How my son was killed in Dubai – Aisha Falode

The call for the intervention of the Federal Government is needed to correct the alleged miscarriage of justice by the Dubai police.

An ace sports broadcaster, Aisha Falode, has appealed to the Federal Government to intervene in the case of alleged murder of her 19-year-old son, Toba Falode, who died in Dubai, United Arab Emirate, UAE, in February.

In a press conference held in Lagos, Tuesday, Ms. Falode called on the government to put pressure on the UAE authorities to compel the Dubai police to reopen investigation into the circumstances that led to the death of Mr. Falode whom she said was murdered in cold blood by a Saudi national, Faisal Aldakmary Al-Nasser, and his British girlfriend, Olivia Richards.

According to her, the call for the intervention of the Federal Government is needed to correct the alleged miscarriage of justice by the Dubai police, who have ruled the death was accidental and have closed investigation into the matter.

Late Mr. Falode, who was studying Audio Production in Dubai, was said to have fallen off the balcony of the 17th floor of the Manchester Towers, Dubai Marine, where he resided; but his mom said unimpeachable signs and eyewitness accounts show that her son was pushed to his death.

“In the early hours of the 15th of February 2014, I received a call from the security guard at my son’s apartment block informing me that something serious had just happened to my son, Toba. I then immediately called his close friend, Nick Allison, a South African, who then informed me that my Toba had passed on from falling from the balcony of his 17th floor apartment,” said Ms. Falode.

According to her, family members who went to retrieve the body of Mr. Falode were told by the police that he had fallen off the railings of the balcony of his 17th floor apartment. However, she said the police report mysteriously excluded some vital information that points to the fact that Mr. Al-Nasser allegedly pushed her son to his death.

She said the police decided to put a lid on the case without doing an autopsy, arguing that their findings suggest nothing else could be blamed as the cause of his death.

“However, because of the various inconsistencies in the police report given to my family, and because I know the apartment layout very well and my motherly intuition I knew something was not right. So I decided to investigate further by myself accompanied by a family member and my family lawyer Mr. Festus Keyamo.”

She said when spoke to Mr. Falode’s friends in Dubai, their accounts of what happened on the day of he died was completely different from the account in the police report.

Jealous rage

Ms. Falode said her son’s friends told her that Mr. Al-Nasser had stormed into the apartment sometime in December 2013 and ordered Ms. Richards out of Mr. Falode’s apartment while accusing him of having an affair with her.

“A fight was to have ensued from this confrontation, but for the intervention of other mutual friends. Since then, there was no love lost between Toba and Faisal Aldakmary Al-Nasser,” she said.

“In the evening of the 14th of February, 2014, Toba, together with his friends, namely, Ebele Oladeji Onwugbufor, Nick Allison and Joachim Santene went to a club in Dubai known as M Deck, Media 1 Hotel, Media City

“That at the club, they met the said Faisal Aldakmary Al-Nasser and Olivia Melanie Richard Evans who were also at the club.

“Again an argument started at the club concerning Olivia, and shortly after this, Faisal and Olivia left the club.”

The mother said when Mr. Falode and his friends returned to their apartment from the club, they were surprised to find Mr. Al-Nasser and Ms. Richards waiting outside the door; with Ms. Richards “crying hysterically and appeared frightened” while Mr. Al-Nasser appeared “calm with a determined look on his face.”

The three entered the apartment “to sort things out.”

After the trio moved outside to the balcony, a heated argument later ensued accompanied by “raised voices and flaying hands” that was visible through the glass door to those inside the apartment.

She said about 20 seconds later, Mr. Al-Nasser and Ms. Richards came back into the room and announced that Mr. Falode had fallen off the railings.

“However, Faisal had blood spattered all over his shirt and he had bloody knuckles. There was also a noticeable cut on his finger,” Ms. Falode said.

“At this point they all rushed downstairs to see Toba’s dead body lying meters away from the building (approximately 12 to 15 meters).

“The position of my Toba’s body (which can still be verified today) was not consistent with someone falling from the balcony (in which case the body would be much closer to the building) but was consistent with someone that was violently pushed from the balcony.

“The police arrived thereafter and arrested all of them to the station. Before and during the journey to the station, Faisal kept repeating to the hearing of everyone that the maximum punishment for him would be 25 years in jail and that other boys should not worry. Meanwhile, Olivia remained hysterical.”

She said at the station, she was told that Mr. Al-Nasser and Ms. Richards were kept away from the other boys and interviewed separately. Mr. Al-Nasser was released and allowed to go away with the blood stained T-shirt he had on.

According to her, all those present agreed to the above account of the events leading to the death of her son.

Ms. Falode said that the police report made no mention of Mr. Al-Nasser is a clear indication of a cover-up.

“I am appealing to my government that I have done much more than I should do as a grieving mother who was left with no option but to start investigating my own son’s murder by myself,” she said trying unsuccessfully to hold back the tears that well in her eyes.

“I implore the Nigerian Government to prevail on the authorities in Dubai to re-open the investigation into the murder of my son, Toba Falode, and to bring to book Mr. Faisal Aldakmary Al-Nasser and Miss Olivia Melanie Richards both of whom murdered him in cold blood.”

No response from government

Ms. Falode said she called the press conference to inform the world of the quest for justice and to appeal to government to take up the case not just for her sake but for other Nigerian parents who have lost their children in foreign countries under similar circumstances.

According to Mr. Keyamo, a petition was sent to the government two weeks ago but nothing has been heard so far.

The President of Women Arise, Joe Okei-Odumakin, who was also at the briefing, read out content of a petition to the Nigerian Ambassador to UAE, Ibrahim Auwalu, asking that embassy should look into the case in order to secure justice for the grieving mother. She said President Goodluck Jonathan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as the Senate were also sent copies of the petition.

“The Nigerian Embassy has shown weakness in this matter,” she said.

“We are of the belief that the embassy in a country has, as one of its prime duties, to collate happening to citizens in the country of call and make recommendations as to observations, opportunities, threat and other potential dangers inherent or surfacing there.

“The death or unfortunate incidents that involve Nigerians from their ignorance of dangers as they pursue better lives, since the government failed to produce opportunities back home can be blamed on the Nigerian government, particularly its embassies at various countries, for failure to live up to this task.”