By Tina Amanda
Some members of the Akwa Ibom community staged a protest on Friday 23 August, 2024, in response to the death of 23-year-old Asher Christopher Dan.
Asher died under unclear circumstances inside the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) premises on Moscow Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Tuesday, August 20, 2024.
The protesters carried placards with inscriptions such as “We want an explanation on Asher’s death” and “Who killed Asher?” They first marched to the gate of the Rivers State Police Command headquarters at Moscow Road, where family representatives and community leaders were invited for a meeting with senior police officers.
According to reports, after meeting with police authorities, the protesters were informed that the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID).
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The group then proceeded to the NNPC headquarters, where they sealed the gates with native palm fronds and placed a picture of the deceased at the entrance before continuing to the SCIID. Despite the community’s calls for answers, no officials from NNPC came out to address the protesters.
King Albert, the coordinator for the Akwa Ibom community in Rivers State, in an interview with our Correspondent during the protest, expressed sadness and displeasure at the sudden death of Asher.
“Our boy, Asher Dan Christopher, came to work on the 20th of this month. We later received information that an incident had occurred at around 10 a.m., but it wasn’t until 4: p.m. that we learned he had fallen from a story building and died.”
“But the same people are telling us that they were not present when the incident happened, we saw the clothes of this young man on the fourth 4th floor while they are telling us that he fell from the 8th floor.
“Now these people in question up till date seize the corpse of the young man, refusing the family and the entire community of Akwa/Ibom people to see the corpse of this young man.
“So we are calling on the Commissioner of Police, the Rivers State Government, and all respected individuals of this state to come into this matter because it is a matter of Akwa/Ibom state and Rivers state.
“And is very important because the Akwa/Ibom State Government is aware of this and they will definitely come into this matter.
“We need justice, we need an autopsy, we need to see the corpse of this young man because they are telling us they will not allow us access to the corpse of this young man for fourteen days so that they we have access to do what they want to do.
“We need justice for Asher Christopher Dan”.
The circumstances surrounding Asher’s death remain unclear, and the community continues to demand answers and a thorough investigation.
On Thursday 22 August, 2024, the father of Christopher Dan had told Journalists in an interview that he was yet to see the corpse of his son.
The spokesperson for the Rivers State, Superintendent of Police(SP) Grace Iringe Koko had earlier confirmed the incident while adding that the investigation is ongoing.
