Many questions, few answers. Was he killed? Did the police make any arrests? Is there an attempt to conceal his death? No one can answer except the police, who investigate and tell the public what they find. For now, Fidelis Osaghae’s death is still shrouded in secrecy or what many believe to be an attempt at concealing the truth.

On July 29, 33-year-old Fidelis Osaghae left for work at 2:30 am immediately after he had returned from work because Valentine Oyemike, his boss at the Valchi Fast Foods and a member of the All Progressive Congress (APC), ordered him to return.

Esther, Osaghae’s wife, told FIJ her husband asked her not to bolt the doors because he would be back shortly. She did as instructed, expecting him to return, but he never did. At 5 am, she woke up but did not find her husband in bed. She became worried.

She dialled her Osaghae’s line, and it rang 12 times, but he did not take the calls. He also did not call back. This was unusual behaviour because Osaghae knew how worried she would become if he did not take her calls, Esther explained.

“I had to call Tracey, his supervisor, to find out what was happening. When she answered, she said ‘Everything was under control’. I asked what was under control, but the call dropped. I called Tracey again more than 10 times, but she didn’t respond. Some minutes to 6 am, his boss called. In a commanding tone, he asked me to show up at a hospital far from where we stay and from his office,” Esther told FIJ.

ARRIVAL AT THE HOSPITAL

Esther said she immediately wanted to leave the house but couldn’t because Mabel, her elder sister, did not consider it safe, particularly because she was still breastfeeding her two-month-old baby. Mabel then went in her stead alongside some neighbours in a vehicle owned by one of them.

Mabel told FIJ that after a neighbour had pointed out Oyemike, she asked him what the issue was, but he said he did not want to talk to a woman. The response got her furious, she said, but after repeatedly quizzing him, Oyemike opened the back seat of his car where she saw the lifeless body of her brother-in-law.

“I didn’t think he was dead at first until I got closer. I saw bloodstains. His feet were like he was dragged. As of then, I had not seen his chest, but I saw thick veins on his neck. This made me ask Oyemike what happened to him, but he would not say,” Mabel told FIJ.

“I started dragging his clothes when he would not say anything. He pointed to someone for me to ask what happened, but a woman whispered to me that he had been brought in dead and that the hospital rejected him. While that went on, the police came and said, ‘Now it’s our case’.”

The neighbours who followed her to the hospital, Mabel said, suggested Osaghae be taken to the mortuary at the Edo State Teaching Hospital.

At the same time, she said, Oyemike was calling for doctors, but no one answered. She said Oyemike drove to the mortuary while she was in the neighbour’s car.

“At the mortuary, the police said they would be the ones to deposit his body. I was shocked but insisted that no one would touch his body that day except I deposited it. When they were trying to embalm him, I saw his chest. There were dark patches on his black body with visible little veins on his chest as though he had been rough-handled,” she said.

POLICE ALLEGATIONS

After leaving the mortuary, Mabel said, she went to the police at Auchi, where the matter almost took a different turn. According to her, without any preliminary investigations, the Auchi police started claiming that the deceased had committed suicide.

“The police claimed that my brother-in-law had written a petition against his wife because he was tired of her. They also said he dropped his ring on the table at work, but it is with his wife. At this point, I knew a lot could go wrong. I had to report this matter to the Flag It App of the Akin Fadeyi Foundation, which took up the matter and has been of immense help ever since,” she said.

FIJ understands that the Akin Fadeyi Foundation, International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) and the Women Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) have brought this issue to the public and have petitioned the police, demanding an investigation into the matter.

Mabel said before the autopsy was conducted, the Edo Police had discouraged the family by suggesting they bury Osaghae, but with support from the three organisations, they proceeded.

READ ALSO: Edo Police Insist on Bribery Claim as Dismissed Policewoman Cries Foul, Threatens Suicide

AUTOPSY OBSERVATIONS

She further said that the organisations had paid a man to conduct the autopsy but left him for a professor and his team after they learnt there was a possibility he was compromised.

“At the centre where the autopsy was conducted, I was shocked to see the first man the Akin Foundation paid to be the one representing Oyemike. He kept suggesting to the professor’s team where to scoop something from. But his body showed something other than Oyemike’s claim of what had happened to Fidelis Osaghae. There was still fresh blood on his head. After they scraped the hair, we saw blood on his head as if he had hit been heavily on the head before he died,” Mabel told FIJ.

Speaking with FIJ, Akin Fadeyi, the head of the Akin Fadeyi Foundation, explained that they wrote to the Inspector General of Police to withdraw the case from the Edo State Command and transfer it to the Federal Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) in Abuja.

“Fidelis Osaghae had injuries on the head, yet the suspect said he drank SNIPER. How then did he get injured in the neck? His ankle was still swollen. There is every circumstantial evidence, showing he went through certain questionable interactions with his boss. It is looking to us like it is possible he was killed but someone staged a suicide,” Fadeyi said.

READ ALSO: Police Want to Prosecute Abuja Protester Who Climbed Broadcast Mast

AUTOPSY RESULTS

The autopsy result states, “In light of the above gross, histological and toxicological findings, the cause of death, in our considered opinion is: Asphyxiation; Respiratory failure; Chemical (organophosphorus) poisoning” but the family of the deceased disagrees based on what they saw during the autopsy.

Kayode Adebayo, a professor of chemical pathology, suggested the autopsy be repeated based on his appraisal of the autopsy and toxicology results of the deceased presented before him.

“After a careful assessment of both reports and a second opinion from other experts, it is concluded that the reports are largely equivocal. To be able to weigh in on an issue of the magnitude of murder in any court of law, the reports cannot stand any serious critique as is,” Adebayo said.

“There are a few loopholes and loose knots in the reports. The professional who can tighten this up can only be of the same calibre that started the process. It would be helpful to know in clear terms viz; if the skull is fractured; X-ray of the skull and the pelvis (possible fracture); if there is esophagitis in consonance with gastritis in the report and the pathology slides must be provided for other experts to review.

“Any fingerprints on the deceased? Was the brain tissue autolyzed or contused? The toxicology report was negative for alcohol and commonly abused substances but positive for chlorpyrifos and its metabolites that can cause respiratory failure. This shows the pre-morbid traits or habits of the individual. This is not a likely candidate for suicide.

“The autopsy suggests asphyxia without expressly creating any tangible lead to the cause other than the substances (Chlorpyrifos) in the digestive system. Determining antemortem and post-mortem changes observable grossly and microscopically should be highlighted. My suggestions? A repeat autopsy. The autopsy should be at a location other than Edo State, preferably the Abuja National Hospital.”

POLICE RESPONSE

When FIJ called Valentine Oyemike, he referred the journalist to the police, saying he didn’t want to discuss the matter on the phone.

FIJ called Muyiwa Adejobi, the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO) for comments on the matter as it has now been transferred to Abuja, but he did not respond. A text sent on February 8 had not been responded to at press time.