From Layi Olanrewaju, Ilorin
The Students Union Government (SUG) of Kwara State Polytechnic has condemned the brutal murder of one of its members, an ND2 Electrical and Electronic Engineering department, Quayum Abdulyekeen Ishola, by police officers and demanded justice and accountability from authorities.
At a press briefing on Monday, the Union’s President, Comr. Saheed Olalekan Ishola expressed outrage and pain over the incident, which occurred on September 4 along Panat-ShopRite road, a notorious hotspot for police extortion and harassment.
The Union has given the police a 48-hour ultimatum to unveil the identity of the murderous officers and conduct an open investigation, noting that the trust of the entire Kwara State Polytechnic Students in the Police to do a diligent and thorough investigation can only be regained by the Kwara Police Command, if the murderous vampires can be unveiled via a well-publicised police parade.
Ishola added that the act of parading suspects is a normal ritual of the Nigerian Police Force, so the case of the accused police officer should not be an exception.
The Union equally demanded a halt to police harassment and extortion, pay restitution to the deceased’s family, and set up a Police/Students Relation Committee. Failure to meet these demands, the Union warned, would lead to a peaceful but unrelenting protest by students.
The statement reads in part, “Today, we gather with heavy hearts, filled with anguish, pain, and outrage. Our union has been shattered by the brutal murder of one of us; Quayum Abdulyekeen Ishola, a vibrant and promising ND2 student of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department, by vampires in police uniform. The memory of the barbaric, premeditated murder of Quayum, on Wednesday, 4th September 2024, is etched in our minds like a scar.
“Our colleague’s life was brutally extinguished along Panat-ShopRite Road, a route that has become a hotspot and notorious for police extortion, harassment, and official criminality in recent times. The trauma and fear that grip our hearts are indescribable.
“To say the least of the insensitivity and lack of empathy of men of the Nigerian police is our realisation that less than 24 hours after the unfortunate incident, men of the Nigeria Police were spotted on the same route, harassing and extorting innocent young people who were going about their daily means of livelihood peacefully. Their only offence is being a student, young, and good-looking.
“More worrisome, is the fact that our composure, which is a result of our sensitivity to the volatility of our society, owing to tension created by economic hardship, is now taken for granted.
“More than 72 hours after we led a peaceful procession to the Kwara State Police Headquarters, which led to an extensive dialogue with top police hierarchy, in the presence of state government representatives, which gave us an assurance that all stakeholders will work together towards ensuring that justice is served on time and to forestall future occurrences, the police are yet to make any revelation about the officer responsible for the murder of our beloved colleague,” he added.
The president commended the polytechnic’s students for remaining calm, despite the ugly development. “We have refused to take laws into our hands. We commend your statesmanship and absolute trust in the leadership of the Students Union under my humble self, and I assure you we’ll not rest until the perpetrators are brought to book.”
“We demand an immediate and permanent halt to stop-and-search operations along Post Office / Polytechnic routes, which have become notorious for police brutality and extortion. Police officers should be officially restrained from checking cell phones on highways.
“Without prejudice to the outcome of the investigation, we demand the Kwara State Police Command, the employers of the murderous officers, must accept the liability for cutting short the lofty dreams of our colleague and roll out comprehensive support and assistance to the family of the deceased. This must include, among others, monetary compensation, trauma counselling, and the institution of a scholarship scheme for the siblings of the deceased. All these are meagre compared to what our colleague could have achieved in changing their fortune if his low-income family had his life not been brutally cut short by the agents of sorrow in police uniform.
“The demand for justice and restitution, not just for our fallen colleague, but for the countless students who suffered harassment, extortion, and unjust detention at the hands of these rogue bloodthirsty police vampires, will not be ignored.”
The Union also advised the Polytechnic students to henceforth, stop pleading and shying away from arrest by men of the police. “Henceforth, any student that is unjustly and illegally accosted on the road, should remain civil and never resist arrest, rather, such a student should gently request to be taken to the nearest police station, after which such a victim should place a call or text the union executives.
“Under no circumstances must any student be coerced into giving police officers standing on the road access to their phone, which is our inalienable privacy. I assure you, that we will not rest until our demands are met. We will not be silenced. We will not be intimidated. We will rise, and our voices will not only be heard; rather, they must be made to count.
“To the police, we say: enough is enough, stop killing us. And to our fellow students, we say: Let us stand together in this fight for justice,” he added.
The students also urged the Kwara State Governor, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to take on the side of the youths and students of this state, noting that the future of the state is at risk if nothing is done to address the ceaseless and senseless killing of the future leaders by the very people sworn to protect them.
The president assured that the SUG, which is the only recognised student body by the law of the institution, will not involve itself in any violent protest in the name of demanding justice, noting that the union’s leadership are law-abiding citizens of the country and promised to demand justice within the ambit of the law.
