Death of breadwinner: Family drags IGP, bank to court

By Daud Olatunji

TWO aged parents and four children of a former Supervisor for Community Development and Women Affairs in Abeokuta North Local Government Area of Ogun State, Mrs. Olayinka   Olasode Oriloye who was reportedly killed by a stray bullet allegedly fired by a security official attached to First Bank , Imo branch in Abeokuta have dragged the bank to the state high court to seek justice.

The late Oriloye, 51, who was survived by her aged father, Chief M. A Olasode, 84, her mother, Madam S.A Olasode,78, and four children was said to have lost her life as a result of a stray bullet which hit her in the stomach as a result of which she sustained injury with the resultant excessive internal and external bleeding leading to her death.

Vanguard gathered that the incident occurred April 1, 2015 when the deceased who was a regular  customer of the Imo Branch of the bank in Abeokuta went to the bank for the usual banking transactions and while there a trigger happy security operative allegedly fired a gun shot which  killed her.

Unlawful killing

Since then, it was gathered that, neither the bank nor the Police command in the state has shown sympathy for the family. The family, however, demanded for a sum of five hundred million naira (N500,000,000) as compensation for what they described as unlawful killing of their breadwinner.

Speaking on behalf of the family, counsel for the family,   Wale Habib Ajayi in a writ of summons served on the Inspector General of Police,   the state Commissioner of Police,   one Sgt. Gbadebo Gbenga,   First Bank of Nigeria Limited and it’s operation manager in   Imo branch, Femi Ogunleye, said the action has brought hardship to the family.

He   described the action as  an unlawful killing and the result of callous attitude of the management of the bank.  Ajayi   told the court that   the deceased who was the breadwinner of the family was inside the banking hall and in the process of transacting business with the bank,   one Police   Sergeant Gbadebo Gbenga fired a gun shot from the main entrance of the bank premises which   hit  the deceased and pierced her abdomen leading   to severe   injuries and later death at the Federal Medical Centre,   Idi-Aba Abeokuta on April 12, 2015.

He said   Oriloye who was   in intensive care  for 12 days   died of severe sepsis and systemic inflammatory response arising from the gun shot injury sustained by her as a result of the negligent acts of the bank officials. Further findings showed that   the deceased   went through two surgical operations on her stomach before she later gave up the ghost   eleven days after.

It was gathered that,   late Olayinka Olasode Oriloye was a   businesswoman and a public officer,   she was also a sole supporter and breadwinner of her family of seven. According to him, the deceased was in a very poor medical state from April 1 to 12, 2015 when she died. The primary cause of the death of the deceased was severe sepsis and systemic inflammation response from gunshot injury.

“They abandoned her without immediate medical care. The management of the bank did not show any care to the health condition of the deceased as at the time of the incident that led to her death. “The deceased did not in any way constitute danger or security risk to the bank and the shooting of the deceased was malicious and without provocation.

“The deceased’s parents who were retirees without any job took N50,000 each as monthly allowance from the deceased and her younger sister,   Ganya Olasode took N25,000 on monthly basis. “The decease while alive was responsible for the general up-keep   of her five children,   her aged parents and a younger sister and by her death,   they have lost their source of sustenance.

The family explaining how they arrived at N500,000,000 said they will collect N180,000 000 as special and general damages in negligence for wrongful and negligent killing of Mrs. Olayinka Olasode Oriloye . The family also told the court that they would collect N70,000,000 for the negligence and unlawful killing of Mrs Olayinka Olasode.

They also claimed that they spent N250, 000 on   medical expenses for the deceased while funeral expenses,   according to the family,   gulped N4.2million .The family also said that they would need N5 million each for   all the four   children of the deceased who were Ayodele Oriloye,   Oladipupo Oriloye and   Yewande Oriloye and   Akorede Cecilia.

In its reaction to the   demand by the family , head legal services, First Bank, Muhammed Bashir said the management was aware of the death of the deceased who they described as their customer and commiserates with the family over the loss. The bank said,   it had paid a condolence visit to the family members and was represented at the wake keep and burial ceremony of late Mrs Olayinka Olasode Oriloye.