BY EMEKA MAMAH
LAGOS—As the family of Navy Captain Ugochukwu Chinwe Ezeorah (rtd.), from Aku, Igboetiti Local Government of Enugu who was killed in the bomb blast which occurred at the Police Force Headquarters, Abuja on June 16, 2011 has petitioned President Goodluck Jonathan over what they described as ‘’the apparent silence of the Police authorities in  acknowledging the death of their son in the bomb blast.

“Your Excellency, the entire people of Aku wish to bring to your notice the  demise of our son Navy Captain Ugochukwu Ezeorah who was brutally murdered at the scene of the suicide bombing that rocked the Police Force Headquarters Abuja on June 16, 2011 by the notorious and pernicious sect Boko Haram.

‘’Captain Ezeorah served his motherland for over 30 years as a very conscientious, dedicated and diligent naval Officer,’’ they said.

In the letter signed by Sir Gabriel Ugwuozor, on behalf of Aku community, the people urged ‘’the President to smoke out the members of Boko Haram and their sponsors to face the law as well as for government to assist the children of the deceased whose education has been disrupted or completely aborted’’.

They also requested that ‘’the late Captain Ezeorah and other victims of the violence be given national recognition.

Adding that, ‘an act of remembrance inspires patriotism and reassures the relatives of the victims that their loved one did not die in vain’’.

Ezeorah’s remains were released to the family and the naval authorities in Abuja following the identification of his body which was deposited at the Asokoro District Hospital by the National Emergency management Agency, NEMA, immediately after the blast. An autopsy report has been issued detailing the cause of his death.

A seasoned engineer and former deputy director of marine engineering at the Naval Headquarters, Abuja the late Captain Ugochukwu Ezeorah, was tragically killed by the blast while visiting a police friend of his at the Police Force Headquarters on the fateful day.

He had just been led out of the headquarters building and entered his car ready to drive away when the blast set off, killing him and damaging his car. Though his burnt car was identified only by its number plate and a copy of a Christian magazine, The Mirror, which he had with him, it took days before his body was traced to the morgue of Asokoro District Hospital.

Ezeorah enlisted into the Navy as an Officer Cadet of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) Regular 27 in 1980 and was commissioned sub-lieutenant while at the Naval College of Engineering in India. Abuja blast: Family petitions Jonathan over rtd Navy Captain’s death