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By Damiete Braid
The Delta State Commissioner for Secondary Education, Kingsley Ashibogwu, has denied allegations that he ordered the assault of a Deputy Director in the ministry, Mr. Unity Ekpevbughe Adeda, who reportedly died after being taken to hospital following an incident at the ministry.
Ashibogwu, who described the allegation as untrue, said he neither instructed anyone to beat Adeda nor participated in any organised assault against him. The commissioner said his involvement in the incident followed distress calls from the Director of Examinations, who reportedly informed him that Adeda had become violent, attacked people and threatened to kill anyone who approached him.
According to Ashibogwu, he went to the scene after receiving the reports in an attempt to understand and manage the situation.
“When I encountered him, I asked whether he knew me, but he said he did not want to know me and threatened to attack anyone who came near him,” the commissioner stated.
Ashibogwu further alleged that Adeda became violent during the encounter and attacked him, adding that he had never instructed anyone to use force against the deputy director. The commissioner said he was a non-violent person and had no reason to order an attack on Adeda, urging the public to allow the relevant authorities to establish what transpired through evidence rather than speculation.
The controversy followed an incident at the Exams and Standards Department of the ministry, located off Mariam Babangida Way, where Adeda was reportedly involved in unusual and violent conduct before he was brought under control and taken for medical attention.
Sources within the ministry said Adeda, who had recently been redeployed as Chief Inspector of Education for Isoko South, had been posted to the Science Education Department, with an office at the state secretariat.
The sources alleged that he instead went to the Exams and Standards Department, where he reportedly used his vehicle to ram into vehicles and property within the premises.
Video footage of the incident is said to be circulating and has reportedly been made available to investigators. Staff members said the footage should form part of any investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Adeda was later reportedly taken to hospital and subsequently died, although the circumstances surrounding his death remain a subject of concern among ministry workers and other stakeholders.
Following the development, some staff members called for a discreet, transparent and professional investigation to establish the sequence of events leading to his death.
“There is considerable ambiguity surrounding the incident. No conclusion should be reached without a proper investigation,” a staff member said.
The workers also appealed to members of the public to refrain from circulating unverified accounts that could inflame tensions or prejudice the investigation.
Ashibogwu similarly urged the media and the public to rely on facts, available video evidence and relevant medical information in determining what happened.
He maintained that only a thorough investigation could establish the circumstances surrounding Adeda’s conduct, the subsequent confrontation and the events that preceded his death.
