The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Deceased

  • Relations of 1000 Estates deceased staff receive benefits

    AXAMANSARD Insurance Plc has paid relations of deceased’s staff of 1004 Estates Ltd death benefits.

    The benefits originated from the insurance policy claims on the statutory Group Life Assurance Scheme bought by 1004 Estates Ltd and staff members.

    The beneficiaries were Mr. Oluwole Olaleye, Mr. Femi Olaleye, Miss Oluwabunmi Olaleye, Chidi Opara and Monica Okpara.

    They are the relations of late Samuel Olaleye and Ifeanyi Okpara.

    The company’s representative, Miss Patience Kagho, who presented the cheque, said the firm was committed to supporting corporate clients like 1004 Estates Ltd in the discharge of their statutory and noble responsibilities to staff members.

    Managing Director of 1004 Estates, Samuel Ukpong, said the company ensures coverage of all staff members with a Group Life Policy Scheme in line with The Pension Reform Act 2014.

    He added that the presentation exemplified the firm’s core values anchored on employee fulfillment and welfare.

    The beneficiaries expressed for the benefits, saying it was a statement that they were not forgotten by 1004 Estates Ltd.

  • Will the deceased get justice?

    Will the deceased get justice?

    The planned reopening of cases of assassination of two politicians at a time Nigerians had foreclosed any headway is a renewal of hope. BUNMI OGUNMODEDE revisits some of the unresolved high profile murder cases.

    A glimmer of hope may have come for the families of those whose assassinations were politically motivated  with plans by police authorities to re-arrest some of the principal suspects in the murders of former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Chief Bola Ige and ex-Deputy National Chairman (South-South) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Aminoasari Dikibo.

    Before the police decided to reopen the cases of the two leading politicians, scores of cases  on the murder remained unresolved and not a few Nigerians have lost faith in the ability of the judicial system to bring perpetrators of political assassinations to justice.

    Though, there have been calls for the reopening of other unresolved murder cases beyond the duo of the late Ige and Dikibo, some have described the decision as a good starting point and expressed the hope that the reopening of the cases will no longer be a journey to nowhere.

    In Nigeria, political killings are not limited to the democratic era as many high profile assassinations in the 60s under the military have not been resolved.

    Including the killings of the likes of first Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa; Gen. J.T.U. Aguiyi-Ironsi, Brig Adekunle Fajuyi, Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola and North’s Premier Ahmadu Bello in the crossfires of the first military coup, till date, no suspect has been conclusively prosecuted and punished to serve as deterrent to others.

    The brutal killings cut across every stratum of the society. The political circle, the judiciary, the business world, the academia – all have their shares of senseless murders.

    Not left out of the bitter pill are journalists. Since the killing of the profession’s leading light – Dele Giwa – with a parcel bomb on October 19, 1986, many other budding talents have been assassinated in strange circumstances. Thirty years after Giwa’s assassination, “Who killed Dele Giwa?” has remained a recurring stanza and catchphrase in the  polity.

    Those who were killed in similar circumstances include: Tunde Oladepo, a correspondent with The Guardian, who was killed by unknowned gunmen on February 26, 1998; Okezie Amaruben, publisher of an Enugu-based Newsservice, who was shot on the street by a trigger-happy policeman on August 28, 1998; Fidelis Ikwuebe, a freelance journalist was abducted and killed while covering violent clashes between the Aguleri and Umuleri communities in Anambra State.

    Other assassinated journalists were: Bagauda Kaltho; Nansok Sallah; Edo Sule Ugbagwu a judicial  correspondent with The Nation Bayo Ohu; Nathan Dabak; Bolade Fasasi; Modu Gubio; Enenche Akogwu; Omololu Falobi; Godwin Agbroko; Abayomi Ogundeji and Bayo Ohu, among others.

    On the political scene, the list is endless and so far, nobody has been punished because there has not been any diligent prosecution of masterminds. Below are some of the unresolved cases:

     

    Ige

     

    One of the killings that drew so much attention was that of Esa-Oke, Osun State-born Bola Ige, who was murdered in his bedroom in Ibadan a day to the Christmas Eve of 2001. For years, the murder case of Nigeria’s former chief law officer lingered in the court rooms, until the accused were discharged for want of concrete evidence.

     

    Dikibo

     

    Chief Aminasoari Dikibo, a former Peoples Democratic Party National Vice Chairman in the (Southsouth), was also killed on February 6, 2004. His killers were never apprehended. The police repotedly adopted a face-saving tactics by parading some armed robbers as suspects.

     

    Marshal Harry

     

    A chieftain of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Chief Marshal Harry was assassinated on March 5, 2003. Like Ige and Rewane, he was killed at home and nobody has been punished for his murder.

     

    Alfred Rewane

     

    Elder statesman and an avowed critic of military dictatorship, a successful businessman and National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) financier, Pa Alfred Rewane, was murdered his Ikeja GRA home on October 9, in 1994. The case was on for a very long time with the trial of suspects who pleaded not guilty to the heinous crime.

     

    Kudirat Abiola

     

    Wife of the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, was  shot near the old Toll Gate at the Ojota end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on June 4, 1994. The Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the former Head of State, the late Gen Sani Abacha, Major Hamzat Al-Mustapha and others, who were charged for the murder, have since been discharged and acquitted.

