My Father was killed While Rescuing CBN Governor's wife

It was a pitiable sight last Wednesday, October 26th, when vigilante members from Emuhun community in Uhunmwode Local Government Area of Edo state who rescued the abducted wife of the Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Mrs Margret Emefiele, stormed the Nigeria Union of Journalists’ (NUJ) secretariat in Benin city alongside the family of one of their members, Mr Gabriel Okorare, who lost his life during the rescue operation.


 They came lamenting that the corpse of their deceased member had been abandoned at the mortuary by the police while the family members the deceased left behind have also been left to their fate. Late Okorare is an indigene of Delta State but lived in Emuhu community with his eleven children and two wives before his death.

Saturday Vanguard learnt that following an appeal from the police that the vigilante should comb the bush in search of Mrs Emefiele and three others who were abducted with her by the kidnappers, the deceased mobilized his men and during a shootout with the kidnappers, he was shot dead. However, this did not deter his colleagues and some farmers who were said to have helped in locating the place she was kept and in fact assisted in ferrying the ransom to the area the kidnappers demanded the money should be kept.

Recalling the sacrifices their breadwinner made before Mrs Emefiele was rescued, the two wives, the eleven children and other members of the family wept uncontrollably as they felt abandoned. They also expressed disappointment at the Edo state Commissioner of Police, Mr Gwandu Haliru Abubakar, who promised to pay a condolence visit to the family of the deceased but never kept to his promises.

Eldest son of the deceased, Roland Okorare, in his speech said: “we are still in shock because we were at home when we heard that our father was shot dead by the kidnappers when they went to rescue the wife of the CBN governor Mrs Emefiele. We went to Ugoneki police station and the police admitted that they knew about his death, that they actually called members of the vigilante to comb the bush that day in pursuit of the kidnappers of the wife of the CBN Governor.

 All our vigilante men went into the bush and as they were exchanging fire with the kidnappers my father was shot. The police took his body to Abudu mortuary. We left there for Okhuai police station and the police said they were contacting the DSS and the Police command on the matter.

 When they did not give us concrete response, we went to Benin to see the police commissioner who told us that he was also aware of the matter. But unfortunately, the police have abandoned the corpse at the mortuary, they are not bothered about how he will be buried or the welfare of the family he left behind. We have not also heard from the Emefiele family.