A chieftain the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Valentine Oyemike, who was accused of complicity in the death of one of his staff, has sued the victim?s wife, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Force CID, Abuja and an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) for the alleged violation of his rights.

In a law suit filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, on February 25, 2025 Oyemike, an APC stalwart in Edo State, is demanding N1bn in damages, as well as an order restricting officials of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) from arresting or detaining him in connection to the death of Fidelis Osaghae.

The case is still undergoing investigations at the Federal Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) in Abuja.

Background

According to reports, the 33-year-old late Fidelis Osaghae on July 29, 2024 returned to office at 2:30 am moments after arriving because his boss and founder of Valchi Fast Foods, Valentine Oyemike, allegedly ordered him back to work. He was never to be seen alive again.

It was also reported that Fidelis wedded his wife, Esther, barely a year to the unfortunate incident, and they were nursing a two-month old baby. The couple's wedding anniversary was slated for August 6, 2024 before his mysterious death in the midnight of July 29 and within the business premises of Valentine Oyemike.

His wife (Esther), in a recent interview, said that on the fateful day, her husband, came in from work but said his Boss (Oyemike) had just summoned him to return back to work, asking the wife not to bolt the doors because he would "be back shortly". However, to the apprehension of his wife, Osaghae never returned till day break prompting her to dial his mobile phone, and it rang 12 times, but he did not take the calls, adding to the mounting pressure.

?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 she dropped the call on me. 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 Afashio General Hospital, a very far distance from where we stay and from his office,? Esther said.

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 explained 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 shocked, 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 snubbed me without a word,? Mabel said.

?I started screaming for him to tell me what happened in my state of shock. He then 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 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 body with visible rough-handling on the neck,? she said.

After leaving the mortuary, Mabel said, she reported the case at a police station in 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 based on the story the suspect had peddled to them.

?All these inconsistencies and Edo Police's shoddy handling of investigations were what prompted us as the deceased's family to report the matter to the FlagIt App of the Akin Fadeyi Foundation, which took up the matter and has been of immense help ever since,? she said.

Three NGOs take interest in Osaghae?s case

Meanwhile, three NGOs, including Akin Fadeyi Foundation, International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) and the Women Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) promptly petitioned the police IGP demanding an investigation into the matter.

Mabel said before the autopsy was conducted, the Edo State Police Command had discouraged the family by suggesting they bury Osaghae, but with earlier financial support from the Akin Fadeyi Foundation, they proceeded with the autopsy.

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 that the first Doctor the Akin Foundation had paid off and persuaded to stand down from the autopsy for the purposes of integrity was the one representing the suspect. 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. His scalp was broken and was oozing fresh blood on his head. After they scraped the hair, we saw blood on his head as if he had been heavily hit on the head before he died." Mabel explained.

Akin Fadeyi, the founder/head of the Akin Fadeyi Foundation in an interview explained that they wrote to the IGP to withdraw the case from the Edo State Command and transfer it to the Federal Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) in Abuja.

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.

However, a professor of chemical pathology, Kayode Adebayo, suggested the autopsy be repeated based on his appraisal 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.?

Meanwhile, when the suspect was invited for a repeat autopsy which was duly ordered by a Coroner inquest, he went to file a lawsuit. He is seeking a court declaration to uphold the initial autopsy results and not conduct another one afresh.

Reacting to the morbid drama a legal expert said: ?For Valentine Oyemike to go to Court to file for ?fundamental human right? to prevent police investigation to be asked questions to explain how his employee died in his business custody, to the extent of even suing a mourning widow poses a challenge to morality. But the Nigerian courts will discharge their duties to never allow a truncating of processes that may lead to justice for all concerned.?

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