Civil servants in Delta State on Friday protested at the state secretariat in Asaba over the death of a senior official of the Ministry of Secondary Education following an alleged altercation at the ministry.
The protesters gathered at the Prof. Chike Edosien Secretariat along Mariam Babangida Way, demanding the arrest of the Commissioner for Secondary Education, Kingsley Ashibogwu, his driver, Amos Atah, his police orderly, Celestine Opute, and another man identified as David.
They also called on Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, the Inspector General of Police and the Delta State Commissioner of Police to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death.
The protesters demanded the removal and arrest of the commissioner and others they accused of being involved in the incident.
The deceased, Unity Ekpevbughe Adeda, was a Deputy Director in the Ministry of Secondary Education. He reportedly became unconscious after an alleged assault at the ministry on Thursday and later died.
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A sister of the deceased confirmed his death but said the family was yet to receive full details about what happened.
A ministry staff member, who spoke anonymously, alleged that the commissioner ordered his police orderly and driver to beat Adeda following a disagreement. The source claimed Adeda was seriously beaten, lost consciousness and was taken to the Federal Medical Centre in Asaba, where he later died.
The source further alleged that Adeda was detained after the incident instead of receiving immediate medical attention.
According to the staff member, the disagreement reportedly began between Adeda and the Director of Examinations, who later contacted the commissioner.
The Secretary to the Delta State Government, Kingsley Emu, reportedly visited the secretariat during the protest and appealed to the workers to return to their duties, saying the government was already addressing the matter.
However, labour leaders reportedly insisted that the protest would continue until those accused of involvement were arrested and brought to justice.
Ashibogwu denied ordering anyone to assault Adeda. He said he was called to the ministry after receiving a distress call that a man was allegedly threatening staff and attacking people.
The commissioner said he asked Adeda whether he knew him, but claimed the deceased responded aggressively and threatened anyone who approached him. Ashibogwu also said Adeda attacked him, leaving him with injuries.
He maintained that he neither ordered the beating nor personally assaulted the deceased.
The competing accounts surrounding the incident had not been independently resolved at the time of the report.
Efforts to obtain comments from the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, about the incident and whether an investigation had begun were unsuccessful.
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