September 24, Unity Ekpevbughe Adeda, 54, left home for work like any other public servant.

By the end of the day, the Deputy Director in Delta State Ministry of Secondary Education had been involved in a violent confrontation at his workplace.

Taken to hospital, later returned home, yet rushed back, he did not survive.

His death has since raised questions about what happened inside the ministry, allegations surrounding teacher transfers and the conduct of senior officials involved in the confrontation.

For his family, however, the tragedy is painfully simple: a man went to work and died after an incident at the place where he was supposed to serve.

The Final Hours

Adeda’s sister, Ovwigho, recalled seeing him at the hospital after a colleague had brought him for treatment.

“I saw him (Unity) tied up like a criminal. His entire body filthy, blood coming out of his mouth and nose, and his head was badly swollen,” she said.

“My brother said the Commissioner (For Secondary Education, Dr Kingsly Ashibogwu) had asked if he knew who he was. My brother responded by asking, ‘Am I obligated to know you? Must I know you?’ The commissioner took offense”, she added.

According to her, Adeda later complained of continuing stomach pain after returning home. “He didn’t stay long before they declared him dead,” she said.

The circumstances leading to the confrontation are now being investigated by the police and a state government administrative panel.

A senior ministry official, who spoke on anonymity, gave Vanguard an account of the events.

The official narrated, “Adeda is dead now, I don’t talk with Clementine Ufuoma Ojumah (one of the suspects), but because of what was happening I decided to beg her, that you are a Director, please ignore Adeda’s reaction.”

The official alleged Ojumah, Director of Exams and Standards, used her vehicle to block the entrance of the premises.

“Adeda who wanted to leave was prevented from going out, so he used the car to hit her Jeep,” the official alleged, adding efforts to calm the situation failed.

The witness continued, “Immediately, the Commissioner came, Adeda heard and he started shouting at him. He (Adeda) accused top officials of collecting bribes and sleeping with women for posting (transfers).

“Then Commissioner started blowing him, called his boys to joined and they tied him up and were beating him. Adeda was bleeding from mouth and nose. He was taken to hospital and later he died. This whole thing was avoidable but they didn’t listen to me.”

Commissioner’s Denial

The Commissioner, Ashibogwu, has denied ordering any assault on Adeda. He told Vanguard, “I didn’t. Rather, the man even assaulted me, assaulted people in the office.

“I just came out from the church, and they drew my attention that the man came and was threatening their lives, to kill them.

“As we were talking, I saw the man walking down, shouting from the gate, ‘I will kill you today!’ Before I knew what was happening, it was attack on me, physical, direct attack. I never ordered any person to touch him, I never touched him.”

He said police officers who arrived at the scene did not arrest Adeda but advised that he be taken to hospital.

“Police left. And his brother now took him to the hospital where they treated him and discharged him. Then later again at night, his body started becoming somehow, and before I got information this morning that he’s late”, he further claimed.

The sharply different accounts are now before investigators.

What about the transfers?

Behind the confrontation are allegations concerning transfer of teachers within the state’s education system. A former colleague of Adeda, who worked with him before his transfer to Asaba, alleged that disagreements over transfer-related payments contributed to his movement.

According to the colleague , “Adeda was not a trouble maker. He was pushed to his death. Adeda was transferred from Office of Chief Inspector of Education over allegations that he was not remitting funds of transfer rackets to Asaba.”

He alleged Adeda was subsequently brought to Asaba to work under an official with whom he had previously had disagreements.

“What happened that day was Adeda accusing the Directors and top brass of collecting monies in the recent transfer of teachers. This infuriated the Director and Commissioner,” the source alleged.

Teachers also made allegations of payments for preferred postings.

A teacher recently transferred from Ekredjebor, Ughelli North LGA, alleged: “The whole system is rotten. They collect money and transfer people to wherever they want.

“The choice depends on what you pay. I was transferred and paid N50,000 before I was transferred back to where I wanted after two weeks.”

A Principal, Patricia, alleged her inability to pay influenced her posting. “Transfer is to the highest bidder, because I am a widow and don’t have the funds. I was taken to a school in a remote village without WAEC accreditation and less than 200 students”, she said.

Another teacher, Victoria, said: “I didn’t pay the N50,000 transfer fee, so I was transferred to a riverine school in Ewu. This has been the trend over the years, it is sad.”

