Family of sexagenarian who died after falling from Edo Court building pleads for help
This is not the best time for the family of a 65-year-old, Moses Oyomoare, who died on July 23, after falling from the fifth floor of the Edo High Court building, Benin.
The deceased’s children and relations who spoke to Niger Delta Trust lamented that things are no longer the same since the death of their father as he was the bread winner of the family.
Moses from Ugiekhue community in Oredo local government of Edo state was said to have gone to the court with his kinsmen over community land issue when he fell from a lift compartment under rehabilitation in the building.
It was gathered that the deceased went to urinate after they were told the case could not be heard that day and that he was searching for a toilet when he fell from the fifth floor of the building and died.
Speaking with our reporter at the deceased’s compound, a brother to the deceased, Johson Obanor, said their community sent three of them to go to the Edo State High Court 10 to attend a court case over land issue but when they got there, they found out that the Court was not sitting.
“As we were waiting for our lawyer to take a date from the Court clerk, our brother (deceased) stood up and said that he wanted to go and urinate and after waiting for 20 minutes without seeing him we decided to go to where we parked our car thinking he has gone there to wait for us.
“When we could not see him on getting there we began searching him and someone told us that a man had fallen from the lift compartment and died and that we should go and check. Sadly, we met our brother lying down on the floor.
“Someone said he fall from upstairs. They traced the blood and found he was thinking the place was a restroom and in the process fall inside.”
He said when they got there, there was no caution sign indicating a repair work was going and the place was dark.
“He has seven children who are in school. The last child is 10 years old and in primary three and the wife is not working. We are appealing to the government to come to the aid of the children,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the children, Esewi Oyomoare, said they are at a crossroads because he was everything to them and they have nobody to take care of them.
“We miss our father greatly because as a father, he was also like a mother to us. We are seven children and all of us are in school.”
“We received the news with shock because we told him to come back soon, as he was leaving the house, only to be told that he is dead.
“We were surprised when they told us that he fell from the lift compartment under rehabilitation because he can read and write so we believe that there was no caution sign indicating the place was no go area
“As it is now our education will suffer because he was the one responsible for our education and we don’t even know where we stand now as to will pay our fee.
“We are calling on the state government to come to our aid because we are totally at loss as we don’t have anybody to take care of us,’’ he said.