The family of late Pa James Akpaka of Nimo in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State has called for justice to be done following the death of their sister who died under mysterious circumstances three years ago.

Addressing journalists in Awka on Thursday, a representative of the family, Mr. Mike Akpaka, in company of other family members said that the circumstances surrounding their sister’s death created room for suspicions.

According to him, there was an incision discovered on the abdominal region of the deceased after a prolonged delay by their in-law in letting them see the corpse.

He added that nobody has been able to explain where the incision came from and who did it.

The late Mrs. Rita Ugwuegbulam, who passed away three years ago died in her matrimonial home, precisely, May 22, 2015.

His words: “Our sister died in her matrimonial home in Enugu under suspicious and very questionable circumstances including a mysterious abdominal incision which was later found on her body.”

Narrating the family’s ordeal, he said that though an autopsy was done to ascertain the cause of death, that they have not been able to get a true copy of the autopsy result three years after, hence their sister still lie in the morgue waiting for justice to be done.

He said: “We invited the police in Enugu through our lawyer’s petition to the Enugu State Commissioner of Police dated August 25, 2015 to determine the cause and time of death and the necessity for the abdominal incision and if the incision contributed to her death.

“This was when we started noticing signs of corruption, cover-ups, manipulations and obstruction of justice from the very public institutions and individuals that we relied on to uncover the truth of what happened to our beloved sister.

“The first sign of corruption was when the police started colluding with our brother-in-law. We petitioned the police to get some answers since our brother in-law wouldn’t cooperate with us.”

According to a statement made available to journalists, the Consultant Radiologist Dr. Osiatuma of New Hope Dialysis and Diagnostic Center made two conflicting reports.

In one of the reports titled “Thoracoabdominal CT Scan (Post Mortem)”, which was signed, he claimed that “the uterus is enlarged with irregular outlines due to the presence of fibroid masses, one of which is calafied. Both ovaries were not visualized”. In the second report which had no signature, he wrote: “The uterus, ovaries and contracted urinary bladder are also in place. Irregularity/laxity of the anterior abdominal wall however is noted due to a previous surgery.”

The statement further pointed out that an earlier petition against Drs. Ohayi S.A.R and Victor Osiatuma was struck out in 2017 by the Medical and Dental Practitioners investigative panel on the ground that the affidavit by Mr. Mike Akpaka dated December, 2015 was ‘found to be grossly short of the requirements of the evidence Act’.

Akpaka noted that following the claim that the affidavit earlier filed was defective, a “further and better affidavit was filed in July 2016 adding that they have failed to mention it in any of their correspondences.”

Continuing, the statement said: “Our case is a case of corruption and reckless impunity by public officials. It is a case that has been denied by delays because it said that justice delayed is justice denied. Our sister has been lying in the mortuary since then waiting for justice.

“All we are looking for is for the public institutions and their officials involved to timely and transparently do their job or face the consequences. We want Dr. Abdu and the Medical and Dental Practitioners Investigation Panel , the IPO, Mrs Akpa and the Police, New Hope Dialysis and Diagnostic Center and Dr. Osiatuma, and ESUTH, Parkland where the autopsy was done and Dr.Ohayi S.A.R to go back and do their job that we have paid for. We want the institutions involved to be sanctioned and the corrupt officials to be disciplined to the highest extent that our laws permit.”

While pleading with the media to help us get the attention of the federal government and its agencies to timely attend to their petitions to enable justice prevail, the statement added that a petition has been filed against Dr. Abdu and the medical and Dental Council, ESUTH, Parkland Teaching Hospital and Dr. Ohayi, New Hope Dialysis and Diagnostic Center and Dr. Victor Osiatuma, the police and the IPO, Mrs. Akpe to ICPC, the Presidency, Speaker of the House, Minister of Health, the IG and the Code of Conduct Bureau.

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