Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, yesterday, visited the bereaved family of late Ivan Omhonria, a two-year-old pupil who was allegedly killed by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The governor assured that the circumstances that led to the tragic death of the innocent lad will be made public. He said very soon the police would make their findings known to the general public at the end of the inquiry.
The child was killed last Thursday when operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) raided an illicit drug joint in Okpanam area of Delta State.
The stray bullet that killed Ivan shattered glasses in his mother’s shop, with the shards crashing on Ivan’s younger sibling, Eromonsele, who already had his left eye operated on.
Speaking when he visited the family at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Asaba, the governor described the shooting incident as unfortunate, and commiserated with the bereaved.
“When we heard the unfortunate news, we immediately issued a statement calling on the NDLEA authorities and the police command to quickly investigate the circumstances, which led to the death of your son and injury to his younger sibling.
“On behalf of the government and people of Delta State, we commiserate with you and your family over the loss of your son, Ivan. We have so much confidence in the police and as you know, they are carrying out their investigation; they will not make the outcome public until they are through with their investigations. So, rest assured that the culprits would be brought to book. Once again, I commiserate with your family for this loss and I’m happy that Eromonsele is recovering,” he said.
He commended the medical personnel at the hospital for their pro-activeness in treating the younger sibling, assuring that the state government would pick up all the medical bills related to the incident.
“Let me also appreciate the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba for the proactive action they have taken so far since the incident occurred. I had sent people here earlier to find out what they are doing and I am happy that they were able to save Eromonsele’s life, and I know that he will come out strong.
The state government will foot the bills for the hospital treatment, so no money should be taken from the family,” Governor Oborevwori directed.
Also speaking, the state Commissioner of Police, Wale Abbass, assured the governor and the family of the command’s commitment to ensuring thorough investigation into the matter.
“Your Excellency, we will do our best to unravel the mystery behind the whole incident. We have sent messages to the NDLEA and they have responded, and in no distant time we will come out with a report that would be made known to members of the public.
“Once again, we commiserate with you and we pray that God Almighty will give you the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss. For Eromonsele, we are praying that God will lay His healing hands upon him to perfect his health,” CP Abbas said.
Briefing the governor earlier, Head of Ophthalmology Department at the hospital, Dr. Ernest Ogbedo, said they have successfully covered the eye to prevent infections from entering it, adding that further surgeries would be carried out on the eye.
“We have done one surgery, but the child is going to need some other surgeries because there is an eye injury which the doctors went through and covered. We did an x-ray first and luckily there were no bullet pellets around, but we are going to carry out further investigation to see the extent of the injury. We have succeeded in covering the eye, so that there will be no infections and other diseases to the eye,” Dr. Ogbedo said.
