The convoy of Gov Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State reportedly knocked dead an undergraduate of the State University, Ebube Akah, last Friday, 1 December, alongside a commercial motorcyclist in Abakaliki, the state capital.
It was learnt that the Governor
was not in the convoy of the three cars at the time of the incident, and the
deceased family is demanding justice.
In an interview with PREMIUM
TIMES, the deceased student’s older brother, Isidore Akah, said Ebube left home
on 1 December to get something along Afikpo Road through Onwe Road in Abakaliki
metropolis.
Tragedy struck when the
motorcycle he boarded was hit by a car in Nwifuru’s convoy that had gone to
pick up the Governor’s children from school.
He said Ebube and the
motorcyclist, identified as Shahabilu, an indigene of Zamfara State, died at
the scene of the accident.
According to the deceased’s
family, the police, in a bid to cover up the crime, deposited Ebube’s remains
as “unknown” at the Federal Medical Teaching Hospital morgue in Abakaliki,
despite having his Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards on him.
Akah further accused the police
of removing the SIM cards from his brother’s phone to prevent any phone calls
from the family, adding that the undergraduate’s corpse was found at the morgue
after two days of fruitless search in the city and beyond.
He said, “The Governor’s ride
that went for school runs for the Governor’s children, knocked down Ebube with
the bike man, and they both died instantly.
“Despite having his Automated
Teller Machine (ATM) cards on him, the police, in a bid to cover up my
brother’s death, registered his corpse as unknown at the morgue.
“We never knew about this until
Sunday morning, when we got information that the person we had been looking for
had the same looks and the same clothes as the person involved in that
accident.
“This Friday makes it one week
since my brother was killed, and we are yet to hear from the Governor or
anybody from the government, knowing full well that the car that knocked him
down with the bike belongs to the Governor and the government.
“Augustina Ogbodo, the
Commissioner of Police in Ebonyi State, met with members of the Akah family on
Monday, but no action has been taken regarding the accident.
“The commissioner of police in
Ebonyi State is aware of this, but she’s playing to the government’s tune.”
The police spokesperson in
Ebonyi State, Onome Onovwakpoyeya, confirmed the incident but failed to respond
to specific allegations against the police.
She said, “I am currently in
Abuja but I have forwarded your enquiry to the Commissioner of Police. The
family of the deceased are already meeting with the commissioner.”
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