely death.
The incident had sparked a nationwide outrage, with the police authorities promising Nigerians that the killers would be brought to book.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman, Buhari reassured the public that any law enforcement agency caught violating the law will be made to “face the full weight of the law.”
“President Muhammadu Buhari regrets the recent unfortunate action of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) operatives from the Lagos State Police Command, which led to the avoidable death of Mr. Kolade Johnson, and commiserates deeply with the family of the deceased,” the statement read.
“The President acknowledges the genuine outrage regarding the activities of SARS and reassures the public that swift actions have already been taken. Suspects are in custody and an orderly room trial is set to commence immediately, following which indicted officers will be prosecuted in court.
“Any officer of the law enforcement agencies or any other government functionary caught in this act will certainly be visited with the full weight of the law.”
“Recall that following directives from the Presidency in 2018 to overhaul the management and activities of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, steps were taken by the Police leadership to restructure and reform SARS.
“The President recognises that a lot more remains to be done and this effort must be sustained.”
“He reassures that this administration will continue to ensure that all officers in the police and other law enforcement agencies conduct their operations in strict adherence to the rule of law and with due regard to International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law.”
