Senior Advocate of
Nigeria and human rights lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, has been abducted by suspected
kidnappers in Edo state, in mid-western Nigeria.
Three other persons
who were travelling in a motorcade with Ozekhome were also taken along.
It was reliably
gathered that the human rights lawyer and activist who was on his way to his
home in Auchi, the administrative headquarters of Etsako West local government
area of Edo state, was abducted at gun point about 3.30 pm on Friday in Ehor,
Uhunmwode local government area.
Four police officers,
including an assistant superintendent of police and an inspector, were killed
in their bid to rescue the kidnap victims. The kidnappers laid ambush for their
vehicle and shot at them.
Ozekhome’s abduction
was the third kidnapping in this area in less than two weeks, aside from other
cases of kidnapping that have rocked the state in the past few weeks. A medical
doctor was kidnapped last week in Irrua as he was returning home. And Walter
Aiwekhue, a deputy chairman of Uhumwunde local council was also kidnapped.
However, he managed to do a Houdini act and escape from his abductors.
Edo state Police
Command spokesman, ASP Moses Eguavoen, confirmed the story to journalists in
Benin.
As at the time of
filing this report, it could not be confirmed if the kidnappers have contacted
the families of the victims.
Ozekohome’s kidnap was
a great irony. All his adult life, since he finished his law degree in 1980 at
the old University of Ife, Ozekhome had devoted a chunk of his career,
defending the masses, those he would call, ‘the Frantz Fanon’s wretched of the
earth’.
It is an irony indeed,
that a criminal gang has made him a target.
He was born on 15
October, 1957 in the small town of Iviukwe, not far from the Niger River town
of Agenebode, in Etsako local council area of Edo state.
Mike went to St Mary
Catholic Primary school(1964-1969) in Ivuikwe and secondary at St. Peter’s
College in Agenebode(1970-1974). After this, he came to Baptist Academy in
Lagos in 1975 for his A’Level. But he did not stay long as he got admission,
first of all to study English at Ife, but a year after, he began his law degree
programme.
He graduated in 1980
and after an LLM, Ozekhome first of all learnt from the advocates of the
masses, Chief Kanmi Isola Osobu and Chief Gani Fawehinmi, before he set up his
own chambers in 1986.
Twenty two years ago,
he launched the Mike Ozekhome Foundation to cater for the ‘downtrodden’ in
Nigeria.
Now, the
‘downtrodden’ has captured a man who has been fighting for them.
Tags
Society