Family of international student killed in police-invovled shooting call for justice, after arriving in Winnipeg for funeral

The sisters of a University of Manitoba international student killed during a police-involved shooting are calling for justice, as they travel to Winnipeg to lay their brother to rest.

“I never would have imagined that in my lifetime I’ll be coming to Manitoba to bury my brother. It’s been the toughest thing I’ve had to do in my life,” said Yemisi Opaso, sister of Afolabi Stephen Opaso.

“Since Dec. 31, all I had was sleepless nights. I’m always thinking about him, thinking about all the time we had.”

Sisters united in grief, Yemisi Opaso coming from Texas and Bukola Ranti Opaso coming from Nigeria, now in Winnipeg for their younger brother’s funeral.

The two remembering the kindness of their younger brother, Afolabi Stephen Opaso, including how he gave up his own room back home in Nigeria before coming to Manitoba.

“Afolabi is like a whole community. All our family friends, he was the one who introduced us to them. He is a very sweet boy. I remember when he was coming to Canada, there was this boy on our street, the boy did not have good parental care. Afolabi came home and told my mom ‘Mom, my room is vacant, I’m leaving, I would like this boy to live with us. Till now the boy is still living with us,’” said Bukola Ranti Opaso.

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Afolabi, a University of Manitoba student studying economics died after a police-involved shooting in the afternoon on New Year’s Eve.

According to the family’s lawyer, Opaso was suffering from a mental health crisis when his roommates called 911. The family says his roommates made it clear on the 911 call that Opaso was not a danger to anyone else but himself.

“It’s very sad, it’s very difficult, I won’t lie to you. Calling 911, a police officer to help a friend and you killed the friend. It’s just a very terrible situation. It’s unbelievable that those men that we entrust to serve and protect end up taking his life,” explained Yemisi Opaso.

The family now dealing with a range of emotions as they not only grieve the loss of Afolabi, but also wonder why police did not respond differently when he simply needed medical attention.

“My mother, she’s not herself. She’s been passing out. She can’t even make it to Canada. That’s how terrible it has been, she’s been in the hospital going in and out. She’s been very sick and down. She has a lot of questions and we really do need some answers.”

It isn’t just the family that is looking for answers, but also the Nigerian community here in Manitoba as they also try to support the family.

“That is not a license to kill. People with mental health, need to be helped, differently,” explained Uche Nwankwo, the coordinator of AfriCans in Winnipeg South.

Alberta’s police watchdog is investigating the officer-involved shooting to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest after Manitoba’s Independent Investigation Unit learned that a relative of an officer involved in the incident works for Manitoba Justice.

“He didn’t die in vain,” said Bukola Ranti Opaso. “The person responsible for his death is going to pay for the crime.”