The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has ordered an investigation into the death of a 14-year-old girl killed during Saturday’s Yoruba nation rally in the state.
The State Attorney General, Moyosore Onigbanjo, who disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, revealed that a Coroner’s inquest has been requested in line with sections 14 and 15 of the Coroners’ Systems Law of Lagos State 2015.
According to the Attorney-General, the probe is to determine the cause and circumstances surrounding the girl’s death.
The statement said: “The state assures the public that everything will be done to ensure that the cause of death is known.
“The findings of the investigation would be made public in due course and appropriate sanctions meted out to anyone found culpable.”
According to the International Centre for Investigative Journalism, ICIR, the girl, identified as Jumoke Oyeleke, was allegedly hit by a stray bullet while police officers were trying to disperse protesters at the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park, in Ojota, and reportedly died on the spot.
Multiple witnesses said she was killed by a bullet fired by the police since there were no other armed groups at the rally.
The police, however, denied responsibility, saying its officers never fired a “single live bullet” at the rally.
The police said: “The said corpse was found wrapped and abandoned at a distance, far from Ojota venue of the rally, behind MRS Filling Station, inward Maryland, on the other side of the venue, with dried bloodstains suggesting that the corpse is not fresh.
After a close look at the corpse, a wound suspected to have been sustained from a sharp object was seen on it,” the Lagos State Police Command said in a statement.
