The family of Ifeanyichukwu Okereke, a vendor who died after
being shot by a security aide to the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Femi Gbajabiamila, has written a letter to the Speaker, demanding N500 million.
This is according to a letter dated November 23, 2020,
signed by the lawyer of the family, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN).
Ozekhome was given the mandate to write the letter by the
father of the deceased, Okorie Okereke; and the younger brother to the
deceased, Destiny Okereke.
The Department of State Services had last week arrested the
operative, Abdullahi Hassan, who shot Okereke while Gbajabiamila had also
visited the family of the deceased and promised to ensure that they do not
suffer.
However, the family demanded more, adding that nothing could
bring the dead vendor back to life.
The letter read in part, “Our clients have instructed us to
make from your good self, the following modest demands: That you use your good
offices to ensure the immediate prosecution of your security aide (Abdullahi
Hassan), who went on a frolic of his own, clearly acted outside the purview of
his duty and responsibility by shooting to death an innocent, harmless and
armless citizen.
“That you adequately compensate the Okereke family with a
modest sum of N500m only. This monetary demand can never adequately replace or
take the place of their son, husband, brother, and breadwinner’s life. But it
will at least mitigate the obvious trauma and hardship the premature demise of
their irreplaceable breadwinner has placed on them.”
The family also asked the Speaker to ensure that the safety
of vendors is guaranteed as they had become afraid to return to the streets
since the tragic incident.
The Okereke family said it would take legal action against
Gbajabiamila if all the demands are not met within seven days.
“Take note therefore that it is our clients’ firm
instruction that in the event that you fail, refuse and/or neglect to accede to
or proffer reasonable compensatory terms to our above modest demands within
seven days from the date of this letter, we shall without any further
correspondences from us, take appropriate legal steps to enforce our clients’
constitutional rights,” the letter stated.
It is sad. No amount can bring back the dead.
ReplyDeleteI hope that in the case of any monetory compensation, the family will not start another legal and physical fights of who gets what.
This has always been the case in many situation like this, as some sees the ugly incidence as an opportunity to make cheap money without even considering the well being of those left behind by the victim.