     

    Ogbonnaya Uche

     

    An ANNP senatorial candidate for Orlu zone, Ogbonnaya Uche, was murdered on February 8, 2003 in his Owerri, Imo State home.

     

    Andrew Agom

     

    A member of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) and a former chief of the Nigeria Airways, Chief Andrew Agom, was killed on March 4, 2004.  He was allegedly riding in the same vehicle with Senator George Akume (then Benue State governor), when he was hit by bullets believed to have been fired by assassins.

     

    Alabi Olajokun

     

    Renowned as a leading financier of the Oronmiyan Group, a socio-political movement within the defunct Action Congress (AC), Alhaji Alabi Olajokun was shot dead by suspected assassins at Gbongan Junction in Osun State on trip from Osogbo, en route Lagos on May 15, 2005.

     

    Igwe Barnabas

     

    The Onitsha branch chairman of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Chief Igwe Barnabas, was killed by suspected assassins’ bullets on September 10, 2002. He was killed alongside his wife, Mrs. Abigail Amaka Barnabas.

     

    Odunayo Olagbaju

     

    Odunayo Olagbaju won election in 1999 to represent Ile-Ife State Constituency in the Osun State House of Assembly. He was killed by suspected assassins on December 21, 2001.

     

    Funsho Williams

     

    A two-time governorship aspirant in Lagos, Funsho Williams, an engineer, was killed at his Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos home on July 27, 2006. The police are yet to identify his killers, almost a decade after his gruesome murder.

     

    Ayo Daramola

     

    A former World Bank consultant and PDP governorship aspirant in Ekiti State, Dr. Ayo Daramola, was murdered in 2006. The police have closed investigation to the murder of the Ijan-Ekiti-born technocrat.

     

    Charles Nsiegbe

     

    Chief Charles Nsiegbe was former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s political associate. He was killed on the street of Port Harcourt on November 21, 2009.

     

    Dipo Dina

     

    Otunba Dipo Dina, a trained accountant, was the Action Congress (AC) Ogun governorship candidate in 2007. He was shot dead by suspected assassins on January 25, 2010 around Covenant University in Ota, Ogun State.

    Between 1999 and 2012, more than 92 high profile political killings had been recorded. Some of the cases are still been investigated till date. Others have been discontinued with for want of proofs and dearth of diligent prosecution.

     

  • The plight of deceased soldiers’ families

    I write to humbly bring to the notice of Mr. President, the plight and injustice been suffered by the kiths and kin of deceased soldiers, notably soldiers that died in the ongoing onslaught against Boko Haram.

    On June 14th, I received a call from the military authorities in Yola, Adamawa State, informing me that my elder brother in the army (Amos Erekose) was killed by Boko Haram fighters on May 16, 2015 in an operation code named ‘Operation Zaman Lafiya’. As devastating and heartrending as that incidence could be, the adverse effect on every member of the family is better imagined than said. But why did it have to take so long to notify me?

    However, the gross and unacceptable action of the whole matter is the stoppage of my late brother’s salary. I wish to use this medium to draw the attention of Mr. President, the military high command, and the appropriate office of the Army to look into this injustice and identify those involved in this sharp practice. Enough of this wickedness, where some people benefit and thrive on the death of others. It is normal that under any employment condition, the salary of a worker who died in active service is paid for at least three months after his death, not to talk of a man who died fighting for his country.

    It beats me hollow why my late brother’s salary has to be stopped abruptly just one month after his death.

    Mr. President, I wish to bring to your notice and passionately appeal for prompt and adequate compensation to the bereaved families.

    The nonchalant manner in the handling of safety and security of its officers by the Army leaves much to be desired. Devastating and most unfortunate as the case may be.

    It is my fervent prayers that the Boko Haram scourge will be a thing of the past soon.

    • Erekose Peter,

    Benin City, Edo State.

  • Deceased policemen’s families get benefits

    Deceased policemen’s families get benefits

    The Coordinator of Operation Yaki, a Kaduna State security outfit, Col. Yakubu Yusuf (rtd), yesterday gave N100,000 each to the families of the three policemen, who died in service.

    He said this is part of the contributions to cushion the effect of their deaths.

    Col. Yusuf said besides the money from the government, there would be life insurance entitlements running into millions of naira, which is to be given to the next of kin  of the deceased.

    The deceased policemen included Inspector Israel Obey, Solomon Garba and Aminu Mohammed, who were killed by an oncoming trailer when they were maintaining peace and order on a roadside leading to the venue of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primaries in November last year.

    The late Obey had his wife, Deborah, as his next of kin. Aminu had his son, Yusuf, as the next of kin and Garba picked his daughter, Deborah, as his next of kin.

    Presenting the cash to the deceased’s relations the Operation Yaki boss advised them to use the money judiciously, pending when the insurance cover benefits would be released to them.

    He said: “I use this opportunity to once again console the families of our deceased officers. I reassure officers of the state government’s commitment to the welfare of the operatives. This presentation is in line with the provisions in the operational blueprint of this outfit.

    “In addition to this token from the government, there is life insurance policy covering the operatives. It is hoped that this entitlements will be redeemed soon.

    “I hope the families of the deceased officers will seek solace in the Lord and put what happened behind them.”The next of kin thanked the government for giving them the benefits. They urged the Operation Yaki coordinator to fast-track the life insurance benefits, to meet bigger challenges.  “