HOW A WELL KNOWN POLICE OFFICER KILLED MY FATHER 50 YEARS AGO – Bishop Adebayo Babalola

Fifty years ago, it was a moment of tears as a dark cloud hovered over the urbane family of Late Pa James Babatunde Babalola and that of his dear wife Mama Victoria Oyeyemi Babalola. That was because, the middle aged Mobile Police Officer, had just fallen cold dead to the bullet of his orderly, who was meant to work with him and protect him.

It was a major tragedy! An incident which the family would have loved never to have happened. Worse still, was the fact that the family could not do anything about it. Or so it was.

Suddenly, Mama Victoria Oyeyemi Babalola found heaped on her fragile shoulders, the almighty burden of raising the young family, all by herself.

But last Sunday at the all-white decorated auditorium of the Flaming Sword Ministries AKA The Chapel of The Overtakers in Lafiaji area of Lagos Island, that memory was long, long gone! Instead, it was replaced with elaborate moment of rejoicing as family and friends of same Pa James Babalola family, gathered together, to roll out the drums, in a three dimensional thanksgiving celebration of the glory of God over the family, these last fifty years.

In his sermon, Dr. Segun Shallom the visiting Bishop, spoke of mercy of God. The mercy which has seen the Babalola family turn out to be a success, all the children, despite an early setback in life!

He said, our nation needs mercy as we all should start learning to stand on truth. He said that Late Pa James Babatunde Babalola must have been a good man, that is why all his children are today alive 50 years after, and they are all doing well.

Recounting the tragic incident during the thanksgiving service, Bishop Adebayo Babalola the General Overseer of Flaming Sword Ministries, an illustrious son of Pa James Babatunde Babalola said that, “I had never known lack or want, and neither did I cry for anything, until the day I was called up at the school assembly and told that I had not paid my school fees!

“As a child then, I didn’t have to worry about school fees, I was always the first to pay, but that early year while I was in secondary school, I was called out to the stage and I cried, because the import of my father’s death, suddenly dawned on me.

“I was 12 years. I was used to paying school fees promptly and going to school in a car. But after my father’s death, I had to be entering public transportation and the Police Force that had promised to pay our school fees, refused to pay! The police didn’t fulfil their promise! If you are killed on duty, it behooved the Police to take care of the children that is left behind. But in our case, that didn’t happened.

“My siblings were forced to leave the country. My mother managed to get us by and I wonder what if the woman was not able to do that, what would have happened to us?

“What if I was not lucky? I probably would have turned out to be an armed robber or a city urchin. And for someone who had always been very intelligent like I have always been, you can imagine the type of an armed robber that I would have been. I would have turned out a sophisticated armed robber. But God rejected that for me.

Instead, young Adebayo Babalola, the son of a slain Mobile Police Officer, faced his studies. After a university education, he joined the State Secret Service and few years ago, retired at the level of an Assistant Director General.

“I didn’t want to join the Nigerian Police Force like my father. So instead, I went to SSS because I was not impressed with the Police. My siblings had fled the country. I was the only one that remained. Since there was hardship, they all decided to go and look for a softer ground.

Instead of continuous grievance, the Babalola family said they had long forgotten those who killed their father.

“It was a conspiracy killing. His colleagues agreed among themselves. My father was a fearless, honest and courageous officer who was straight forward to a fault. It was this fault that made a section of the leadership of the police to gang up and he was killed by a fellow police officer on 26th January 1971. Ironically it is around the same area he was killed by a fellow police officer in the then Maroko area of Lekki that I presently live. Papa was so brave and courageous that hunting was one of his hobbies, he killed many huge wild animals in his life time thereby getting the title ‘Ode Aperin of Igbara Oke. He loved his home town Igbara Oke where he was one of the prominent people that started the Igbara Oke Progressive Union in Lagos and was the president until his death.”

Stating further, Bishop Adebayo Babalola said it is with deep regret that our father worked effectively and diligently without a stain promoting the image of the police force locally and internationally but was rewarded by getting killed by those threatened by his rising profile. Even a few years after, my Mother saw the person who killed my father at a market in Lagos. He was walking about freely. We forgave them, and today, 50 years after, as we remember our parents, we have decided to initiate a Foundation to take care of children of police men, who fall by the bullet, in the same instance that we found ourselves then.

“If your police officer father has been cut short of life and you can’t face life alone, come to us. If you are in need of school fees because your police officer father has just been killed, come to us. Our Foundation will see you through!”

We asked him why the foundation, his reply: “50 years is a diamond time to remember an incident and take lessons from it but more importantly, this is when I have enough friends to pump money into the foundation we want to set up and some of them have started pledging large sum of money and we will start sending such children that might need such funds to school. We the children of Pa Babalola have decided to start a foundation in the name of our parents that will be known as Heroes Foundation to cater for any military or para military officers children especially police that fall within the above experience (our experience).

The benefits from the foundation when there is a development in the nation and good things are coming don’t except that it will come from the top it will come from the ground, from everyone’s little contribution. I will be spending my money which I could use to go to Dubai or London to rest or enjoy myself.

For a Bishop who rose to the level of a state director in the secret service, and who is also a legal practitioner of many decades, the church was filled to the brim this particular Sunday morning. Friends had arrived early, some of them, had been his class mates at secondary school, that day when he lost his father.

And some of them spoke to us.

Mr. Jide Akerele described Bishop Babalola as a nice gentleman. “We both work at Western house. I wouldn’t be here if he was not a nice man and he has asked me to come and minister in his church several times which I have done sometimes.”

For former banker and the immediate past National Vice Chairman of of the APC, Mr Bankole Oluwajana, “Bishop Adebayo Babalola has beena personal friend since childhood. So I have known his family for long. One thing that crossed my mind while coming here today, is that,  is that everything worked out for good.  I knew what it was like 50 years ago looking back now with the success the Bishop has achieved I could just imagine that if he was not fatherless 50 years ago, the family wouldn’t have had the strength to be where they are today. So we bless the name of the Lord for how He has stood by the family and for what my friend, brother, and father in the lord has turned out to be and of course the grandchildren God has blessed them with. There is doctor among them today.”

Mr Gbenga Olukiti on his part said, “the Bishop is my cousin, we are related from my mother’s side, coincidentally we attended the same secondary school in Ado Ekiti. We have been very close. We were all classmates, along with his wife Yemisi in school. So I thank God for witnessing today. I came very early all the way from redemption camp it was a journey but I got here early.”

Alhaji one time colleague of Bishop Babalola, Mrs Mabel Amoniokuono said, “We have known each other for more than 30 years, a great family. We all have come together to stand by him in the foundation sought that what happened 50 years ago to him, must not happen to other children. We must also make sure that all those various services must come together and take care of their own. We have seen situation where the children are neglected when their mother or father are killed which is not the best and since they are setting a foundation to help people in this situation, we all must join to support. I just love this.”

Bishop Oscar Ossai the presiding Bishop of City of Refuge Ministries said that, “the bible states clearly that the posterity of the righteous shall have peace. One of the evidence of a righteous life is how the children do well. Imagine we are celebrating 50 years after the passing of their parents’ and since then, there has been no single death in their family. It’s a great testimony.”

Politician and business man, Chief Kenny Martins rounded it up: “when you look at the history and circumstances of his departure and the fact that God stood by the family just like he promised the Israelites and promised Abraham every single child of that man went to school every one of the children is doing well, that is the justification of a good man and God transferred his reward and effort to his children. My prayer for us all, to live that kind of life. Those who are chosen by God go through prosecution but always be victorious.