When
on April 6, 2013, Jane got married to ASP Olusoji Elegbede in Lagos
State, their joy knew no bounds. Although Olusoji was a policeman
serving in Yobe State, which is fraught with security challenges, Jane
did not mind living there with her husband.
Their plan was to settle down, have kids and grow old together. But
unfortunately, this was not to be as Olusoji was gunned down by his
junior officer, a serving police corporal in Gashua Bade Local
Government, Yobe State, while on duty less than five months after their
wedding.
Olusoji’s widow, who spoke while fighting back tears,
told PUNCH's Eniola Akinkuotu that she was still in shock over the
incident.
Narrating what led to her 39-year-old husband’s
killing, Jane said her husband, who was the Administration Officer at
Gashua Police Division, was killed by a 53-year-old corporal, Andrew
Bitus.
She said, “The station is situated in a barracks and we
all live in the barracks. The corporal (Bitus), was dating an elderly
woman and they had a quarrel. Bitus wanted to part ways with the woman,
so he told her to refund the money he had spent on her but the woman
refused.
“The corporal dragged the woman to the station but the
Divisional Police Officer intervened, saying it was a civil case and
told the corporal to take the matter to the court.
“The DPO travelled some days later, on August 30, 2013 to be precise. The corporal arrested the woman again.
“My husband, who was the most senior officer in the station at the
time, reiterated what the DPO said and ordered the corporal to let the
woman go.
“The corporal, instead, started harassing the woman
at the station. My husband then told other policemen at the station to
register a case against the corporal for his behaviour.”
Jane said the corporal became infuriated and insulted her husband who was over 10 years younger than him.
She said in the ensuing argument, the corporal brought out his rifle and shot the deceased many times.
She said, “I was in my house when I heard gunshots. Initially I thought
it was Boko Haram members that were attacking the station. It was a few
minutes later that someone informed me that my husband had been shot.
“When I got to the station, I was told by policemen that the corporal
brought out his gun and shot my husband in front of the counter. My
husband was said to have fled, but the corporal chased him and rained
bullets on him. I met my husband in a pool of blood.
“When I
asked why they could not stop the trigger-happy policeman, they told me
that they had to run for cover for fear of being hit by the bullets.”
PUNCH learnt that Olusoji was rushed to the General Hospital, Gashua,
and was taken to the theatre where a surgery was done to remove the
bullets from his body.
“The doctors told me that he survived
and was going to be taken to the Federal Medical Centre, however, they
later opened up to me that he died during the surgery,” she said.
Jane insisted that the corporal must be brought to book, adding that
her husband was not involved in any love affair with the woman who was
at the centre of the feud.
The killer policeman had been
dismissed and was being detained at the State CID. The unidentified
woman, who was being harassed by the corporal, had also been arrested.
A cousin of the deceased, Kunle Bajela, said apart from getting justice
for their son, the family want his widow to be well taken care of by
the police authorities.
“My cousin died in active service and
we want to ensure that those who depended on him for their upkeep are
not neglected by the police,” he said.
