A 28-year-old graduate of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Jude Okoronta, has been allegedly shot dead by a policeman guarding Ileviaoje Hotel in the Ijegun, Ikotun area of Lagos State.
The incident happened at 11 pm on Wednesday, May 30, 2018.
The victim was waiting for a motorcycle to take him home and was in front of the hotel when he was allegedly shot by the yet-to-be-identified policeman.
An eyewitness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there had been a fight between two men in the hotel.
He said,
“When the men came out of the hotel, they continued their fight. The mobile policeman locked the hotel gate to prevent people from entering.
“The man shot into the air to scare away the crowd that had gathered in front of the hotel because of the fight. The bullet hit the man that was waiting for Okada (motocycle) to take him home.
“The man that died was not among the people fighting. He was hit by a bullet and died on the spot.”
The brother of the deceased, Paul Okoronta, said that Jude was a customer at the hotel, adding that he usually went there to catch fun.
He explained that he had gone out of the hotel and was heading home when the fight broke out in the hotel.
He said,
“He had been going to the hotel for months now; he was one of their customers. Because we usually have power problems, we also sometimes go there to charge our phones and relax. But he had left the hotel when he was shot and killed.”
Paul lamented that since the incident, the management of the hotel had kept mum, accusing the police of also seeking to bury the case.
“The management of the hotel is trying to bury the case. That was why they called the police to secure the hotel. They want to scare people away so that they can forget about it,” Paul added.
Paul also claimed that although the management of the hotel said the killer cop was in custody, the Divisional Police Officer of the Isheri Police Station said the policeman was at large, the Punch reports.
