The wife of the slain Abuja newspaper vendor, Josephine Okereke, has rejected a N500 million demand for compensation being sought by her husband’s family.
The Abuja-based newspaper vendor, Ifeanyi Okereke, was killed, allegedly, by Abdullahi Hassan, a State Security Services (SSS) operative and an aide to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Okereke told journalists that the request for N500 million compensation was unreasonable since Gbajabiamila had promised to take care of her children.
“I was in my house when within 10 minutes my father in-law came from Abia, he went out along with his other son and the next day I heard that my husband’s people are demanding N500 million as compensation,” she said.
“I was shocked and asked how will they be doing that and how will the speaker help the children again with such demand. All I want now is that the person that killed my husband to face justice.”
She said her husband had secured a job with the federal ministry of labour and employment some months ago but was unable to start because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“COVID-19 prevented him from resuming, it was the minister, Dr Chris Ngige, that helped him secured the job, but since COVID-19 prevented him from resuming he went back to vendor so as to make a living,” she said.
But in a letter to Gbajabiamila, Mike Ozekhome, counsel to the family, requested for N500 million compensation.
He said: “This monetary demand can never adequately replace or take the place of their son, husband, brother, and breadwinner’s life. But it will at least mitigate the obvious trauma and hardship the premature demise of their irreplaceable breadwinner has placed on them.”
