Mother Narrates How Police Teargas Killed Her Only Child Who Just Graduated

A mother, Kuburat Adeniji, has narrated how her only son, Gafar Wahab Adeniji, died of complications arising from teargas he reportedly inhaled during the demolition of structures at Otto community, a slum in Lagos Mainland Local Government Area, and its environs.

The deceased, a 24-year-old serving National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, was said to be at home alone recuperating from an ailment when he inhaled teargas and became unconscious.

According to a report by DailyTrust, some policemen led a group of alleged land speculators to the community on Friday, March 22, firing teargas canisters to scare the people away.

Many structures built with planks were reportedly set ablaze, and scores of residents were displaced.

Gafar’s mother, Kuburat, while speaking with a journalist, said she was at her shop when the demolition started, lamenting that her son’s condition had worsened before he could get help from neighbours.

She said, “My son was sleeping at home when the police started firing teargas (canisters). I quickly left the shop and went home to check on him because he had been sick. Everywhere was filled with teargas. By the time I entered our room, he was already choked and struggling to breathe. I called for help and he was rescued. We took him to a hospital in Ikorodu.

“The doctor complained that he inhaled some substance in the room and I told him it was teargas. The doctor later referred him to Sagamu Teaching Hospital in Ogun State. We were taking him there on April 2 when he died.

“He just graduated and was serving at Ogun State. He was transferred to Lagos recently when he fell sick so that I could look after him. He was recovering at home when the police led thugs to demolish houses in the community.

“It was the teargas he inhaled that triggered his crisis and eventually killed him. He was 24 in March and my only child. He was easygoing. I don’t have any means of getting justice. I have left everything to God. If his father was alive, I would have had someone to lean on.”