The management and employees of Vincent Petroleum Limited, located on Benin/Agbor Road in Benin City, Edo State, have called on the Nigeria Police Force and other authorities to ensure accountability in the brutal murder of their co-worker, Mr Emmanuel Ugochukwu Ezeoke.
Ezeoke who served as the manager of the filling station was killed in the filling station by armed robbers in the early hours of Monday, September 11th, 2023.
A statement released by the organisation’s director, Egwu Kenneth, yesterday in Abuja urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and governor of Edo State Godwin Obaseki, and relevant security agencies to launch a comprehensive investigation into the recent heinous killing.
The organisation stressed the importance of bringing the perpetrators to justice to serve as a deterrent to potential criminals.
It stated that approximately seven million naira was also stolen from the establishment.
According to the statement, the general manager of Chief Vincent Petroleum Limited, Mr Frank Ndubuisi Aliogo, said the filling station had closed its operations around 11:25 pm on the preceding Sunday, adding that due to the proximity of their living quarters to the workplace, the staff on duty were immediately alerted when criminals infiltrated the premises.
It said the assailants cunningly disabled the generator set, which typically provided power throughout the night in the absence of public supply and when Ezeoke went to investigate the power outage, he was ambushed.
The statement said his hands and legs were bound, and the robbers seized the office key, making off with nearly seven million naira.
It noted that a witness said they used the generator handle to inflict fatal injuries on Ezeoke before fleeing the scene.
Disturbingly, it said that the two police officers responsible for the establishment’s security were purportedly “asleep” during these harrowing events.
It added that the incident has been reported to the police, and the commissioner of police has ordered the case’s transfer to the state command.
