•Son of late Vigilante hero appeals to Emefiele, Police, Oba
of Benin for help By Simon Ebegbulem, Benin City It was a pitiable sight last
Wednesday, October 26th, when vigilante members from Emuhun community in
Uhunmwode Local Government Area of Edo state who rescued the abducted wife of
the Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Mrs Margret Emefiele, stormed the Nigeria
Union of Journalists’ (NUJ) secretariat in Benin city alongside the family of one
of their members, Mr Gabriel Okorare, who lost his life during the rescue
operation.
They came lamenting that the corpse of their deceased member
had been abandoned at the mortuary by the police while the family members the
deceased left behind have also been left to their fate. Late Okorare is an
indigene of Delta State but lived in Emuhu community with his eleven children
and two wives before his death.
Saturday Vanguard learnt that following an appeal from the
police that the vigilante should comb the bush in search of Mrs Emefiele and
three others who were abducted with her by the kidnappers, the deceased mobilized
his men and during a shootout with the kidnappers, he was shot dead. However,
this did not deter his colleagues and some farmers who were said to have helped
in locating the place she was kept and in fact assisted in ferrying the ransom
to the area the kidnappers demanded the money should be kept.
Recalling the sacrifices their breadwinner made before Mrs
Emefiele was rescued, the two wives, the eleven children and other members of
the family wept uncontrollably as they felt abandoned. They also expressed
disappointment at the Edo state Commissioner of Police, Mr Gwandu Haliru
Abubakar, who promised to pay a condolence visit to the family of the deceased
but never kept to his promises.
Eldest son of the deceased, Roland Okorare, in his speech
said: “we are still in shock because we were at home when we heard that our
father was shot dead by the kidnappers when they went to rescue the wife of the
CBN governor Mrs Emefiele. We went to Ugoneki police station and the police
admitted that they knew about his death, that they actually called members of
the vigilante to comb the bush that day in pursuit of the kidnappers of the
wife of the CBN Governor.
All our vigilante men went into the bush and as they were
exchanging fire with the kidnappers my father was shot. The police took his
body to Abudu mortuary. We left there for Okhuai police station and the police
said they were contacting the DSS and the Police command on the matter. When
they did not give us concrete response, we went to Benin to see the police commissioner
who told us that he was also aware of the matter.
But unfortunately, the police have abandoned the corpse at
the mortuary, they are not bothered about how he will be buried or the welfare
of the family he left behind. We have not also heard from the Emefiele family.
“We did not hear from the police and we believe that the police did not even
give the report of how one of the vigilante men lost his life.
The kidnappers abducted that woman, took her to Igumoso bush
where my father confronted the kidnappers and was shot dead. The police did not
know the bush where the woman was kept. Emefiele’s wife was still in the bush
when this happened, in fact it was a farmer and one of our men who brought the
woman out after the kidnappers ran away and we handed her over to the police at
about 2 am.
Emefiele family also promised to come and pay a condolence
visit to us and we are still expecting them. My father has eleven children,
most of them can no longer go to school now and all the promises from the
police have not been fulfilled. I don’t know if it is now a crime to assist
people who are in distress” he lamented.
The elders of Emuhun community led by Great Omoruyi, on
their part said it would be the height of ingratitude to abandon the family of
the deceased. According to him, “it was the police who put a call across to us
that we should come and help out immediately they kidnapped the woman and three
others.
They told us that the kidnappers ran into the bush and we
should help. So we mobilized our vigilante men. The police told us that they
were kidnapped at Ugoneki area along the Benin Asaba express road. The late
Gabriel Okorare was one of the vigilante members who volunteered to join forces
with security operatives. Unfortunately, Okorare, a hero, crime fighter, was
shot dead by the kidnappers and his lifeless body was recovered by the police
who were equally involved in the same rescue operation.
The police deposited the corpse at Abudu hospital mortuary.
It may interest Nigerians to know that the deceased who was the bread winner of
his family left behind eleven children, two wives, aged mother and brothers and
sisters. Since his death, the feeding and the general welfare of the family
have been a major challenge to the community of Emuhun. The situation has
forced the children of the deceased out of school.
We are using this medium to appeal to Mr Godwin Emefiele,
his wife Margret, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state, Comrade Adams
Oshiomhole of Edo state, our revered father, the Oba of Benin Kingdom, and
others to come to our aid to enable the children of the deceased survive this
shocking death of their father.
“The report of late Okorare’s death was lodged at Okhuaihe
police station while the family has also been interviewed by the Edo state
Police Commissioner who promised to convey the matter to the appropriate
authority but he had not done son and also failed to pay a condolence visit to
the family of the deceased”.
Source:Vanguard
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