Activist and publisher of online news medium, SaharaReporters, Mr Omoyele Sowore, has disclosed that his younger brother, Olajide Sowore, was killed on Saturday by suspected kidnappers in Edo State. The kidnappers were said to have abducted five other people.
Omoyele in a post on Saturday said, “My immediate younger brother, Olajide Sowore, was today shot and killed near Okada in Edo State reportedly by herdsmen/kidnappers on his way from Igbinedion University in Edo State where he is studying pharmacy. They snuffed out the life from yet another real human being! Rest in Power, “Dr Mamiye!”
Reacting to the incident, the Edo Police Command through its spokesperson, Bello Kontongs, in a statement sent to journalists on Saturday, said Olajide’s killers also abducted five other unidentified victims. He added that the deceased’s corpse had been deposited at the Igbinedion University Teaching Hospital.
The statement read, “This is to confirm to you that suspected kidnappers at about 06:45hrs along Lagos-Benin Expressway by Isuwa kidnapped five unidentified persons and in the process shot to death one Sowore Felix Olajide, male, a pharmacy student of the Igbinedion University, Okada. His remains have been deposited at the IUTH mortuary, Okada, while effort is ongoing to rescue the five kidnap victims. Search-and-rescue operation is ongoing please.”
Also, the state governor, Godwin Obaseki, assured that his government would collaborate with security agencies to fish out Olajide’s killers.
Obaseki made the pledge in a condolence message he sent to Sowore. In the statement, Obaseki promised that the state government would work with relevant security agencies to investigate the unfortunate incident, noting that efforts would be intensified to bring the culprits to book.
The governor noted, “I commiserate with the Sowore family and the Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, over the death of his brother, Olajide Sowore. The news of Olajide’s death is heartbreaking and we will make all efforts to bring the perpetrators of the dastardly act to justice. On behalf of the people and government of Edo State, I condole with the Sowore family and pray that God will grant all the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.’’
Besides, a former senator from the Kaduna Central Senatorial District, Shehu Sani, condemned the killing.
In a post via his Twitter handle, Sani described the incident as tragic, calling on relevant authorities to ensure justice was served in the matter.
He also commiserated with family of the deceased, adding that it was unfortunate that lives were no longer sacred in Nigeria.
In a condolence message on Saturday titled, ‘Olajide Sowore: One murder too many,’ President, Centre for Change, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, decried the murder, urging the Nigerian authorities to thoroughly investigate the death and bring the perpetrators to book.
Okei-Odumakin noted that doing so would douse any suspicion that might arise in linking Olajide’s death to the running battle between Sowore and the Nigerian government.
She said, “When will the criminals be brought to book? Before our very eyes, the country is becoming a failed state; yet, all we hear from the government are condolence messages and platitudes that do not hold water. It is because the government had been tardy in its response to previous killings all over the country.
“To shrug off such suspicion and accusation, it must act swiftly to arrest the killers of Olajide Sowore and bring them to book. Government must avoid allowing this murder to be seen as a pain purposely inflicted on Omoyele Sowore to cower as well as punish him for his tango with’’ the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) over issues of good governance and respect for fundamental human rights.”
Copyright PUNCH.
