Police officer fatally shoots Kwara polytechnic student over bribe dispute

September 05, 2024

By Samuel Ogunsona

Police officer shot and killed a student of Kwara State Polytechnic, Ishola Abdulqoyum, over refusal to pay bribe.

The victim, a part-time student of Electrical/Electronics Engineering, was on a commercial motorcycle when the police stopped and arrested him along Panat Road.

According to Abdulqoyum’s brother, Abdullah, the officers demanded money from the student after ordering him into their patrol vehicle. When Abdulqoyum refused to give in to their demands, the police officer allegedly shot him dead.

“He told me yesterday that he was going to get footwear for his sign-out. On his way back, he encountered the police, who accosted him and told him to get into their vehicle. They asked him for money, but he said he didn’t have any. While the police were attending to other people they had arrested, he stepped out of the vehicle.

“Before they chased him, they collected his phone and power bank, despite not finding anything incriminating on him.

“He said he hadn’t committed any offence, but they chased him and shot him on the spot.

“They shot him in the hand, and it was a deep wound. His last words to passersby were that he was from the Ero family in Oke-Andi. Where they located his family”

This shocking incident has sparked outrage and concern about police brutality and extortion in Nigeria. The authorities have yet to comment on the matter, but an investigation is expected to be launched into the circumstances surrounding Abdulqoyum’s tragic death.