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Our Child Hasn’t Received Any Treatment -Family Of Toddler Shot By NDLEA Personnel Cries Out
The family of a two-year-old Eromonsele Omhonria, who was shot in the eye by men of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, in Delta State, has decried abandonment, saying the toddler has not received any treatment since the incident occured.
It was gathered that the elder brother of the victim, Ivan, died in the incident by the bullets of the NDLEA officers.
The NDLEA officers were said to be conducting a raid nearby on July 13, 2024 and the children were struck by stray bullets.
Ivan was two-years-old while Eromonsele was one-year-old at the time of the incident.
Speaking when the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions entertained the matter on Tuesday, the parents of the children said they had been abandoned by the agency.
Present at the House were the parents of the children, their lawyer as well as representatives of the NDLEA.
According to the father, Fidelis, the surviving sibling of the unfortunate incident has been abandoned by the agency.
While addressing members of the House Committee, the lawyer of the family, Mathew Edaghese, said whenever the little boy cries blood oozes out from his eye and mixes with the tears.
According to the family, following the incident, the hospital in Delta State referred them to an eye specialist hospital in Lagos, which further referred them to a hospital in the United States.
“In respect of the surviving child with this gunshot to the eye, effort has been made in his private capacity to get this child flown to where he was prescribed to at a hospital in the United States of America by the best medical facility on eye issues in Nigeria, Eye Foundation in Lagos.
“This recommendation was done within the first week of this incident. And they were aware of it. They did nothing about it. And the family had made several attempts to get visa,” the family said.
The family in their petition demanded N2 billion compensation from the NDLEA.
Chairman of the Committee, Mike Etaba, said the surviving child must get immediate treatment, but said the N2 billion demand was not feasible.
Etaba urged the NDLEA to accept the matter be stepped down and settled on terms acceptable to all parties, expressing displeasure that Chairman of the NDLEA, Buba Marwa, did not show up for the hearing in person.
He invited Marwa and the parents of the children to meet with the committee in his office on Thursday, 24th October at 10am to resolve the issue.
Director of Prosecution and Legal Services, NDLEA, Theresa Asuquo, who represented Marwa, agreed to the terms, telling the committee that the matter was before the court and should not be entertained.
She was, however, cautioned against misleading the committee as the matter in court was that of the State vs the erring officers, which does not stop the probe by the House.
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