Sunday Asefon, President Bola Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant on Student Engagement, has demanded an investigation into the death of Stephen Afolabi Opaso, a Nigerian student enrolled at the University of Manitoba in Canada.
On December 31, 2023, the Winnipeg Police Service in Manitoba, Canada, killed the 19-year-old.
In a statement released on Saturday, Asefon, who called the death “barbaric and heartless,” pleaded with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission to make sure the atrocity is not forgotten.
According to what he said, “The public believes that the death was motivated by race because the deceased student was not using a gun at the time of the incident and that the police officers would have acted differently if he had been a white.” This belief was formed during an earlier meeting with the official National Association of Nigerian Students regarding the case.
“The NIDCOM chairperson and the minister of foreign affairs should make sure that the incident is not covered up.
“NANS and all Nigerian pupils ought to maintain composure. We will closely monitor this case until the Canadian authorities provide an accurate account of the Nigerian student’s death and provide his family with the necessary compensation. This will help prevent a diplomatic crisis that could result in the Nigerian student Apex body, NANS, closing their embassy in Nigeria, as previously threatened, if no action is taken by the Federal Government of Nigeria within three working days.
Human rights attorney Tolu Babaleye, who is supporting the SSA to the President, urged the Federal Government to see to it that justice was done in this case, arguing that the boy’s threat was out of proportion to the defence strategy used by the Canadian police.
“The force used by the involved police officer was excessive,” he declared. It would have been appropriate if the youngster had been carrying a gun. It was said that the child was carrying a knife, so rather of shooting him, he would have sought for an other way to disarm him.
“I concur with the SSA that a thorough investigation of the matter is necessary, but once more, this is dependent on Canadian legislation. If Nigerian criminal law allows you to avoid responsibility in such a case, then the amount of force you used had to be commensurate with the threat the man posed at the time of the occurrence.
“You realize that this has to do with diplomacy between the two nations since Canada and Nigeria enjoy excellent relations. Canada is one of the nations that has welcomed our kids, so I think this situation will also need to be handled wisely.
