Fatai Oladipupo

2020

The day was Wednesday, 20th of May, 2020. A young Muslim cleric in the Igando area of Lagos State had just stepped out to get food to break his Ramadan fast. The man, twenty-eight-year-old Fatai Oladipupo, would not make it back home.

After getting the food he had gone out to buy, Fatai was shot dead on his way home by Inspector Okoro Charles, a police officer attached to the Ikotun Division of the Nigerian Police Force. Charles was said to have been hassling a tricycle driver for a bribe when he fired the bullet which ended Fatai’s life.

The Lagos State Police Command issued a statement the following day that it had arrested Charles and had commenced investigation regarding the circumstances of the shooting. Charles, it said, would be subjected to an Orderly Room Trial at the State Provost. If Charles was found guilty, he would be prosecuted in a conventional court by the State Criminal Investigation Department.

Although the Lagos State Police Command promised to keep the public abreast of developments on the investigation, it is yet to do so. It is unclear what has become of the case and the officer responsible.

Killer Officer: Inspector Okoro Charles