Diaspora
Updated: April 28, 2021

NIDCOM Mourns 20 Years Old Nigerian Who Died Trying To Save Drowning Briton

By Adedayo Babatunde
April 28, 2021
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Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) on Wednesday condoled with the family of Folajimi Olubunmi-Adewole, the 20-year-old Nigerian, who lost his life while trying to save the life of a woman who fell from the London Bridge on Saturday.

Dabiri-Erewa in a statement issued by the commission’s Head of Media, Abdur-Rahman Balogun described Folajimi as “our hero and a great martyr”.

The young Nigerian popularly known as Jimi was on his way home from work when he saw a woman fall off London Bridge and rush to assist her.

Jimi and another man entered the water at around midnight in a bid to rescue her, but while the woman and the other man were rescued by the Coastguard and the Metropolitan Police’s Marine Unit, Jimi wasn’t found after an extensive search.

Jimi’s passage left his father, Michael Adewole, 63, and his mother, Olasunkanmi Adewole, 54, heartbroken.

Reacting to the incident, the NIDCOM boss expressed deep pain over Jimi’s death, saying he would never be forgotten.

She passionately appealed to the family of Jimi to take heart and be consoled by the fact that he died as a fearless hero and would be forever remembered as a martyr.

Dabiri-Erewa prayed to God to grant the deceased’s soul perfect peace and comfort his aged parents, family and friends in the best manner.

“This is a very painful and sad incident for a young promising Jimi to die this way, sacrificing his life,” she said in the statement titled, ‘Jimi is our hero, martyr’.

Undoubtedly, Jimi with this courageous and selfless act has earned himself the sobriquet of a hero and attained the highest form of death; martyrdom,” she said.

Commenting on reports of Jimi’s death, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, tweeted that “he was the best of us.”