The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) has condoled with the family of Qayyum Balogun, a 21-year-old Nigerian student who died in Dublin, Ireland, describing his death as a painful loss of a bright and promising young man whose life was cut short in the prime of his youth.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NiDCOM, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, extended the commission’s condolences in a statement on Tuesday, expressing confidence that Irish authorities would conduct a thorough, transparent and expedited investigation to ensure that all those responsible were held accountable in accordance with the law.
Qayyum, a third-year Computer Science student at Maynooth University who was born in Dublin to a Nigerian family based in Dundalk, County Louth, was fatally attacked in the early hours of June 2 after attending a Nigerian rap concert by artist Famous Pluto at Bewley’s Café on Grafton Street with his sister.
His family said he intervened when a woman was being harassed before a group of men chased him through Johnson’s Court and on to Clarendon Street, where he was cornered and stabbed multiple times just before 3am.
He was taken by ambulance to St James’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
His family described him as a gentle soul with no involvement in any gang or criminality. His mother, Teslimot Balogun, described him as “a very funny guy” who was “always friendly, very quiet, easy going.”
Qayyum was the eldest of five children and had hoped to become a computer engineer.
Irish police, the Gardaí, launched a murder investigation and have since made several arrests.
A man in his 20s was charged with assault causing harm in connection with the incident, while a teenage boy understood to be in his mid-teens was also arrested and detained.
A key suspect is believed to have fled Ireland into Northern Ireland and then to Britain in the hours after the killing.
Gardaí have sought assistance from the Police Service of Northern Ireland and British police in tracking the suspect.
Detectives have ruled out a racial motive for the killing.
Dabiri-Erewa said the loss was not only devastating to Qayyum’s family but also to Nigeria, which takes pride in the achievements and contributions of its young citizens abroad.
“Every Nigerian, irrespective of where they reside, deserves to live, study, and pursue their dreams in safety and dignity,” she said.
She commended the Nigerian Embassy in Ireland, members of the Nigerian community and all individuals and organisations who had provided support to the Balogun family, while reaffirming NiDCOM’s solidarity with Nigerians in the diaspora.
(The Whistler)