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Distraught by the torture and subsequent killing of Azuka Ossai, a native of Aboh in Ndokwa East Local Government Area of Delta State by a military personnel, the family of the deceased has petitioned the Army authorities.
In a petition to the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Farouk Yahaya, dated October 27, 2021, and copied to Brigadier General Abdullahi Idris of 63 Battalion, Asaba, Delta state, father of the deceased, Chief Ifeanyi Nwadei Ossai, urged the army chiefs “to ensure that thorough investigation is carried out to unravel the motive behind the killing of my dear son, Azuka Ossai, at the prime of his life.”
Recalling how the late Azuka met his tragic end, his father stated that it began in the wee hours of Monday, October 18, 2021, when a military personnel, attired in mufti, visited the home of the deceased and ‘invited’ him out.
The duo soon arrived at the construction site of Enikkom Nigeria Limited, an oil services firm operating in the area, whereupon the late Azuka was promptly accused of having masterminded the stealing of an armoured cable worth about N300,000.
But curiously, instead of handing over the “accused” to the police for proper investigations – especially as the deceased vehemently proclaimed his innocence – the military personnel, who was apparently attached to the company, proceeded to mete out severe life-threatening torture on Azuka.
First, he was thoroughly beaten up, then put into a drum filled with a mixture of diesel and petrol and then covered up for several hours, from 11am to around 5pm, the petition to the COAS explained.
“When they saw that he was almost lifeless, his tormentors proceeded to compel him to eat, but because of his poor state, he couldn’t, managing to take in only a spoon before relapsing,” the petition stated.
Chief Ossai stated that it was at that point that the torturers decided to take a hapless Azuka to the Aboh Divisional Police Station, but the officer in charge of the station seeing the condition of the ‘accused’ refused to take him in, but rather urged the army personnel and his cohorts to take the victim to the hospital.
Sadly, however, the middle aged man gave up the ghost on the way to Brema Hospital, where the doctor on duty certified him dead (BID).
The perpetrators, the petition stated, then proceeded to deposit his remains at St. Luke’s Mortuary, Kwale, Ndokwa West LGA, without recourse to any member of the late Azuka’s family.
