TheCable

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos state, has rented a two-bedroom apartment and donated N1 million to Ifeoluwa Oyeleke and her family over the death of Jumoke, her daughter, during the Yoruba Nation rally.

On July 3, Yoruba Nation agitators converged on the Ojota area of Lagos to demand an independent state for the south-west region.

TheCable had reported that police shot into the air and fired teargas to disperse the crowd.

During the protest, the victim, Jumoke, a 25-year-old salesgirl, was found dead after police fired shots to disperse agitators.

She was said to have died after she was hit by a stray bullet in a compound beside Total petrol station, which is opposite the protest venue.

The police denied any involvement in her death, but an autopsy carried out on the deceased’s remains showed she died from “missile injury”.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Lagos state government said Sanwo-Olu, “in his kind gesture”, relocated Jumoke’s mother and three sisters from a shanty in Ojota to a furnished two-bedroom apartment in Ikorodu area of the state.

Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by Titi Oshodi, his senior special assistant on administration, said the gift was to help the Oyelekes “experience a new lease of life, and to alleviate the family’s immediate need”.

Oshodi said a three-year rent has been paid for the apartment pending when “a proper and more formidable arrangement has been made for”.

“Since the time of the incident, we have been following up with her state and we have been to her initial place of abode. Immediately the incident happened, we started to follow up with her to find out how she was doing, especially economically and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in his compassionate nature has done this to ameliorate the family’s suffering as much as possible,” Oshodi said.

“It is not possible to bring back the dead, but the government is donating a two-bedroom apartment fully furnished to the family to make life easy, as much as possible, for those left behind. We believe this will help them ease into the next phase of life without stress.

“This was not planned but the government had to make quick arrangements in the interim. So this is a temporary arrangement for her to stay with her children, pursuing other actions going forward. The rent has been paid for three years in advance, and the kitchen is stocked with some foodstuff.

“The government will let us know when a proper and more formidable arrangement has been made for her but for now, what we have is because of the immediate need. The apartment is fitted with basic amenities to make life comfortable for the family. She would also get N1 million to start any business of her choice.”

Oyeleke, a domestic help, thanked the state government for the kind gesture.

She appealed to Sanwo-Olu to assist her with permanent employment for her to be able to take adequate care of herself and the children.

“I also want the government to help me find a profitable job so I can train my children properly. My children used to attend a private school but I enrolled them in a government school because I could no longer afford the fees of a private school,” she said.

“This new house is rented and I would not be able to afford the rent when the three years that was paid for expires, so I would love to be employed profitably. I will like to engage in buying and selling foodstuff with the N1 million I was given.”