Apprehension has gripped the Delta State Ministry of Secondary Education and the Prof. Chike Edosie Secretariat in Asaba following the alleged death of a senior staff member of the ministry after an altercation on the premises.
The deceased was identified as Unity Ekpevbughe Adeda, a Deputy Director in the Ministry of Secondary Education.
SaharaReporters gathered that Adeda allegedly died after he was beaten at the ministry on Thursday by the Commissioner for Secondary Education, Kingsley Ashibogwu, and two others identified as the commissioner’s police orderly and driver.
A sister of the deceased, who spoke to SaharaReporters on condition of anonymity, confirmed the death but said the family had not been fully briefed on what led to the incident.
She said, “Though, as we talk, we have not been briefed about what actually led to his beating to death. I was not there but that was the information at our disposal. Even the video of the incident is currently with the director of examinations in the state.”
A ministry staff member who also spoke on condition of anonymity said they were informed that the commissioner asked Adeda whether he knew him, to which the deceased reportedly replied that he did not.
The staff member said, “Though, I was not there when the incident happened, but what we heard was that, the commissioner asked Mr. Unity, if he knows him, he replied he doesn’t know him, the commissioner then ordered his police and driver to beat him up and he was mercilessly beaten by the commissioner, his police orderly and driver and he fell into coma before he was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, (FMC) Asaba and later died.”
The source said Adeda was subsequently taken to Asaba Specialist Hospital, where his remains were deposited at the mortuary.
According to the source, Adeda had recently been redeployed from the ministry’s field office in Isoko South Local Government Area.
The source also alleged that the incident followed a disagreement between the deceased and the Director of Examinations, who reportedly contacted the commissioner.
The staff member said, “The deceased had an issue with the director of exams and the director called in the commissioner. As the commissioner came, instead of handling the issue in a mature way, he ordered the beating of the deceased.”
The source further alleged that Adeda was detained after the beating instead of being immediately taken to a hospital.
“Sadly, after beating him, rather than taking him to the hospital for treatment, the commissioner ordered that he be detained again. The video of everything that happened is with the director of exams,” the source said.
SaharaReporters gathered that Governor Sheriff Oborevwori has been informed about the incident.
However, Ashibogwu denied ordering anyone to beat Adeda and gave a different account of what happened.
The commissioner told SaharaReporters that he was summoned to the ministry after receiving a distress call from the Director of Examinations.
He said, “I only got a distress call from my director of exams that there is man attacking them and threatening to kill anyone that comes his way. I rushed down to the scene and saw the man.”
According to Ashibogwu, he asked Adeda whether he knew him, but the deceased responded that he did not want to know him and threatened to attack anyone who came his way.
“I asked if he knows me but he said he does not need to me, saying he will kill anyone that comes his way. I have not met him once, apart from one time he was accused of extortion and I called to caution him. At that point, he became violent and began to attack me. I was left with wounds,” he said.
The commissioner denied ordering Adeda’s beating or participating in any assault against him.
“I never ordered anybody to attack or beat him. I am not a violent person. I can’t lie against a dead body, God bears me witness,” Ashibogwu said.
The conflicting accounts could not be independently resolved by SaharaReporters as of the time of filing this report.
Calls and messages sent to the mobile line of the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, seeking confirmation of the incident and clarification on whether any investigation had commenced, were not responded to as of press time.