…demand prosecution of perpetrators
By Saidu Idris
365Daily – The family of one Mr. Azuka Ossai, a native of Aboh in Ndokwa East Local Government Area of Delta State, has petitioned the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Farouk Yahaya, over his alleged murder by a military personnel.
Father of the deceased, Chief Ifeanyi Nwadei Ossai, in a petition to the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Farouk Yahaya, dated October 27, 2021 and copied to Brigadier General Abdullahi Idris of 63 Battalion, Asaba, Delta State, urged the Army chiefs to conduct a thorough investigation “to unravel the motive behind the killing of my dear son, Azuka Ossai, at the prime of his life.”
The pettitioner alleged that deceased met his tragic end in the wee hours of Monday, October 18, 2021 when a military personnel, attired in mufti, visited his home and ‘invited’ him out.
He added that the duo soon arrived the construction site of Enikkom Nigeria Limited, an oil services firm operating in the area, where the late Azuka was accused of masterminding the theft of an armoured cable worth about N300,000.
Accorsing to the father of the deceased, instead of handing over the “accused” to the Police for proper investigations – especially as the deceased vehemently proclaimed his innocence – the military personnel, who was apparently attached to the company, proceeded to mete out severe life-threatening torture on Azuka.
“First, he was thoroughly beaten up, then put into a drum filled with a mixture of diesel and petrol and then covered up for several hours, from 11 am to around 5 pm,” the petition to the COAS explained.
“When they saw that he was almost lifeless, his tormentors proceeded to compel him to eat, but because of his poor state, he couldn’t, managing to take in only a spoon before relapsing,” the petition disclosed.
Chief Ossai stated that it was at that point that the torturers decided to take a hapless Azuka to the Aboh Divisional Police Station, but the Officer in charge of the station, seeing his condition, refused to take him in, but rather urged the Army personnel and his cohorts to take him to the hospital.
The petition said he gave up the ghost on the way to Brema Hospital, where the doctor on duty certified him brought in dead (BID).
His remains were deposited at St. Luke Mortuary, Kwale, Ndokwa West LGA, without recourse to any member of the late Azuka’s family member, his father said.
“It is sad to observe that an Army personnel would leave his primary obligation and choose instead to perform the duty of the Nigerian Police, which is supposed to handle the so-called case of alleged stealing,” Chief Ossai alleged.
The petitioner named one Onyeniche Ossai, also a native of Aboh, as the person who reportedly mentioned the late Azuka Ossai as a suspect in the loss of the Armoured cable – requesting that he, alongside all those who had a hand in the death of his son, must be brought to justice.