The death of an amnesty trainee in Panama while on industrial training aboard a Polish ship has opened a floodgate of controversy that has pitted the family against the Amnesty Office over the handling of his death and conduct of an autopsy. Shola O’NEIL reports
A few hours before his death, relatives of Deck Cadet Godwin Ezebiri said he chatted with a sibling on Facebook. Mr. Pax Ezebiri said during the chat on Wednesday, June 5, Godwin asked for his account details to enable him remit money to Nigeria.
The young cadet was in Panama, South America aboard a vessel, M/V Green Guatemala, owned by Green Reefer, a Polish company. He was one of the beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s amnesty training programme and was on industrial training when he died on June 6.
A copy of the draft statement on his death signed by the master of the vessel, L. Sapelevics, indicated that prior to his death, the 27-year-old indicated his aversion to continuing as a seaman.
Sapelevics said after a fellow amnesty trainee signed off, the late Ezebiri decided he wanted out and kept asking about the next port and the possibility of him leaving.
“During our discussion Ezebiri told me that he most probably will change his opinion about seaman’s life and seaman…He said that he wants to back to home at next port due to that he tired and difficult to him stay long time aboard (sic).”
The document indicated that the late Ezebiri met with the captain and asked for news about the next port and was determined to sign off.
“At 20:20lt on 06th of June 2013, we received inform (sic) from deck cadet G. Ezebiri that he filling (sic) badly. At 20:22 lt I started to call Boyd Steamship agency for calling doctor/ambulance.
“At 20:45 lt Deck Cadet G. Ezebiri died. We tried to resuscitate but without success,” the statement concluded.
The management of Green Reefer later communicated his death to the Amnesty Office, which through an official, Mr. Brown Aroloye, communicated his next of kin, identified as Oloye.
“Curiously, after the contact was made, the company started dealing directly with us (family) without going through the amnesty office. We felt this was not right because our brother left Nigeria under the banner of the amnesty office and we felt that they should talk to us through the office,” Pax said.
Unimpressed with the turn of event, the family contacted the law firm of Larry Ovwromoh & Associates, which wrote a letter dated July 12 to the Amnesty Office.
The letter regretted that the office “failed, refused and neglected” to inform the family of Ezebri’s death and raised questions about the cause of his death; Amnesty Office’s handling of the events afterwards and the conduct of autopsy without the family’s knowledge and consent.
It expressed shock that the Amnesty Office “is so detached in respect of this death and is yet to officially inform our clients and ascertain the cause of death.”
They demanded that the inquest be revisited, adding: “It is only after a satisfactory explanation and elimination of any foul play in the cause of death that the family will be in any position to receive the body of their late brother.”
Besides, our reporter gathered that the family raised questions over discrepancy in the time of death contained in Sapelevics statement and that in the inquest conducted by Dr Omar Zapata of the Legal Medicine and Forensic Science Institute, Colon.
“By the said coroner’s inquest, Ezebiri died of natural causes but curiously the time of death contradicts the statement made by the master of MV Green Guatemala, L. Sapelevics.” The former put time of death at 10:45pm, while the latter’s was 20:45 (8:45pm).
Mr. Daniel Alabrah, media aide to Special Adviser on Amnesty to the President, who was contacted by our reporter, confirmed the death of Ezebri, adding that the office was saddened by it.
“We are very sad about this because having spent money to train him and others it is expected that they would return home and contribute to the development of the Niger Delta. This is very painful to us because every trainee is a member of our family,” Alabrah added.
He confirmed that a new autopsy is to be conducted in Nigeria to satisfy the family’s demand for a new process.
War of words
Nevertheless, our independent investigation revealed that from the discussions between the family and Green Reefer before the body was brought to Nigeria on July 12, the company had made a number of verbal commitments to the family, especially towards the burial.
“They promised to provide money to purchase a piece of land, fence it, build a tomb for Godwin as well as repatriate money and his belonging to us,” a younger sibling of the deceased seaman told our reporter.
However, the family source said when the Amnesty Officer took over the discussion, it only offered the company “N500,000 burial support and money for ambulance” and offered to conduct a fresh autopsy in Lagos.
Consequently, the family protested to the company and cited legal roadblock in the plan to bury the deceased without recourse to existing law, particularly as it affects the involvement of NIMASA. Thereafter, Green Reefers consulted Marine Mutual Service Limited in Lagos to look at the issues raised by the Ezebiris. John Biakinogho of MMSL then wrote to Mr. Brown Aroloye of the Amnesty Office highlighting the hurdle to a fresh autopsy. The letter dated affirmed that the company was not willing to contravene local laws.
The letter elicited a stern riposte from Aroloye who expressed shock about Biakinogho’s sudden realisation of his “duties and responsibilities concerning the death”.
“Perhaps you are not aware when the autopsy was conducted on the late Ezebiri in Panama and you did not invoke any act or law. You did not even care to know who receives the body when it arrives (sic) Nigeria and where it was deposited thereafter. Perhaps you need to take custody of the corpse so you can execute your investigation appropriately.”
Mr Osteen Igbapike, a lawyer from Larry Ovwromoh & Associate confirmed the impasse. He said the merchant shipping act provides for a seafarer office in charge of engagement of seafarers and issues regarding such incidents as the cadet’s death. He said only the consular office of Poland (home company of Green Reefers) in Nigeria and the Seafarers Office are responsible for termination benefit and welfare of the deceased.
“If the records of his engagement are not available, then the seafarers office is criminally liable and can go to jail for this death. The two have not been part of this process so far and it shows that something is amiss,” he added.
The body has remained at the morgue. A source in the Amnesty Office blamed the development on a member of the deceased family who “wants to make something for himself”.
