Mrs. Esther Fidelis Osaghae, the widow of the late Mr. Fidelis Osaghae, who allegedly died under suspicious circumstances at his workplace in Auchi, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State, has petitioned the Inspector General of Police to investigate her husband’s death.
In the petition, Mrs. Osaghae accused the Police Divisional Headquarters in Auchi of covering up the true cause of her husband’s death. The petition was submitted on her behalf by the Akin Fadeyi Foundation, a civil society organization.
The late Mr. Fidelis Osaghae was an employee of Mr. Oyemike Valentine, who operates a hotel, restaurant, and recreational center, until his untimely and mysterious death.
She alleged that her husband died in questionable circumstances while in office with his boss.
According to the petition, the deceased (her husband) on July 28, 2024, left for work at about 1 pm to Va Lchi Fast Food and Bar, located opposite Mechanic Site Angle 90, Auchi Edo State.
“The deceased, while at work in the early hours on July 29, as is his usual practice whenever he will be coming home late, called his wife on a video call at about 1:30 am to let her know that he is still at work.
“On that fateful day, the deceased came home at 2:30 am and informed his wife that Mr. Valentine, his boss, told him to bring “something” back to work and ran back to office around the same 2:30 am promising to be back soon.
“When she called the deceased at about 5am as he was yet to return home, she was unable to reach him and decided to reach out to one Tracey, who is also a supervisor at the same facility where the deceased works, who said everything is under control.
“At about 6 am, she received a call from the deceased boss, Mr. Valentine, who told her to come to Favour Hospital at Afashio, and assured her that all was alright with her husband.
“Being a nursing mother, she asked her elder sister to go to the hospital to find out what was the problem, but on getting to the hospital, she (her sister) met the lifeless body of her husband in Mr. Valentine’s car.
“The hospital had rejected Mr. Fidelis, saying he was brought in dead. But upon observation, they noticed strange marks and injuries in the deceased body which may have been as a result of the torture and pain inflicted him before he passed on”, the petition said.
The widow, who said the petition became necessary, alleged that the deceased was in the custody of his boss until his death.
She posited that since the incident, Mr. Valentine has been walking freely, while DPO of the Auchi division, where the incident happened, has not demonstrated any willingness to take necessary actions toward addressing the suspicious homicide.
‘Since the incident on July 29, the police merely invited the parties involved without making any arrests.
“Instead the Police were quick to jump to conclusions by exonerating Mr. Valentine from being a prime suspect in the death of Mr. Fidelis”, she added.
While noting that they have lost confidence in the police at Auchi, she called on the IGP to take over the investigation, as they still believed that the Nigeria police can help the widow to get justice on the death of her husband.
When contacted, Mr Valentine didn’t answer calls put to his phone.
But, when reached, the Public Relations Officer of the Edo State Police Command, SP Moses Yamu said the matter was under investigation.
