Odunayo Alade, a distraught father in Oyo State, is demanding justice after his 14-year-old son, Kehinde Paul, was fatally hit by a bullet allegedly fired by a police officer during what he described as a routine school drop-off.
The tragic incident occurred along the Gbagi Market road in Egbeda Local Government Area, where Alade, in a desperate bid to beat school traffic, took a commonly used shortcut. His attempt to avoid what he believed to be a harassment trap by Oyo State Road Transport Management Authority (OYRTMA), officials and the police ended in a fatal encounter.
“I was only trying to get my children to school on time,” Alade recounted. “I didn’t know they were stopping me until they blocked me. I maneuvered to get away because my son had a WASSCE exam that morning.”
According to him, OYRTMA officials and policemen pursued his vehicle and one of the officers allegedly fired a shot. Moments later, Alade heard his son screaming.
“I heard a gunshot, but I didn’t stop immediately. Then my son screamed ‘Daddy!’ several times. I thought he was just panicking until his twin brother shouted, ‘Paul has been shot!’ I pulled over and saw blood everywhere,” he narrated, his voice heavy with pain.
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Kehinde, a Senior Secondary School 1 student who had dreams of becoming a lawyer, succumbed to the gunshot wound on the way to the University College Hospital in Ibadan.
His father, a single parent since his wife left seven years ago, described Kehinde as a bright and determined student who had just switched from the sciences to arts.
“He told me last week he wanted to be a lawyer. I had bought science textbooks for both of them, but he changed his mind and joined the art class. He was focused, responsible, and full of life,” he said.
An eyewitness who was also in the car backed Alade’s account, saying the officials were fully aware there were school children in the vehicle.
“One of the officials said, ‘You’re carrying children and driving rough,’ so they knew the kids were there. After they couldn’t get him to stop, we heard a gunshot,” the witness said, adding that he gave Kehinde emergency care before they rushed him to the hospital.
Alade is now calling for accountability.
“This cannot go unpunished. These officials must face justice. How do you shoot into a car with children? I’ve sacrificed so much to raise these boys alone, and now one of them is gone because of a reckless act. The police brutality is uncalled for,” he said.
The incident has sparked outrage on social media, with Nigerians demanding a thorough investigation and justice for Kehinde.
