Unity Ekpevbughe Adeda, 54, left home for work like any other public servant.<\/p>\n
By the end of the day, the Deputy Director in Delta State Ministry of Secondary Education had been involved in a violent confrontation at his workplace.Taken to hospital, later returned home, yet rushed back, he did not survive.<\/p>\n
His death has since raised questions about what happened inside the ministry, allegations surrounding teacher transfers and the conduct of senior officials involved in the confrontation.<\/p>\n
For his family, however, the tragedy is painfully simple: a man went to work and died after an incident at the place where he was supposed to serve.<\/p>\n
The Final Hours
\nAdeda\u2019s sister, Ovwigho, recalled seeing him at the hospital after a colleague had brought him for treatment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw him (Unity) tied up like a criminal. His entire body filthy, blood coming out of his mouth and nose, and his head was badly swollen,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy brother said the Commissioner (For Secondary Educatiion, Dr Kingsly Ashibogwu) had asked if he knew who he was. My brother responded by asking, \u2018Am I obligated to know you? Must I know you?\u2019 The commissioner took offense\u201d, she added.<\/p>\n
According to her, Adeda later complained of continuing stomach pain after returning home. \u201cHe didn\u2019t stay long before they declared him dead,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The circumstances leading to the confrontation are now being investigated by the police and a state government administrative panel.<\/p>\n
A senior ministry official, who spoke on anonymity, gave Vanguard an account of the events.<\/p>\n
The official narrated, \u201cAdeda is dead now, I don\u2019t talk with Clementine Ufuoma Ojumah (one of the suspects), but because of what was happening I decided to beg her, that you are a Director, please ignore Adeda\u2019s reaction.\u201d<\/p>\n
The official alleged Ojumah, Director of Exams and Standards, used her vehicle to block the entrance of the premises.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdeda who wanted to leave was prevented from going out, so he used the car to hit her Jeep,\u201d the official alleged, adding efforts to calm the situation failed.<\/p>\n
The witness continued, \u201cImmediately, the Commissioner came, Adeda heard and he started shouting at him. He (Adeda) accused top officials of collecting bribes and sleeping with women for posting (transfers).<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Commissioner started blowing him, called his boys to joined and they tied him up and were beating him. Adeda was bleeding from mouth and nose. He was taken to hospital and later he died. This whole thing was avoidable but they didn\u2019t listen to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Commissioner\u2019s Denial
\nThe Commissioner, Ashibogwu, has denied ordering any assault on Adeda. He told Vanguard, \u201cI didn\u2019t. Rather, the man even assaulted me, assaulted people in the office.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just came out from the church, and they drew my attention that the man came and was threatening their lives, to kill them.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we were talking, I saw the man walking down, shouting from the gate, \u2018I will kill you today!\u2019 Before I knew what was happening, it was attack on me, physical, direct attack. I never ordered any person to touch him, I never touched him.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said police officers who arrived at the scene did not arrest Adeda but advised that he be taken to hospital.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice left. And his brother now took him to the hospital where they treated him and discharged him. Then later again at night, his body started becoming somehow, and before I got information this morning that he\u2019s late\u201d, he further claimed.<\/p>\n
The sharply different accounts are now before investigators.<\/p>\n
What about the transfers?
\nBehind the confrontation are allegations concerning transfer of teachers within the state\u2019s education system. A former colleague of Adeda, who worked with him before his transfer to Asaba, alleged that disagreements over transfer-related payments contributed to his movement.<\/p>\n
According to the colleague , \u201cAdeda was not a trouble maker. He was pushed to his death. Adeda was transferred from Office of Chief Inspector of Education over allegations that he was not remitting funds of transfer rackets to Asaba.\u201d<\/p>\n
He alleged Adeda was subsequently brought to Asaba to work under an official with whom he had previously had disagreements.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened that day was Adeda accusing the Directors and top brass of collecting monies in the recent transfer of teachers. This infuriated the Director and Commissioner,\u201d the source alleged.<\/p>\n
Teachers also made allegations of payments for preferred postings.<\/p>\n
A teacher recently transferred from Ekredjebor, Ughelli North LGA, alleged: \u201cThe whole system is rotten. They collect money and transfer people to wherever they want.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe choice depends on what you pay. I was transferred and paid N50,000 before I was transferred back to where I wanted after two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Principal, Patricia, alleged her inability to pay influenced her posting. \u201cTransfer is to the highest bidder, because I am a widow and don\u2019t have the funds. I was taken to a school in a remote village without WAEC accreditation and less than 200 students\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n
Another teacher, Victoria, said: \u201cI didn\u2019t pay the N50,000 transfer fee, so I was transferred to a riverine school in Ewu. This has been the trend over the years, it is sad.\u201d<\/p>\n
The allegations have not been independently established and are part of the wider issues requiring investigation.<\/p>\n
Police Take Over
\nBy September 30, Delta State Police Command had confirmed Ashibogwu, Ojumah and four others in custody as investigations progressed.<\/p>\n
