BENIN CITY: The Ihensekhien family in Edo state are brooding over the violent deaths that had assailed two of its female members in February and May this year. The family fears that the end might not be in sight given the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
A member of the family, Mr Raphael Ihensekhien told our reporter that there is a sinister plan to eliminate some members of the family, particularly the women.
He revealed that one of his siblings, Mary was shot and killed near their family house in Benin City on her way back from work in February this year. He said neither have the police been able to unravel the circumstances surrounding her death nor has the killer been identified and brought to justice.
Mr Raphael added that while the family was yet to get over the grief of their daughter, another female member of the family, Cordilia was kidnapped from her place of work in May this year.
He said,” painfully, after the payment of the ransome demanded by her captors, she was killed and her body found in the forest off the Benin/ Agbor Road”.
He said police initial investigation suggested that her captors were Fulani herdsmen but further investigations linked it to some indigenes who gave information to the kidnappers.
Mr Raphael said virtually every member of the family is now living in fears as no suspect has been arrested in both cases.
“As I speak to you, there is so much tension, anxiety and fears in the family because we are being targeted by some powerful persons in the society”, he said.
He also lamented that police investigations into the shooting, kidnapping and subsequent deaths of his sisters appear scuttled by these powerful and influence persons.
“Given the inability of the police to guarantee the family adequate protection, we have been advised to relocate to abroad where possible or continue to maintain low profile as has been the case in the past few days”, he said without an air of helplessness and despair.
