Neighbours, friends, lover share details about murdered activist, Yusuf Nurudeen Alowonle
A cursory look through the Facebook page of Yusuf Nurudeen Alowonle is sufficient to give a background of the kind of life he lived. The accounting education graduate, popularly known as ‘Omomeewa’ was an activist; going out of his way to fight for social justice. His death on August 18th left friends, associates, and family members devastated. The pictures on his page showed his attempts to raise money for a cancer operation, victory in reinstating a student who was wrongly accused, amongst others.
Earliest memories
His lawyer and brother-in-law Yusuf Nurudeen, tells Neusroom that they met during student activism struggles.
“We met during student activism struggles. I was a prominent member of the student movement and the former president of the student union in LASU. He was at the time the Public Relations Officer of Michael Otedola College of Primary Education. We met during the National Association of Nigerian Students conventions. Also, we shared the same ideological identities. “
Nurudeen said this resonated into a bromance between them. One that was cemented when Omomeewa fell for his sister who later on became his wife.
“Our melting point for these ideological discussions was my house. That was where I got to understand that my sister studying accounting and him, studying accounting became friends. I even stopped welcoming him at a point when I knew he wasn’t coming to see me anymore at my Post-Service home then. That was in 2016 when I was in Law school.”
Nurudeen admits that there was nothing he could do about the newfound attachment and all he had to do was let things be. He said Alowonle took his sister to Educational Rights Campaign meetings, the ideological group he was a part of. All that romance culminated into a marriage that was held on January 2, 2021.
“Almost immediately after the coronavirus pandemic, he came for marriage and I made the family connection smoother. This is why I took up the mantle to defend him,” he added.
For Wale Gallardo, a friend of Omomeewa, they were roommates for the better part of his stay on campus.
He said, “I got to know Omomeewa in 2016. That was when we got admission to LASU. At that time, he needed accommodation as a fresher in the institution. We were on the same Whatsapp platform seeking admission. Immediately he got admission, he called me, saying he needed accommodation. Throughout my stay in LASU, he was my roommate.”
He added, “We stayed two years in Igando before we moved to Iba where we stayed there for another two years. We were together till 2020. He was the leader of ERC, an ideological group. He fought for students’ rights when school policies did not go down with him, and he’d send emails, letters out and orient students on how education is our right.
“Omomeewa wanted a society where the son of anybody can become somebody. He belonged not only to ERC but the Socialist Party of Nigeria, Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM), and several other organizations.”
Student Union Election
Gallardo stressed that Omomweewa’s dream was becoming LASU student union’s president. This was the genesis of all the issues surrounding his death.
He continues, “Right from 100 level, he had the ambition of contesting for the presidency of the LASU Student Union elections. Immediately he got to 300 level, he contested and he lost. In 400 level second semester an issue came up regarding admission racketeering. He came back home and told me that the University roped him in for admission racketeering. I asked him to narrate what happened and he said somebody gave him a brown envelope with money with an instruction that someone would collect those documents from him. He said within the space of five to 10 minutes the person left after which the Department of State Services arrested him for admission fraud. This is what Omomeewa faced from 2019 till the moment he died.”
A stolen mandate
Nurudeen traces the issue back to the election, however.
He said, “He contested election as Student Union president in 2019. He believed he didn’t lose that election. The management of Lagos State University delayed the publication of the election result for one week.
“During my own time as president in 2013/2014, a student of Engineering created the software. It was tested and you get a notification for whoever you voted for. As time went on, the management hijacked it and developed their own system for everyone to use.
“However, during his own election, they boycotted the use of the school management’s system. The election went on and for a week, the results were not announced. After it was announced, he gave up. During that period of waiting, he held the school to ransom for stealing his mandate. I think that is what led to his setup.”
“He was set up”
“Maybe he was too open-minded but his friend used to complain that he was nonchalant. Someone called him on the phone saying they will hand over money to you around N160,000. They told him to take that money and envelope to another person in ICT department. On his way to the ICT centre, DSS who is not a security on campus accosted him and found an internet printout of people who have gained admission. The envelope was sealed and he didn’t look into it.
“How can DSS arrest him? It shows he was being set up. What they found was not incriminating. This is a document that doesn’t fall under the official document of the university. It is a document that anybody who can browse the internet very well can get a hold of. People who do registration in business centres can have access to it. It can be in the trash. They gave him a notice to the panel. The first time he appeared there was on the 22nd of January 2020. He was arrested on 20th October 2019.”
“He was smart enough to recognize the person who gave him the envelope known as one Moses Aneyo. That person was arrested by LASU and released on bail. I don’t know if they took his statement. Alowonle submitted the call log before the management to make sure there was no prior information between them other than what happened that day.”
Nurudeen explained that the panel never sat on January 22, 2020. They adjourned till the 28th of that month. However, the panel denied his lawyer, Ayo Ademiluyi access to the hearing. A protest letter followed to register the lawyer’s disapproval on February 17, 2020. The panel responded on February 25th allowing Alowonle the chance to bring his lawyer along.
Nurudeeen said, “On January 28, 2020, he stated his case as well as on March 4, 2020, alongside his lawyer. However, till the time of his death, he never got another panel meeting. The school blamed it on the coronavirus pandemic however they held lectures virtually as well as senate meetings.”
