By Anayo Okoli

Umuahia-Tears flowed freely, yesterday, at Okpara Auditorium, Government House, Umuahia, Abia State, as the remains of Mr. Michael Obinna Okpokiri, one of the National Youths Service Corps, NYSC, members killed in Bauchi in the wake of the post-election riot, were brought there for people to pay their last respect.

Okpokiri, 27, a B.Sc degree holder in Estate/Environmental Management from Abia State University, Uturu, and a Masters Degree from the United Kingdom, was later buried in his Emede Ibeku village, Umuahia, amidst wailings.

Speaking during the burial ceremony, Governor Theodore Orji noted that Okpokiri and other victims were killed while working  for the unity and peace of the country, promising that their death would not be in vain.

Orji said: “For the love of his country, he quickly chose to return home to serve in the NYSC and was posted to Bauchi.

“It was a monumental tragedy; he was on duty when he met the rioters that killed him. They were in Bauchi to serve the country because they believed in the unity of Nigeria.”

In his tribute, the Director General of NYSC, Brig.-Gen. M. I. Tsiga, said: ”Here lies a true and great hero, a hero of democracy of immeasurable proportion gripped by the cold hands of death and wasted while serving to bring real democracy.”

Insisting that their death would not be in vain, Tsiga said: “I, therefore, urge relevant authorities to fish out the masterminds of this heinous acts.”