Maybe Sergeant Samuel Ojo would not have died the way he did on July 27 if his world had not come crashing down in December 2009.
His story might probably have turned out differently if the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Morogbo Station, Badagry, Lagos State, at the time had not sent him, along with five other policemen, on official duty on December 28.
Documents obtained by FIJ reveal a glimpse of what happened on that day:
Thugs had attacked a police corporal, and the DPO ordered the sergeant and five others to the scene of the incident at Ibiye Bus Stop to arrest the perpetrators. A thug opened fire on Sergeant Ojo, but it missed him and hit a passerby identified as Pastor Christopher Olatunde.
When the thug attempted to shoot the sergeant the second time, he responded with fire in self-defence, which led to the death of the assailant.
That was the beginning of Sergeant Ojo’s many troubles. He was supposed to retire between 2025 and 2026, having joined the force in May 1990, but he was dismissed from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in 2010.
Prior to the dismissal, he was detained for the murder of the thug who shot at him. Even though Corporal Posu and Pastor Olatunde testified that the hoodlum attacked first, Ojo spent six months in detention.
Then, when findings showed that he was not guilty, Ojo was not reinstated. The NPF stopped paying his salary and allowances.
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Human Rights Group Took Up His Case. The System Stayed Silent.
From that moment, all Ojo’s attempts to get justice and be reinstated into the police force led nowhere.
When the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Lagos Chapter, heard of his plight, the group wrote to the Commissioner of Police in the state, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and even the Police Service Commission (PSC) in 2023.
Semasa Ojo, the first son of the deceased sergeant, told FIJ that no desired response was received from the IGP and the police commission.
‘I Watched My Father Become a Shadow’, Says First Son
For the first son of late Sergeant Ojo, losing his father to death while still fighting for justice made the whole experience even more heartbreaking.
His father died at age 69.
Semasa, who spoke with FIJ on Tuesday, said the 2009–10 incident happened when he was in Junior Secondary School (JSS) One. He recalled that his father was taken to Panti prison immediately, where he spent six months behind bars.
He also watched how the twist of fate turned his dad from an active officer to a frightened and ailing man.
“Though I am not the first child, I had to grow up very quickly as the first son. I think he suffered PTSD because of his experience in Panti. My father was very active, and all of a sudden, he became scared of doing a lot of things. He was just waiting and hoping. I was young when the whole thing started. I was in JSS1 at the time,” Semasa told FIJ.
“My father did not come back home that day in December 2009. He was detained immediately. He spent six months and one day in Panti prison. He was the only one who was detained,” he added.
“And the reason is that a thug fired at him, and the bullets missed him and hit a civilian, who is a pastor and is still alive today. And when the thug wanted to fire again, he had to respond at that point.
“During the time he was detained, the police got the testimonies of the pastor, as well as the policeman who was beaten. After several investigations, he was found not guilty of murder, but he was still dismissed based on discreditable conduct.”
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FIJ learnt that while the deceased sergeant was not arraigned in court, his case was transferred to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in Alausa for legal advice, but none was issued.
Semasa said he learnt that there was no document with his father’s name in the Ministry of Justice under any murder case, while he was conducting background checks about the matter in 2021.
Sergeant Samuel Ojo’s Dementia Diagnosis in 2021
In 2021, the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, diagnosed Semasa’s father with dementia.
“I finished school in February 2021, and he was diagnosed in August 2021. It was so fierce,” the son disclosed.
“I had to leave work and everything to stay with him for over three years to take care of him. I had to put my life on hold for him. It was just last November that I was able to go for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme. I was able to leave because he was getting better.
“He was better but still needed medical attention. And you know, we did not make posts about his health to start begging for financial assistance. I did not want to look like a beggar. I hate that.”
The situation forced his mother to shoulder the weight of responsibilities meant for both parents.
Semasa said, as the first son, he had to grow up fast and take on roles beyond his age.
“I became a father at a very young age, struggling and then assisting my siblings. My mother, too, had to carry the burden for the past 15 to 16 years. When he became ill, we were just assisting with what we could while hoping that things would get better, and then he would get better treatment,” he said.
However, while the family kept hoping for the best, death took Semasa’s father in July.
The Long, Futile Wait for Justice — And Reinstatement
If there is one thing that has kept Semasa going, it would be the desire to get justice for his father. In keeping with his vow to seek justice, he contacted CDHR, the human rights group, in 2023.
“And they did their investigation. They wrote to the CP in Lagos, and they were told to write to the IGP in Abuja. They wrote a letter to the IGP twice, but there was no response,” Semasa told FIJ.
“I also engaged Muyiwa Adejobi, the public relations officer of the police force, on X in 2023, and even though he initially tried to disapprove the case online, he later told Ben Hundeyin, the Lagos Police spokesperson, to attend to me and revert to him.”
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FIJ gathered that it was Hundeyin who advised that the family, along with the human rights group, write to the Police Service Commission.
Semasa said the state police spokesperson explained that the board handling the case had been dissolved, so the family waited patiently. Sometime between November and December, Hundeyin had some news for them. The board had been reconstituted and would most likely look into the case.
“In March, he reached out to some people, who said they could not find my dad’s document, but they eventually located it because he put pressure on them. That gave us some hope,” Semasa recounted.
“I never wanted to make noise because he was clearly assisting us, and I did not want to be an ingrate. I have been patient. The family has been patient, and then this, my dad’s death, happened.”
At the time of this report, the committee set up to review Sergeant Ojo’s case had no update. The Ojo family is left to battle with the painful reality that the police force and the police service commission failed their father all these years.
FIJ texted Hundeyin via WhatsApp and Short Text Message (SMS) after he failed to answer phone calls on Tuesday. None of the messages has been responded to at the time of publication.
The post Lagos Sergeant Was Convinced Police Handed Him Unfair Dismissal. 15 Years Later, He Died Waiting for Justice appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.