UNILAG undergraduate shot dead over stolen phone

An undergraduate of the University of Lagos, identified simply as Adekunle, was on Saturday shot dead by armed robbers at Harvey Road, Moore Road Junction, in the Yaba area of the state.

PUNCH Metro gathered that Adekunle and his school mate identified simply as Opeyemi boarded a shuttle bus from Yaba to UNILAG and while in the vehicle, a man, who was hanging at the back of the bus, dispossessed Opeyemi of her iPhone 7 plus.

Pained by the development, Opeyemi raised the alarm and Adekunle, in a desperate attempt to retrieve the phone from the robber who jumped down from the bus and fled, pursued him.

Realising that Adekunle was closing in on the suspect, it was learnt that one of the hoodlums suspected to be working with the fleeing suspect appeared from nowhere and shot the 23-year-old.

Speaking with our correspondent on Monday, an eyewitness who does not want his name mentioned for security reasons, said the robber’s accomplice shot Adekunle in the head, adding that the undergraduate died on the spot.

He said, “The incident happened on June 3 around 9pm. What happened was that someone shot the deceased at a close range on the left side of his head and he died on the spot. An ATM card found on him bears the name Adekunle.

“Later on, we gathered from a girl that gave her name as Opeyemi, who claimed to be a student of Business Administration, UNILAG, that she and the deceased, whom she knew as a student of UNILAG, boarded a shuttle bus from Yaba and were heading to UNILAG when she got dispossessed of her iPhone 7 Plus by a thief hanging at the back of the bus.

“She said the deceased attempted to help by pursuing the robber but in the process, another group of persons came out and one of them shot him at a close range on the left side of his head and he died on the spot.”

In a picture in possession of our correspondent, Adekunle, who wore black top and trousers, was seen lying motionless on the floor of the crime scene.

Our correspondent gathered that policemen, who arrived at the scene later, evacuated Adekunle’s corpse and deposited it at the morgue of the Mainland Hospital.

Contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said the command had commenced an investigation to track down the suspects behind the attack.

“The deceased was a UNILAG student. The suspects are being trailed for possible arrest and the command has contacted the victim’s relatives. The case has been transferred to the SCID, Panti, for discreet investigation,” he said.

When contacted, the spokesperson for UNILAG, Adejoke Alaga-Ibrahim, declined to comment on the development.

“I do not give reactions over the phone; I will like you to make a formal request; you could send an email to the communicationunit@unilag.edu.ng, or you could come over to the university so that you can speak with the Dean of Students Affairs,” she said.