The family of 23-year-old Asher Christopher is calling for a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company office building on Moscow Road, Port Harcourt, on Tuesday, August 20, 2024.
According to the PUNCH, Asher’s father, Dan Christopher, expressed shock and frustration that he has yet to see his son’s body.
Asher, a cleaner and casual worker at NNPC, reportedly died under unclear circumstances.
It was reported that Dan Christopher recounted receiving a call from his younger son around 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday.
The caller, a colleague of Asher’s, asked the family to come to the Old GRA Police Station without providing details.
“When I arrived at the police station, they had no record of my son’s name. After some back-and-forth, I was told to visit the surveillance office upstairs. I waited until 7 p.m., and a policewoman told me to return the next day,” he said.
On Wednesday, police informed him that his son was dead. Dan Christopher and his wife were taken to the NNPC office where Asher had worked. However, they were given conflicting information about where Asher may have fallen from, with no clear evidence that anyone had fallen at all.
“The spot where they claimed he fell looked suspicious, as if something had broken a pipe there. When I asked for his clothes, they initially said they hadn’t seen them, but later I found his slippers and clothes on the first floor. I demanded to see my son’s body, but the police took us to the mortuary and didn’t allow me to confirm if the body was really my son’s,” Christopher added.
Distraught and seeking answers, Dan Christopher is demanding justice and access to his son’s body, questioning why he has not been allowed to see it even 24 hours after the incident. He also criticized the NNPC for taking his son to the mortuary without informing the family.
The spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the incident and stated that an investigation is underway to determine the circumstances surrounding Asher’s death.
Meanwhile, the Centre for Basic Rights Protection and Accountability Campaign, a rights group, has called for a thorough investigation into the incident.
The group’s National Coordinator, Prince Wiro, questioned why the matter was not reported to the Central Police Station, which has jurisdiction over the area, and urged the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, to transfer the case file to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for a more detailed investigation.
“We have met with the parents of the deceased and demand a thorough investigation into what led to the young man’s death,” Wiro said.
“We are concerned that the incident was reported to a surveillance unit within the Old GRA Police Station, which may not be under the Rivers State Police Command. We call on the Rivers State Police Commissioner to intervene and ensure a proper investigation.”
