Gardaí investigating the killing of 21-year-old gig promoter Qayyum Balogun in a stabbing off Grafton Street, Dublin at the weekend are studying video footage capturing the chaotic moments before he was fatally attacked.
Detectives have ruled out a racial motive for the killing and are trying to determine if Balogun knew his killer, or at least moved in the same social circles, based on the African music scene in Dublin.
Some of the videos filmed around the time of his killing were recorded by people on the street as revellers poured out of a gig in Bewley’s Cafe, where Balogun had spent Sunday night into Monday morning.
Gardaí strongly suspect the man who fatally stabbed Balogun is captured in some of the footage, which they are also using to help identify witnesses who were on the scene at the time, just before 3am on Monday.
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A young woman who was on the street when the dispute erupted was also stabbed. She sustained a wound to her leg and was taken to hospital for treatment, though her injury was not believed to be life-threatening.
Balogun was from a Nigerian family but had grown up in Ireland, including attending national school. He lived in Dundalk, Co Louth, where his mother still lives. His father does not reside in the Republic but on learning of his son’s death made arrangements to travel here.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s Drivetime on Tuesday evening, Teslimot Balogun, Qayyum’s mother, described her son as “a very funny guy” who was “always friendly, very quiet, easy going”.
Loveth Patrick, his stepmother, described the situation as an “unbelievable shock”. Patrick said Qayyum was “one of the sweetest souls you [could] ever meet, gentle, calm”. She said he was “always smiling” and didn’t “look for trouble”. She told Drivetime his family “don’t know” what happened and want answers. “We want justice for Qayyum.”
Qayyum would have turned 22 in September and was due to begin his final year studying Computer Science at Maynooth University, she said.
He did his Leaving Certificate in Ó Fiaich College in Dundalk, before studying business and computing at the Ó Fiaich Institute of Further Education.
Padraig McGovern, principal of the school, said the death came as a huge shock. “Everybody here is really shocked, and the wider community – people are ringing me as well in shock and almost disbelief.”
McGovern told Drivetime Qayyum did “very well” in his studies and was “a lovely young lad, very much part of our school community”.
“A credit to his family, a credit to his community.”
The victim was well known on the African music scene in Dublin as a concert promoter. He had attended a gig by 20-year-old Nigerian artist Famous Pluto in Bewley’s.
However, a fight erupted between rival groups on Grafton Street, as people who had left the venue were still in the area. Balogun was targeted in the melee and fled up St Johnson’s Court before turning left on to Clarendon Street.
He was caught there by at least one person who was pursuing him and was stabbed several times, including to the upper body, before collapsing on the street. While he was taken to St James’s Hospital, efforts to save him were not successful and he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan was briefed by gardaí about the killing. A department spokesman said he “wishes to extend his condolences to the deceased man’s family at this time” as well as urging anyone with information to contact gardaí.
A group established to foster and celebrate the successes of Black Irish people – Black & Irish – extended its condolences to Balogun’s family, adding he “had his life taken far too soon”. His family now “face an unimaginable loss”, with the impact of the killing being felt across Ireland.
“This incident comes at a time when the country has witnessed a number of serious violent incidents and loss of life in recent weeks,” Black & Irish added. “The rise in violence we are seeing is deeply concerning and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.”
It urged anyone with information to aid the aid the Garda inquiry, being conducted from Pearse Street station. The Black Coalition Ireland also urged anyone with information to contact gardaí, saying Balogun’s family and friends would need “fortitude to bear this irreparable loss”.
“Communities across Ireland are grappling with growing concerns about violence, youth safety, and the increasing presence of knife-related incidents,” Black Coalition Ireland added. “While investigations must be allowed to proceed, one thing is clear: every life lost to violence is one life too many.”
