A contract employee with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), identified as Asher Christopher, tragically died on Tuesday after reportedly falling from a five-storey building while on duty.
The 23-year-old was working at the time of the incident. However, the exact details surrounding his death remain unclear. Christopher’s family is now calling for a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances leading to his fall.
Christopher’s father, Christopher Dan, expressed his distress over the lack of information and access to his son’s body.
Dan recounted being informed by one of his sons about the incident around 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday.
His words : “On Tuesday about 4:15 p.m., one of my sons called me that a colleague of Asher Christopher called him that I should come to Old GRA Police that the Police needed me, so I asked what happened, my son said he doesn’t know.
“When I got there, I asked where is Asher, they searched, they did not see my son’s name on the list at the Police station. I had to ask my son to call Asher’s colleague again, he now called the person, if it was old GRA Police station or not.
“The person said I should come to the Surveillance Office, upstairs at Old GRA Police station. I waited that Tuesday till 7p.m., one of the Policewomen told me to come back on Wednesday. On Wednesday, the Police took I and my wife with other people to the company, NNPC Upstream and Down Stream, at Moscow Road.
“So, I asked them to show me where the boy fell from. They said nobody really know if he fell from the 2, 3 4, 5, 6, 7 or the last floor.
“I asked them how the boy look like, they said he is with empty body. So, I asked them to show me the place. They went to show me the place. I have pictures of the place they claim he fell. I looked at the place, there is no sign that somebody fell from there.”
Grace Iringe-Koko, the Public Relations Officer of the state police command, confirmed the incident and stated that an investigation is underway at the Old GRA Police Division.
Additionally, Mr. Prince Wiro, National Coordinator of the Centre for Basic Rights Protection and Accountability Campaign, has called for a thorough probe into the incident. Wiro questioned why the matter was not reported to the Central Police Station (CPS), which handles the jurisdiction where the incident occurred.
