A cry for help: Aisha Falode seeks justice for late rapper son

By Steve Dede

Nigerian ace broadcaster and member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Aisha Falode is yet to come to terms with her son’s death, not only because of the grief of losing him, but because of the mystery in which the death of the late Oloruntoba Oluwadamilola Falode has been shrouded.

Aisha Falode received the news of the death of Oloruntoba Oluwadamilola Falode on Saturday, February 15, 2014, with initial reports suggesting he died in a car crash. Police reports later revealed that Toba, as he was called by his peers, fell from the balcony of his apartment, located on the 17th floor of Manchester Towers, Dubai, Marina.

The late budding rapper was buried on Monday, March 3, 2014 at the Trinity House, Victoria Island, Lagos.

According to a statement from Aisha Falode, the reports from the Jebel Ali Police Station in Dubai on her son’s death revealed that Toba had been sitting on the railing of his balcony and swaying back and forth before the fatal fall.

He had lived in Dubai for less than four months before his untimely death. He left London where he was staying with his sister for Dubai after he gained admission to study Audio Production at the SAE Institute in October 2013.

He was also into contemporary music, combining schooling with music production and rapping. His moniker was Tyler Fray. The late rapper had released a number of instrumentals on his SoundCloud page.

Last year, he had excitedly tweeted about his mum being supportive of his music career: ‘Actually making important connects, thank God for my mom, moving on up!! Baba god Noni!!!’

His biography on social music plugin/player website Reverbnation reads: ‘Tyler is a young, talented musician who started singing at the age of 6 and started to write his own lyrics at the age of 9. At this early stage he decided that he wanted this to be his career. While most thought this was a phase he knew it wasn’t so he’s been working towards it ever since. He aims to be at the very top when he’s in and won’t stop till he’s a Legend. Watch him grow.’

Sadly, his dream of becoming a top selling Hip-hop artiste and producer was cut short.

Aisha Falode, in a press conference held in Lagos on Tuesday, May 13, 2014, recalled the sad moment she received news of her son’s 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,’ she said.

Unsatisfied by the numerous irregularities in the reports by Dubai Poilice, Aisha Falode, alongside a family friend and human rights lawyer Festus Keyamo flew to Dubai in April to start their own private investigations after sensing a cover up by the Dubai police.

‘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,’ Aisha further revealed.

After speaking with friends of her son in Dubai, the reports were completely different from what the police investigations revealed. She also said that her investigations have identified a Saudi national and a son of an Arab billionaire, Faisel Aldakmary Al-Nasser, and his British girlfriend, Olivia Melanie Richards Evans, as major suspects in Toba’s death.

Aisha’s findings revealed that Faisel Aldakmary had suspected the late Toba of having an affair with his girlfriend Olivia, and had confronted her late son with that suspicion on numerous occasions.

‘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. At the club, they met the said Faisal Aldakmary Al-Nasser and Olivia Richards who were also at the club. Shortly after the two left the club, Toba and his friends also left the club,’ Aisha Falode said.

When Toba and his friends got home, they reportedly met Faisel Aldakmary and Olivia who looked ‘frightened’ and was ‘crying hysterically’.

Aisha Falode’s findings further revealed that Toba, his friends, Faisel and Olivia all entered the apartment after which Toba, Faisel and Olivia entered Toba’s room ‘to sort things out’ from where they later exited the room and moved on to the balcony of the apartment on the 17th floor.

‘There were signs of serious argument coming from the balcony with raised voices and flaying hands by Faisal visible through the glass door of the balcony. After about twenty seconds Faisal and Olivia came back into the room and announced that Toba had fallen off the railings,’ Aisha said.

The AIT Sports former correspondent revealed that during her investigations, she learnt that Faisal had blood splattered all over his shirt and he had bloody knuckles. She also learnt that there was also a noticeable cut on Faisal’s finger, which all suggest that Toba didn’t fall mistakenly from the balcony.

‘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,’ Aisha Falode further revealed.

Everybody present at the time of Toba’s death was arrested by the police. After the arrest, Aisha Falode’s investigation revealed that Faisal had resigned to his fate of spending years in jail for the part he played in Toda’s death.

‘Before and during the journey to the station, Faisal kept repeating to the hearing of everyone that the maximum punishment for him would be twenty-five (25) years in jail and that the other boys should not worry. Meanwhile, Olivia remained hysterical at the station, Faisal and Olivia were kept away from the rest and were interviewed separately, whereas the other three were kept in a separate room and interviewed separately,’ she said at the press conference.

Ms. Falode claimed that the police report suspiciously left out the fact that Faisal and Olivia were present when Toba died, indicating a cover up plot by the Dubai police authorities. From her investigations, she found that Faisal was released and freed with the blood stained T-Shirt he had on.

After recounting findings from her investigations, Aisha Falode appealed to the government to come to her aid and assist her in bringing justice to those that murdered her son.

‘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. 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,’ the bereaved mother pleaded amid tears.

However, Faisal Aldakmary Al-Nasser is insisting he is innocent of the murder accusations. On Monday, May 5, 2014 Faisal wrote on his Facebook wall: ‘Only god knows the truth and people accusing by not knowing the true story need to ask before pointing fingers.’

The other person accused, Olivia Richards, commented ‘I can’t believe this’ on Faisal’s Facebook post.

Both Faisal and Olivia’s relationship status on the Facebook platform clearly states that they are in a relationship with each other, a status that was updated on Monday, April 14, 2014.

A day after Toba’s death Faisal wrote, ‘RIP brother Tyler hope your soul is in heaven looking down on us.’

The call for justice for the late Toba has also found its way to social media; a Facebook, Twitter and Instagram account each has been set up for friends, family members and sympathisers to join in the call for proper investigations by the appropriate authorities.

The Twitter account with the handle @TylerFray and the name Justice for TylerFray was opened on Wednesday, May 7, 2014 and currently has 205 followers. It had 23 tweets – as at the time of this report – which are mainly updates on the news about his death and investigations.

The Instagram account (Justicefortylerfray) is currently followed by 150 people with 14 posts on it while the Facebook page (Justice for Tyler Fray A.K. A Toda Falode) has 2,035 likes all as at the time of this report.

Aisha Falode’s cry for help has caught the attention of the Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, who has called on the United Arab Emirates to do everything possible to find Toba’s killers and bring them to justice.

According to Sahara Reporters, Tambuwal made the call during a courtesy call of the outgoing UAE Ambassador to Nigeria Rasheed Aldhaheri who, however, revealed that they are yet to receive any official communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in relation to the alleged murder.  He said he could only act upon the matter if the Nigerian authorities file a formal complaint.

NET has tried to contact Aisha Falode to know if this is true. NET has also contacted the SAE Institute Dubai to know the part they have played in this unfolding drama. The Audio Production college is however yet to respond to an email sent by NET Correspondent. Calls to the telephone numbers found on the institute’s website were not answered.

The Nigerian government with its Foreign affairs Ministry has many cases to look into as many Nigerian youths have been killed or reported dead under suspicious circumstances while studying abroad.

Nigerians studying in Malaysia, Dubai, Cyprus, Ukraine and other countries have been subjected to constant intimidation, harassment, illegal arrests and murder.

In 2014 alone, more than 10 Nigerians studying abroad were murdered or killed in questionable circumstances. Just like the bombings and violence, which have gone rampant in the north, news of a Nigerian student murdered or killed abroad no longer comes as a shock.

Only time will tell if the government will act so the perpetrators of Toba’s untimely death can be brought to book.