Mene Ogidi, 28, was slain by Nigeria Police Force (NPF) officers in Effurun, Delta State. His family has called for justice.
In a heartbreaking interview with BBC News Pidgin, Ogidi’s mother and older sister revealed that the dead never came back alive after leaving the house to get a waybill for a friend.
Following an internal inquiry, the Nigeria Police Force confirmed on Wednesday, April 29, that ASP Nuhu Usman, who shot Ogidi, and other officers involved in the incident had been fired.
The terminated officers will be sent over to the proper legal authorities for prosecution, according to DCP Anthony Okon Placid, the Force Public Relations Officer.
Oghenemine, Ogidi’s mother, said that another of her sons had been killed by the police.
She started crying, wondering what her family had done to merit such suffering.
“This one is older than the one they killed earlier,” she remarked. How did I treat the police? I heard my son pleading in the video that someone had sent him to assist him in picking up the waybill.
“It is when they are all grown that they are killing them,” she continued.
Sister Remembers Her Final Moments
According to Ogidi’s older sister, he was the family’s pillar and his passing saddened them.
“He is my immediate younger brother,” she stated. He was everything to me. Without him, I haven’t done anything or gone anywhere in my life. For anything, I give him a call. My son would phone his brother Mene before purchasing sneakers.
She described what transpired prior to his passing, stating that Ogidi informed the family that he would pick up a waybill on behalf of a friend in Sapele.
He told me he wanted to pick up a waybill the day he was killed as he was leaving the house. “His friend in Sapele asked him to assist him in choosing a waybill,” she stated.
“He is my immediate younger brother,” she stated. He was everything to me. Without him, I haven’t done anything or gone anywhere in my life. For anything, I give him a call. My son would phone his brother Mene before purchasing sneakers.
She described what transpired prior to his passing, stating that Ogidi informed the family that he would pick up a waybill on behalf of a friend in Sapele.
He told me he wanted to pick up a waybill the day he was killed as he was leaving the house. “His friend in Sapele asked him to assist him in choosing a waybill,” she stated.
The family went to multiple police stations in an attempt to find him, but they were unable to obtain any helpful information, she continued.
“On Monday morning, my older brother told us to go to the police station and look for him because he had just been arrested,” she added.
He visited every police station, including A Division, B Division, Mopol Base, Eburumede, and Ekpan. He visited each of them, but they claimed not to have seen or heard of my brother’s arrest.
She claims that the family chose to post Ogidi’s photo online as a missing person after multiple unsuccessful attempts to find him.
“We said the only option left was to post his picture online,” she stated. His photo was uploaded as a missing person. My traveling spouse likewise gathered his photo and shared it.
“My husband later said that one of his buddies requested a more detailed photo.
“They sent my husband the videos of his arrest when he sent him a better photo of OG.”
She claimed that the family was later told that Ogidi had been shot by the police.
“After that, we were initially informed that the police had shot him in the hand, but that was insufficient for them, so they killed him,” she stated.
The family demanded complete prosecution and justice for the deceased, insisting that the officers’ firing was insufficient.
