Manitoba’s Nigerian community is keeping the memory of an international student fatally shot by police close this week.
But as the first anniversary of his death approaches, they are also eager for answers that have yet to come.
“We are still very saddened by the occurrence almost a year ago … of the untimely and tragic death of Afolabi Opaso,” said Vera Keyede, the president of Manitoba’s Nigerian Association.
Manitoba’s Nigerian community is keeping the memory close this week of an international student fatally shot by police, but as the first anniversary of his death approaches, they are also eager for answers that have yet to come.
Opaso, 19, was an international student from Nigeria who studied at the University of Manitoba.
“The community, they’re frustrated, I am frustrated personally with the fact we still don’t have full closure,” she said. “Even though he’s been buried, we don’t have closure.”
Opaso, 19, was shot dead by Winnipeg police officers responding to a check wellbeing call at an apartment building at 77 University Cres. around 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2023, the provincial Independent Investigation Unit (IIU) has said.
The agency investigates all serious incidents involving police in Manitoba.
Winnipeg police have said that the call involved a possibly armed man acting erratically. Then-police chief Danny Smyth told media a day after the shooting Opaso was armed with two knives when officers shot him.
The IIU tapped its Alberta-based counterpart this past January to take over the investigation of Opaso’s death to avoid any perceived conflict of interest after a Manitoba Justice employee was found to be a “close relative” of a police officer involved in the shooting.
The family’s lawyer, Jean-René Dominique Kwilu, has said Opaso was experiencing a mental health episode the day he died.
Opaso’s sister, Yemisi also told CBC in March that Opaso’s roommates told her he was having a mental breakdown at the time and they called 911 so he could get medical help, making it clear he only posed a danger to himself.
She also said Opaso’s roommates told her he opened the door for police when they arrived at their apartment.
Kwilu said the past year has been “really tough” for the family.
“For a lot of us this is the holiday season, it’s very joyous and [you] gather with loved ones and family,” he said. “Obviously this is just a painful reminder for them of what took place about a year ago.”
Back in March, a spokesperson for the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) said its investigation was nearly finished, but the unit was waiting for Opaso’s autopsy to be completed.
They also said it may be up to three months before Opaso’s autopsy results make their way to ASIRT’s civilian director, who decides whether charges should be laid.
Kwilu said he talked to an ASIRT investigator at the end of November and was told the investigation was in the “review stage.”
He also said from what he’s heard from the family, ASIRT has been in touch with them frequently.
“From what I understood, they completed the investigation, but it is at the review stage,” he said. “We’ve been waiting, so I don’t know how long that will take.”
Kwilu said he and the family are waiting for “clear answers” and hope the investigation finds if “there is responsibilities and accountability to be assigned, that it be done the proper way.”
“This type of stuff shouldn’t be happening, especially if it was a call for help,” he said. “And I think it was just a reminder … collectively, of how we really have to do better in this type of calls, especially when mental health is involved.”
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CBC News has also requested an update from the ASIRT.
‘We believe his legacy won’t be swept on’
But the length of time it’s taken for the ASIRT report to come is something Keyede of the Nigerian association compared to a slap in the face.
“As a Nigerian we are one people that believe that injustice to one is injustice to all,'” she said.
Looking back on Opaso’s death, Keyede remembers feeling “numb” for a few minutes and she “couldn’t fathom what happened” when she heard about it.
“It’s one year down the road,” she said. “It has not taken the anger, frustration away from me to know that this could have been avoided at all cost,” she said.
Keyede hopes some change can come from Opaso’s death. The investigation’s findings may also help police and authorities “review their process of handling cases relating to mental health,” she said.
She’s also thinking about Opaso’s family, who are scheduled to speak to media at a news conference Monday afternoon.
“We believe his legacy will not be swept on, that [it] will not be forgotten,” she said.
