Septuagenarian collapses over police visitations to arrest Obaseki’s ex-aide

BENIN CITY – A 79 years old former Commissioner for Education in old Bendel State, Dr. Nosa Omoregie is currently in a sick state after he was said to have collapsed as a result of police incessant visits to his No 1 F.E. Aiguekhan street off Sapele Road in Benin City claiming to be looking for a former spokesman of Governor Godwin Obaseki, John Mayaki for alleged defamatory write-ups. Omoregie was Commissioner for Education during the administration of late Professor Ambrose Alli.
The wife of Omoregie, Julie said the health of her husband has deteriorated over continuous visits of policemen who she said claim that they were hiding Mayaki in the house.

She said: “They came and pasted an invitation letter on our gate. They said we should produce one John Mayaki and we told them the man was no longer here because he has sold the property to us. But they insisted that we are hiding him in the house. Then they said they wanted to search our house and I asked where is the warrant paper because it is difficult to know if they are true police so I asked for their warrant paper.

“But before I returned to the house, my hypertensive husband had already collapsed and I have to rush him to the hospital. His blood pressure had shot up and doctors have to battle to bring it down,” she said.

Mrs. Omoregie said she would hold the police responsible if anything should happen to her husband.

A notice dropped by the police showed that Mayaki has been invited for May 27th over a case of “defamatory publications/conduct likely to cause a breach of peace”.

A group, Moses Oisakhede Leadership Foundation in a statement through its Executive Secretary, Kennedy Ifeh condemned the action saying it was a ploy by the state government to arrest Mayaki and put him out of circulation because he is critical about the Obaseki administration.

Edo State Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of CID, Yusuf Usman, explained‎ that “There was a petition from Governor Godwin Obaseki personally signed by him and another one from his lawyer since January 10 this year. It was based on that petition that we invited Mayaki. It was a petition bordering on defamation and libel,” he said.

Vanguardngr.com