Nurudeen felt if they were interested in Alowonle’s case, they would have not left the issue unattended for a whole year withholding the deceased clearance and making him unable to go for his mandatory National Youth Service Corps. Alowonle wrote a letter for them to get his panel done and dusted which led to another meeting.
Nurudeen said he was at the next panel with Alowonle but the University was concerned about the letter Alowonle wrote threatening court action if they don’t get to sort the case so the deceased could serve. The panel however chose to adjourn the case. Nurudeen recounts that he left Alowonle on campus telling him to go home to reappear in two weeks.
He said, “The panel rose at 2pm and I told him (Alowonle) not to stay too long, noting that the campus was not convenient for him. He said he wanted to see one or two persons on campus. I agreed with him because he is an adult and my in-law, I couldn’t compel him to follow me. That was the last time I saw Omomewa.”
The last time Wale Gallardo heard from Alowonle was August 18.
He said, “Omomeewa called me and said: “Wale, I am going to LASU, the Student Affairs told me the issue is about to end.” I said thank God o. He went to the panel and from what Barrister Nurudeen told me, he said the panel ended at 2pm. Immediately the panel ended, Barrister Nurudeen told him to leave the campus and he said he wanted to see a few people.”
It was a shocker on a Thursday night to learn that dear Alowonle, fondly called Omomeewa was gone.
Gallardo said, “It was on Thursday night (August 19), a friend of ours who stayed with us called me that night and said Omomeewa is dead. I went back to check our chat and it was true- he told me he was going to school on Wednesday (August 18) but what happened? It was the following morning on Friday I saw his corpse at the Mainland Hospital in Yaba.”
How he died
Mainstream media reported Omomeewa’s death as a shooting that occurred not too far from the school entrance. He was shot alongside school staff, Waheed Majekodunmi, also known as Majek. However, there are many discrepancies to his death which led to a clamor for an autopsy.
He said, “When we got to Mainland Hospital we asked if it was a gunshot or robbery; we couldn’t even ascertain what happened. The medical students that saw his body said it was a gunshot, however, the policemen said it was a stab wound. This disagreement led to why he wasn’t buried immediately and why an autopsy was carried out.”
Nurudeen said, “The family had resolved to bury him, he is a Muslim. The process is ongoing, the police had to bring a coroner form, submit it to the morgue while the morgue will transmit the body.
“As I speak with you, samples of his body have been taken for investigations. It is not confirmed that he was shot at. Police said they did not hear a gunshot at the place when he was killed, that place is 10 feet from LASU gate, the security should hear but they said they did not hear the sound of a gunshot.”
Nurudeen would not want to share photos of the deceased but he believed that Alowonle bled to death and could have been rescued.
He said, “The person that was shot beside him said it was a gunshot but I can’t believe his testimony. Someone that was shot left the gate premises, went to first gate, and said someone took you to the hospital where the bullet shot was removed. You returned to LASU health centre on Thursday and as at 5pm, you didn’t tell anyone that Mewa was dead. You didn’t tell them to look for Mewa.”
“Meewa is not a cultist”
In a phone call with Neusroom, Aminat Widad, the deceased’s wife was downcast.
“Meewa is not a cultist. I know him very well, we have been friends from 100 level before we got married. I have not been myself since then till now. How could this happen to him? It is just like a dream, I can’t even believe myself,” the distraught mother of a four-month-old child said.
Gallardo said, “Omomewa was an easy-going person. He is very jovial, he is playful, and never took life hard. I knew him as a student activist and I knew he was in school till night till 10 pm with one Comrade Majek. Omomeewa was not someone that holds grudges and he is not a cultist.”
“We will get justice for him and clear his name”
A press release on LASU website said the deceased was hobnobbing around campus, refusing to go home.
“Mr. Nurudeen Alowonle, a.k.a Omomeewa was a former student of the University, but was yet to receive his certificate due to an ongoing disciplinary case that he was facing in the university. The panel presiding over his case began sitting in 2019.
“The case continued until 2020 but the panel could not sit due to the Covid-19 pandemic-enforced lockdown, which took the larger part of the year. He was however invited by the panel, alongside several other students who had ongoing disciplinary cases, on Wednesday to defend himself.
“Omomeewa appeared before the panel that same day as scheduled. He was in fact, the first student to be attended to by the panel, and his case was concluded before 2pm.
“Since leaving the panel before 2pm, Omomeewa ostensibly remained on the university campus until late in the evening during which time he met up with Mr. Waheed Majekodunmi.
“The duo were said to have hobnobbed at the University Senior Staff Club until past 8pm in the evening after which they left together through the Iba Gate of the University for their destinations.“Unable to get vehicles at the School junction as it was late in the day, the duo were said to have trekked several metres away from the gate ostensibly in search of a vehicle. Unfortunately, they were attacked by men of the underworld, dispossessed of their valuables and shot.”
Nurudeen vowed to get justice for Alowonle, accusing the school of negligence after reading the press statement.
He said, “What LASU issued as a statement is intellectually lazy. Does it mean he can be killed at 2pm? He is a student. Is the land where he was killed not a part of LASU’s land? We will take a lot of action against the University for malicious prosecution. Omomeewa’s offense is not known to law.
“There is a student handbook to deal with students. The offense of admission racketeering is not known to law. Now you are punishing Omomeewa, what of the students who are the beneficiaries of the crime receiving lectures? Omomeewa was in the panel four times- none of his accusers came to testify against him. He was not fairly heard.”
