Posers over death of ‘gentle’ firefighter

Family calls for probe to unravel killing of 48-year-old Eyo

Described by friends and family members as amiable and gentle, the death of Assistant Commander Ime Okon Eyo of the Federal Fire Service, Ojuelegba, has remained a mystery, considering what they called the unusual circumstances surrounding his demise.

To family and friends therefore, only a proper investigation of the murder or death of the man, who they last saw around 6.00p.m. on Friday, May 6, at the Fire Service Barracks, Ojuelegba, in Lagos before his alleged gruesome murder same night, can douse their pains.

The situation is more pathetic as Eyo, who was separated from his wife, left behind a little girl, who is presently schooling at Badagry area of Lagos.

Narrating the story amidst tears, the deceased’s younger sister, Gloria Ekpenyong, said Eyo was recently transferred to Abuja and had visited Lagos to pack his belongings only to meet his death.

Ekpenyong, who could still not believe her death was dead, said she had visited him with her husband, Henry, on the fateful day and left the barracks at about 6.00p.m., leaving Eyo in the company of some of his colleagues.

“I was surprised to be called at 6:45a.m. the following day that Eyo, who was healthy, had died around 10.00p.m. and his body had been deposited at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) morgue.
He was said to have bled from his mouth and nostrils, with injuries on his face and back when we saw his corpse at the mortuary.

“That we met his colleagues and church members at the morgue already, surprised us because they were the ones that deposited the corpse without a family member present,” she added.

Collaborating Gloria’s narrative, her husband said they were notified of the incident by Eyos’ colleague, Anthony Marcauley, an Assistant Commander, who they said, picked money from Eyo’s pocket to pay for the morgue.

However, an autopsy report on Eyo showed that his death was primarily caused by intracranial haemorrhage as a result of basal skull fracture. But the family, who are aggrieved that no arrest has since been made over the incident, are demanding through their lawyer, Enobong Etteh, a thorough investigation into Eyo’s death.

According to them, the presence of pastors from Narrow Way Gospel, Itire, where the deceased worshipped, at the mortuary without prior information to the family, suggests foul play.

Their lawyer, who has already written to the Inspector General of Police on the matter, said it is for the police to unravel the circumstances surrounding the death of Eyo, as the family has not been told anything, even though it was first reported at Area C Command, before it was later transferred to Alagbon police state.

But one of the pastors at Narrow Way Gospel, Itire, who was at the morgue, told The Guardian that they were instructed by the General Overseer of the church to go to the hospital after they got a report from a church member that Eyo had a fall.

According to him, they only got to meet his corpse. But The Guardian investigation showed that the deceased had gone to visit a female friend named Vera Mbang at No. 1, Balogun Street, Itire, at about 9:30p.m. on the fateful day.

A female resident in the house, who gave her name as Chioma Nwachukwu, said she noticed the presence of the deceased at the staircase and afterwards saw him at the foot of the staircase in the pool of his blood.

According to her, she had alerted the neighbourhood, including Vera, who quickly ran to alert the church, while she mobilized other residents to rush him to LUTH, where he was declared dead on arrival.