Picture: Father of slain Osun poly student seeks justice

Posted by admin Headlines, Osun, State News Tuesday, May 29th, 2012

May 29, 2012 by Tunde Odesola, Osogbo

Rev. Adekunle Balogun-Arogunjo, the father of slain Diploma II student, Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, has asked government to ensure the killers of his son, Adeola, are brought to justice.

Balogun-Arogunjo, who spoke with our correspondent in Osogbo on Monday, however, thanked the school’s authorities for “ensuring the arrest of the killers.”

He added, “The case is now with the police; all I plead for is justice. How can cadets, who are supposed to ensure peace and tranquillity in the institution, turn into killers?

“If my son was guilty of any offence, he should have been arrested, prosecuted and not beaten to death. There’s punishment for every offence in the country.”

Also, the father of another Mass Communication ND student, Pastor Abiodun Morakinyo, whose son, Oladayo, is still lying critically ill in an undisclosed hospital in Ondo town – after being beaten along with Adeola by the cadets – has called for justice.

Speaking with our correspondent on the phone, Oladayo said he was abducted on his way to class penultimate Friday and taken to a cell, where he was told to confess and renounce his membership of a cult group.

He said, “I told them I did not belong to any cult group but they wouldn’t listen. They have several cells, where they chain their victims and beat them up. They claim to be an anti-cult group but their actions did not portray them as such.

“They beat me with cudgel, rods, and lacerated my body with bottle corks. They didn’t beat Adeola for too long before he slumped and was rushed to the hospital, where he eventually died.”

Balogun-Arogunjo said, “For those, who killed my son, the law is clear on their punishment. I pray for speedy justice. I want to know what my son did to deserve sudden and agonising death.

“To beat a fellow human being to the point of death in a country where there is rule of law and democracy is confounding. The police must be seen as impartial in the process of investigation.”

Adeola, a Computer Science student, was beaten by cadet corps – a student group in charge of discipline and security – among students in the school.

The cadets had accused Adeola and Oladayo of belonging to cult groups. Oladayo died shortly in a hospital he was rushed to.

Two of those that beat the students have been arrested and are being interrogated by the police.

A statement by the Head, Public Relations Office of the institution, Mr Tope Abiola, decried the action of the cadets and called on the police to investigate and bring the killers to book.

The Commissioner of Police, Mrs. Kalafite Adeyemi, confirmed that the case was being investigated, adding that the suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigation was concluded

-Punch.wp_posts