Governor Monday Okpebholo, through the Edo State Migration Agency, has rescued one Godstime Uwoghiren, who was allegedly poisoned in Burkina Faso.
Uwoghiren was said to have been poisoned in Burkina Faso by his close friends and has been battling with ill health.
Governor Okpebholo facilitated his rescue and return to Nigeria after the Nigerian Embassy reported the case.
The agency’s director-general, Lucky Agazumah, said information about Godstime’s ordeal in Burkina Faso was received four months ago and Governor Okpebholo acted.
Agazumah said the investigation showed Godstime was poisoned by his friends, who got jealous because he bought a motorcycle.
He said Okpebholo intervened to prevent the victim from dying, adding that beyond building infrastructure, the governor is concerned with the welfare of Edo citizens regardless of where they are based.
Agazumah cautioned Edo residents to avoid being lured to slavery during the Yuletide season by Nigerians living fake lives abroad.
He said, “Thank Governor Monday Okpebholo, who has proved to the world about humanity. They reached out to Mr. Governor that Mr Godstime is paralysed and that he was allegedly poisoned because he bought a motorcycle.
“His friends were jealous and they poisoned him. One of his sisters tried to sabotage our efforts for the past four months in bringing him back, but thank God we ensured his return to Edo state.
“The family earlier rejected our effort to rescue him. We were told his parents were angry that he should have sent them money for farm work. If not that Governor Okpebholo swung into action, this young man would have died and nobody would have known about it,” he said.
The mother of Godstime, Susan, said his son had learnt to drive drunk before he travelled to Burkina Faso.
“One day, my son called to say that he met a friend of his in Benin that he wanted to travel to Burkina Faso. We were worried that all the efforts to discourage him fell on deaf ears. He only called when he arrived in Burkina Faso.
“We never heard from him again until a few months ago, when we heard that he was poisoned and left for dead,” she said.
The elated mother thanked the governor and the migration Agency for bringing his son. He arrived in a wheelchair at the Benin Airport and was immediately conveyed in an ambulance to the hospital for medical attention.