The allegations have not been independently established and are part of the wider issues requiring investigation.

Police Take Over

By September 30, Delta State Police Command had confirmed Ashibogwu, Ojumah and four others in custody as investigations progressed.

Police spokesman, SP Bright Edafe, said “Ojumah turned herself in at the Command Headquarters Tuesday”

The police investigation is expected to examine eyewitness accounts, video footage and medical records to establish circumstances surrounding Adeda’s death and determine individual responsibility.

The family is also pressing for an autopsy.

Oghenevwogaga Adeda, the deceased’s brother, said: “Arrangement for autopsy is already in place. The IPO on the matter is already asking that we get in contact with a pathologist.”

For the family, the medical findings could be crucial to understanding how injuries sustained during the confrontation related to his eventual death.

Otovwodo Demands Justice

At Otovwodo, Adeda’s home community, grief has turned into public anger. Residents marched with placards reading “Justice for Adeda” and “We are peaceful people, all we want is justice.”

President-General of the community, Prince Elvis Oharisi, said: “The community is grieved, and calling for justice.

“The committee set up by the government, we are not satisfied with it. The community was not represented, the family never represented in that committee. So, that committee, we have no iota of trust in it”, he said.

Youth leader, Umudi Ohwofasa, said: “It’s very, very painful for such a thing to happen to someone. We will continue the protest. I cannot be satisfied as we have not heard anything that will make us satisfied over this issue.”

Women leader, Regina expressed the depth of the community’s grief. “A big man who has reached such height in public service. Someone we believed would help our children is the one they killed like a chicken. He is not a chicken, nor a goat, nor a cow — he is a human being”, she lamented.

The sister-in-law, Julie Adeda, said: “He’s a very quiet person, and he’s the breadwinner of the family. We are looking up to him. I’m not suspecting any person, but the commissioner and the director have a case to answer. Let the law prevail in any angle.”

The state government panel has commenced proceedings, while the police investigation continues.

Governor Sheriff Oborevwori had earlier warned public officials against misconduct:

“I’ve changed my style. This is not Sheriff of 20 years ago. So when you’re in government you must behave well,” the governor said.

“If a Commissioner can be remanded in prison custody, nobody is above the law. Anybody who commits an offence, you want to do thuggery, we will hold you. We don’t play politics with that.”

For the Adeda family, however, the issue is no longer about politics. It is about a man who left home for work and returned injured, before dying hours later.

The competing accounts must now give way to evidence. If an assault is established and found to have contributed to Adeda’s death, those responsible should face the law. If the evidence establishes a different chain of events, that too must be made public.

Likewise, allegations of financial manipulation of transfers must be investigated rather than converted into convictions by public opinion.

For now, Adeda’s final day remains a story of a workplace confrontation, a family mourning and a civil service asking difficult questions about power and accountability.

The police investigation, the autopsy and the government inquiry now have the responsibility of establishing what happened — and where the evidence ultimately leads.

There is the danger of Adeda’s case becoming another political confrontation -one side defending government, another attacking it, and the facts becoming secondary to partisan narratives.

That would be unfortunate. The central issue is not whether one political faction can exploit the tragedy against another faction.

The central issue is accountability. If Adeda was assaulted and the assault contributed to his death, whoever was responsible should face the law. If the evidence establishes a different chain of events, that too should be stated publicly.

The coming days will therefore test more than the police investigation. They will test the Delta State Government’s willingness to allow evidence speak louder than political influence.

They will test the police’s ability to investigate people connected to power without fear or favour. They will test whether organised labour can secure meaningful guarantees for civil servants.

And they will test whether the government understands that public confidence is not created by assurances alone, but by transparent action.

For Adeda’s family, however, this is not an abstract question about governance.

It is about a man who left home for work and died after an incident at the place where he was supposed to serve the public.

The family wants answers. His colleagues want safety. The police say they want the facts. The government says it wants the circumstances established.

Those objectives should not be in conflict. The most important outcome now is not a convenient narrative, a political victory or the protection of anybody’s reputation.

The swollen face in the photograph leading to his death cannot answer all the questions.

And until truth is established, the word “murder” remains an allegation than a settled fact. And the office where a public servant died should remain, above all, a crime scene and a place for evidence—not a battleground for political narratives. (Saturday Vanguard)

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