BY ADEDAYO ADE-RUFUS
Oluwatoyin Salau, a 19-year-old American-based Nigerian activist, has reportedly been found dead, days after she was declared missing in Tallahassee, Florida — and it has sparked outrage on social media.
The Tallahassee police department (TPD) had said that Toyin was last seen on June 6 — the same day the ‘Black Live Matters’ activist wrote a thread on her Twitter page of how she was molested by a black man.
“Anyways I was molested in Tallahassee, Florida by a black man this morning at 5:30 on Richview and Park Ave. The man offered to give me a ride to find someplace to sleep and recollect my belongings from a church I refuged to a couple days back to escape unjust living conditions,” she wrote in one of the tweets.
But on Sunday, the TPD, in a statement, said they found two bodies on Saturday night while following up investigation in a missing person case.
“At approximately 9:15 pm Saturday night, June 13th, TPD investigators arrived in 2100 block of Monday Road in the course of a follow up investigation in a missing person case. During the course of the investigation, two deceased people were located in the area,” the statement read.
“As the investigation continued, investigators developed a suspect. The suspect is now in custody and no more information is available at this time.
“The deaths are being investigated as homicides and have been turned over to TPD’s Violent Crime Unit. The investigation is ongoing and currently there are no more details available. More information will be released as the investigation progresses.”
While the police didn’t disclose the names of the victims or specify the case, Ashley, a lady who claimed to be Oluwatoyin’s friend, shared the news of her demise on the microblogging platform.
“I’m sorry to inform everyone about this but Toyin is no longer with us,” she wrote.
The development has sparked a flurry of negative reactions on social media platforms especially Twitter. Using the hashtag #JusticeForToyin, users have begun to demand justice for the teenager.
“To be brave enough to fight against the injustice towards the black community, especially men & then fall victim to one of your own, sexually assaulted & killed is beyond me . Your fight here has needed & you’ve found peace. We’ll bring justice to you, RIP Queen #JusticeForToyin,” a Twitter user said.
“#JusticeForToyin she was 19, posted about her rapist on twitter and was found dead a couple days later. she pleaded for help and nothing happened, then she went missing and turned up dead. & people wonder why we don’t report. rest in peace beautiful angel, we will fight for you,” another user said.
Here is what some users had to say:
