An awaiting NYSC member posted to Benue State by the National Youth Service Corps, Ifiemi Igali, has been found dead in Lagos, three days after he got missing in Bayelsa State. The 22-year-old Batch A, Stream 2 awaiting corps member had left Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, on Thursday to collect his result at a university in Delta State, where he studied Geography and Environmental Management.
The family, however, became worried when calls made to his line on Monday morning were not picked. A policeman attached to the Ojodu-Abiodun Division, Ogun State, was said to have called a family member three hours later, saying Ifiemi was found dead by the roadside in Berger, Lagos State.
The deceased was found foaming in the mouth and nose, which made the family members suspect that he was murdered.
Ifiemi’s aunt, Conquer Igali, told PUNCH that his Facebook updates had been wiped off, adding that the circumstances surrounding the death were still shrouded in mystery.
She said, “Last Thursday, he left Bayelsa and said he wanted to get his result from the Niger Delta University. He spoke with the family members on Friday and we all believed he actually went to the school. We did not call him on Saturday and Sunday. I called him on Monday, but he didn’t pick his calls. Three hours later, a policeman called me and said he was involved in an accident. When his uncle in Lagos got to the station, he was told that his corpse was found by the roadside in Berger.
“The police are investigating the incident and we are also trying to investigate. We went to all the parks in Yenagoa to ascertain whether he travelled to Delta State last Thursday or not. But the drivers said they did not see him. We checked their manifests; his name was not there.
“We suspect that he was abducted and murdered because he could not have travelled to Lagos. Everything on his Facebook page has been deleted. I suspect something on his timeline was incriminating enough to make the alleged killer delete everything. His Whatsapp was last active on Friday.
“He was a boisterous young man and was very excited to go for the youth service. He was posted to Benue State and was supposed to go to camp on Saturday. The NYSC, however, postponed camping indefinitely. My heart is heavy.”
The deceased’s father, Mr. Bolouikie Igali, described him as a decent man, saying his son would not have involved in any disagreement with anybody.
“I don’t know what really happened. I am terribly devastated and so is his mother. It has to be investigated because I think he was killed,” he added.
Ifiemi’s uncle, a policeman in Lagos, who preferred not to be named, said his corpse had been deposited at the Lagos Mainland morgue for autopsy.
He said, “The policemen at the station said it was passersby that told them about the corpse. I went to the mortuary and searched his body; I didn’t see anything strange and there was no mark. I saw foams coming out from his mouth and nose and his body had become stiff. That is to show that he was killed on Sunday.”
The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Muyiwa Adejobi, said, “An Automated Teller Machine card and a mobile phone were found on the deceased.
“No mark in his body, but he foamed in the mouth. Investigation is ongoing to unravel the cause of the death.”
Punch
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