what a crime:Whether jungle or normal, all I want is justice –Mother of teenager set ablaze for stealing N1,500

If there was any inkling of anything bad on the mind of
thirty-two-year-old Jowoh Gabriel on Monday, February 16, 2015, it was
nowhere near the tragic news she received that day.
She woke up that morning like any other day and went about her
hairdressing business freely without any suspicion of what had
happened.
The Delta-State born mother of three had not read the newspaper that
day. Then, she got the call.
"Are you okay? Have you read the newspaper today? Has anybody told you
anything?" a worried sister of hers blurted out over the phone.
Confused, she answered, no. Jowoh's sister, Wunmi, would later break
the news to her – that her 15-year-old son, Emmanuel Ezekiel, had died
the day before as a result of the horrific injuries he sustained after
his boss poured petrol on him and set him alight at a bar where he
worked in Ibafo, Ogun State.
The fair-complexioned woman, who spoke with our correspondent at a
private hospital where her son was first rushed to after the February
9 attack, was obviously angry.
Her anger dissolved into tears of agony, when she told our
correspondent that her son would not have died in such a horrific way
if he had been living with her.
"I had a set of twins (one of which is late), followed by Emmanuel.
But contrary to reports that he was 13, my son was 15 years old. But I
separated from their father and he took custody of the children when
they were still small. I can see now the terrible mistake I made by
allowing him to take them away from me," Jowoh said.
Emmanuel was allegedly set ablaze by the man who runs the bar, Mr.
Bidemi Shittu, for allegedly stealing N1,500 at a roadside bar called
Golden Fingers, in Akoka, Ibafo area of Ogun State. The boy died from
the horrific burn injuries he sustained six days later in the
hospital.
"When I got the call from my sister who broke the news about my son to
me, I immediately called the man (Shittu). I know him and had spoken
with him many times over the phone in the past. Anytime I missed my
son and wanted to speak with him, I called the man and told him to
allow Emmanuel the phone.
"I asked speak with me on him if it was true what had happened to my
son and he denied it. But he said Emmanuel was in the hospital. He did
not give further details.
"I was like a zombie when I rushed down to Ibafo from Abeokuta. I
could not even remember how I got into a bus and arrived Ibafo. Life
went out of me.
"How could I have thought that anything bad would happen to my son?
All I want now is justice for him, either jungle justice or normal
justice.
"My son's killer has taken a life, he must pay for it. I still cannot
believe that my son could be killed just like that in a place where
his father works."
At that point, Jowoh explained that Emmanuel's father, Egunjobi
Ezekiel, works as security man at a hotel beside Shittu's bar said to
be owned by the suspect's father.
Jowoh said her son and ex-husband live on the premises of the hotel.
Family fears for father's mental health
Unfortunately, the death of the young boy seems to have taken a
strange twist as 43-year-old Ezekiel is now suspected to have
developed a mental problem as a result of the tragedy.
Our correspondent visited Ezekiel at a private hospital in Ibafo where
he was taken to after he reportedly started acting strangely, but he
was in no condition to speak with our reporter.
His brother, Mr. Toyin Olayemi, told a source that soon after he
learnt of his son's death, he first complained about hearing voices in
his head.
"We really fear for his mental health. He told us he was hearing
different kinds of voices in his head. Sometimes, he said it was the
clanging of metals," Olayemi said.
A doctor at the private hospital gave his on-the-spot opinion in the
presence of our correspondent. "This might be schizophrenia. You
should take him to the psychiatric hospital at Yaba, Lagos or Aro in
Abeokuta," he said.
But the following day when our correspondent visited Ezekiel at Ibafo,
he had been stabilised and discharged.
He has demanded justice for the murder of his son.
A photo said to have been taken by a man who saw the boy as the fire
was being put out, reportedly show both Emmanuel's hands and feet
tied.
The man was said to have been attracted by the screaming of the boy.
He reportedly rushed into the house and saw the boy burning with his
hands and legs tied.
The Ogun State Police are still on the trail of Shittu who has fled
since the attack.
The case has been transferred to the Department of Criminal
Investigations, Eleweran in Abeokuta.
Police Public Relations Officer of the Ogun State Police Command, Mr.
Muyiwa Adejobi, has said that Shittu has nowhere to hide as he would
be tracked down by the police.
"We are intensifying efforts to get him and we will," Adejobi said.
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