Pastor raising funds for funeral of Nigerian man

Pastor Bob Webster is hoping to raise enough money to fund a funeral for the Nigerian man who died at the Calgary airport, while a police investigation into his death continues.

Bolante (also known by friends as Bolanle) Idowu Alo died following an altercation with Canada Border Services Agency officers, at which time he was being deported from Canada. The Calgary Police Service is continuing to investigate his death but expect it may take some time to get answers.

In the meantime, Webster, who is the pastor at Evangel Christian Assembly Church in Calgary, which Alo attended, has set up a GoFundMe page.

“Ideally I’d like to have enough money to cover the funeral expenses and to transfer him back home because they’d like to have a traditional burial (in Nigeria) of course,” said Webster.

“This seems a little bigger than (what our church) can handle and it is a national story, so I thought maybe other Canadians would like to chip in and help out.”

Webster is hoping some of the money raised can also go to Alo’s wife and two sons, who live in Lagos, Nigeria.

“Everybody is a little bit — well actually a lot — upset. And even (in) the larger Nigerian community, many people are really concerned and upset,” said Webster. “We all just feel a little bit dismayed.”

Elias Munshya, who has identified himself as the lawyer representing Alo’s wife and children, said the family is still grieving and hasn’t yet devised a legal strategy. And while Munshya said he’s being careful not to prejudge what happened at the time of Alo’s death, there are still a lot of questions that need answering.

Alo was on a KLM flight headed for Amsterdam when an incident occurred and the plane returned to the gate. Alo was found in medical distress and pronounced dead soon afterwards at a Calgary hospital.