Tragedy struck in Edo State when a truck reportedly crushed a Nigerian Army soldier to death just after he helped successfully rescue hostages kidnapped by gunmen in Okpella, located within the Etsako East Local Government Area.
The Chairman of Etsako East Local Government Council, Sunny Ekpeson, confirmed the incident during an interview with journalists on Independent Television Radio in Benin City on Tuesday.
According to Ekpeson, the soldier was part of a joint team of over 20 security operatives and local vigilantes who had mounted motorcycles to comb the bushes around Okpella following a distress call.
While the Council boss did not reveal the identity of the soldier due to the safety concerns of his grieving family, he explained that the victim died on the spot along the expressway on their way back from the successful rescue operation.
”We got a distress call from one of our citizens who was kidnapped by gunmen at Okpella. Consequently, the gallant soldiers of the Army and the vigilantes in Okpella went into the bush,” Ekpeson recounted.
”The operation was successful, and the people that were kidnapped were rescued. But on their way back on the expressway, a trailer crushed an army officer and he died immediately.”
Following the tragedy, the local government delegation paid a condolence visit to the deceased soldier’s family. To support the bereaved family, the council announced a total donation of N20 million.
Breaking down the disbursement, Ekpeson stated that N10 million was given directly to the widow to invest in her business, while N5 million was placed into dedicated bank accounts for each of the soldier’s two children.
”The widow of the military officer has two children. We gave 20 million Naira in total. The widow got N10 million to invest in her business, and we also deposited N5 million each to open an account for each of the children,”
Ekpeson said. “The money will remain in the children’s accounts until they come of age to help secure their future and education.”
