International News
A 19-year-old Nigerian student shot dead by police in Canada.
Afolabi Stephen Opaso, A 19 years old killed by Winnipeg police is being remembered as a good friend who had a passion for dancing and music.
Afolabi Stephen Opaso died after being shot on Sunday by officers who were responding to a well-being call at an apartment on University Crescent. Opaso, originally from Nigeria, was an international student at the University of Manitoba.
(Clinton and late Afolabi
Clinton Ajayi, a childhood friend of the 19 years old Opaso, remembers him as a happy teen who was there for the people in his life.
‘Trying to comprehend’ friend’s death
In a social media post, the University of Manitoba Nigerian Student Association called Opaso’s death “tragic,” saying he “met a brutal end while grappling with a mental health crisis.”
“We are saddened by the loss of one of our own. This distressing event has ignited pain, fear, and frustration within our community, prompting us to demand answers,” the association’s president, Olivia Ifeoma Onyemaenu, wrote in a Thursday post on Instagram.
The Nigerian Association of Manitoba also expressed condolences to Opaso’s family and friends in its own Instagram post.
The association acknowledged “the anxiety, frustration, sadness and distress this incident has caused within our community,” but president Vera Obehi Keyede urged everyone “to remain calm and composed as investigations are underway.”
Both Elahwal and Ajayi say they’re still coming to terms with a death they say Opaso didn’t deserve.
“Everyone is still trying to comprehend and wrap their heads around the unfortunate circumstance,” Elahwal said.
“We’ve all been in touch with each other. We’ve all been trying to support each other through what happened. The main concern right now is getting justice for him and his family,” he said.
“I’ve been crying since,” said Ajayi.
One of the last times he saw his friend, Opaso encouraged Ajayi to be good and stay out of trouble in the United States.
If he’d known more about Opaso’s challenges in Canada, Ajayi said he would have offered advice and returned the favour.
“He has always been there for me.”
Experienced mental health crisis: lawyer
In a news release following Opaso’s death, the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba — the police watchdog agency that is now investigating the shooting — said that police notified them officers responding to the well-being call arrived to find a man with two other people in a suite at the University Crescent apartment block.
Officers were confronted by an armed man, who was then shot, the IIU’s release said.
On Monday, Winnipeg police Chief Danny Smyth told reporters the 19-year-old was armed with two knives.
Earlier this week, a lawyer speaking for Opaso’s family said he was experiencing a mental health episode the day he died.
Opaso had also gone to the hospital for a different episode last July, Jean-René Dominique Kwilu told CBC.
“He sort of experienced a psychosis,” the lawyer said. “[His family] didn’t know … where it came from, because it was the first time it happened to him.”
Opaso was admitted, assessed and released, “and after that, everything was fine,” Kwilu said.
He said he didn’t know whether Opaso had been prescribed any medication or received any counselling afterwards.
Ajayi said he didn’t know about Opaso’s mental health struggles.
“Last year, he was feeling good — like, he’s always being happy.”
Stay tuned for more updates
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