Police spokesman, SP Bright Edafe, said \u201cOjumah turned herself in at the Command Headquarters Tuesday\u201d<\/p>\n
The police investigation is expected to examine eyewitness accounts, video footage and medical records to establish circumstances surrounding Adeda\u2019s death and determine individual responsibility.<\/p>\n
The family is also pressing for an autopsy.<\/p>\n
Oghenevwogaga Adeda, the deceased\u2019s brother, said: \u201cArrangement for autopsy is already in place. The IPO on the matter is already asking that we get in contact with a pathologist.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the family, the medical findings could be crucial to understanding how injuries sustained during the confrontation related to his eventual death.<\/p>\n
Otovwodo Demands Justice
\nAt Otovwodo, Adeda\u2019s home community, grief has turned into public anger. Residents marched with placards reading \u201cJustice for Adeda\u201d and \u201cWe are peaceful people, all we want is justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
President-General of the community, Prince Elvis Oharisi, said: \u201cThe community is grieved, and calling for justice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe committee set up by the government, we are not satisfied with it. The community was not represented, the family never represented in that committee. So, that committee, we have no iota of trust in it\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n
Youth leader, Umudi Ohwofasa, said: \u201cIt\u2019s very, very painful for such a thing to happen to someone. We will continue the protest. I cannot be satisfied as we have not heard anything that will make us satisfied over this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Women leader, Regina expressed the depth of the community\u2019s grief. \u201cA big man who has reached such height in public service. Someone we believed would help our children is the one they killed like a chicken. He is not a chicken, nor a goat, nor a cow \u2014 he is a human being\u201d, she lamented.<\/p>\n
The sister-in-law, Julie Adeda, said: \u201cHe\u2019s a very quiet person, and he\u2019s the breadwinner of the family. We are looking up to him. I\u2019m not suspecting any person, but the commissioner and the director have a case to answer. Let the law prevail in any angle.\u201d<\/p>\n
The state government panel has commenced proceedings, while the police investigation continues.<\/p>\n
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori had earlier warned public officials against misconduct:<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve changed my style. This is not Sheriff of 20 years ago. So when you\u2019re in government you must behave well,\u201d the governor said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf a Commissioner can be remanded in prison custody, nobody is above the law. Anybody who commits an offence, you want to do thuggery, we will hold you. We don\u2019t play politics with that.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the Adeda family, however, the issue is no longer about politics. It is about a man who left home for work and returned injured, before dying hours later.<\/p>\n
The competing accounts must now give way to evidence. If an assault is established and found to have contributed to Adeda\u2019s death, those responsible should face the law. If the evidence establishes a different chain of events, that too must be made public.<\/p>\n
Likewise, allegations of financial manipulation of transfers must be investigated rather than converted into convictions by public opinion.<\/p>\n
For now, Adeda\u2019s final day remains a story of a workplace confrontation, a family mourning and a civil service asking difficult questions about power and accountability.<\/p>\n
The police investigation, the autopsy and the government inquiry now have the responsibility of establishing what happened \u2014 and where the evidence ultimately leads.<\/p>\n
There is the danger of Adeda\u2019s case becoming another political confrontation -one side defending government, another attacking it, and the facts becoming secondary to partisan narratives.<\/p>\n
That would be unfortunate. The central issue is not whether one political faction can exploit the tragedy against another faction.<\/p>\n
The central issue is accountability. If Adeda was assaulted and the assault contributed to his death, whoever was responsible should face the law. If the evidence establishes a different chain of events, that too should be stated publicly.<\/p>\n
The coming days will therefore test more than the police investigation. They will test the Delta State Government\u2019s willingness to allow evidence speak louder than political influence.<\/p>\n
They will test the police\u2019s ability to investigate people connected to power without fear or favour. They will test whether organised labour can secure meaningful guarantees for civil servants.<\/p>\n
And they will test whether the government understands that public confidence is not created by assurances alone, but by transparent action.<\/p>\n
For Adeda\u2019s family, however, this is not an abstract question about governance.<\/p>\n
It is about a man who left home for work and died after an incident at the place where he was supposed to serve the public.<\/p>\n
The family wants answers. His colleagues want safety. The police say they want the facts. The government says it wants the circumstances established.<\/p>\n
Those objectives should not be in conflict. The most important outcome now is not a convenient narrative, a political victory or the protection of anybody\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n
The swollen face in the photograph leading to his death cannot answer all the questions.<\/p>\n
And until truth is established, the word \u201cmurder\u201d remains an allegation than a settled fact. And the office where a public servant died should remain, above all, a crime scene and a place for evidence\u2014not a battleground .<\/p>\n
Courtesy Vanguard Media Limited, Nigeria<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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