THE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has stated that it would cost N35 million to airlift the body of Nigerian medical student Chibuikem Emmanuel, who was murdered in the Philippines, back to Nigeria.
According to a post on the social media platform X by one Michael Ojuola, who said that Emmanuel was his friend, revealed that Emmanuel was murdered in the Philippines by several Chinese people on October 23, 2023.
According to Ojuola’s post on X, the victim was “brutally murdered” by a bunch of Chinese.
“They tied his hands up, covered and tied his mouth and beat him blue-black until he gave up the ghost,” he wrote.
Ambassador Enya Francis, Director Consular, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated yesterday that the ministry was in close contact with the Embassy in the Philippines and was aware of the issue.
According to a statement by the spokesperson for Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, Francis spoke during an investigative hearing on the matter by the Senate.
“Ikem’s corpse is yet to be buried as it will cost between N31m and N35m to repatriate and bury the corpse in Nigeria as against N10m to N15m to cremate it in the Philippines,” Francis was quoted to have said.
He stated that the expense of keeping the corpse at the funeral home was N30,000 each day, emphasizing the need to accelerate the investigation and take immediate action.
Emmanuel’s elder sister, Blessing Essien, noted that he was the family’s only son and that it would be an honor to transport the remains back to Nigeria for burial in accordance with Igbo tradition.
As a result, she petitioned the Federal Government through Senate committees to aid the family in repatriating the remains to Nigeria for a proper burial.
NiDCOM Chairman Abike Dabiri-Erewa notified the Senate Joint Committees on Diaspora and Inter-Governmental Affairs and Foreign Affairs that Emmanuel’s employer in the Philippines, along with five others, had been charged with murder.
Dabiri-Erewa told the Senator Victor Umeh-led committee that the Nigerian embassy had contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs in the Philippines, and that the case had also been reported to the Inspector General of the Philippines National Police.
She noted further that the police team on the case had finished gathering evidence and had handed the case to the Mandaue City Prosecuting Department, which had reviewed it and decided on murder charges.
“They have filed the case and issued a warrant for the arrest of the boy’s employee and five other suspects. They were charged with murder, human trafficking and operation of illegal business in the Philippines,” she said.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives called on the Federal Government yesterday to conduct an urgent investigation into Emmanuel’s death in order to determine the exact circumstances of his death.
The resolution followed the passage of a motion of urgent public interest introduced by Mudashiru Lukman, the congressman for Ayedire/Iwo/Ola-Oluwa Federal Constituency in Osun State.
According to Lukman, the deceased went to collect money due to him by his Chinese girlfriend, and after a little squabble, he was taken away by men in a van, only to be returned unresponsive.
Following the approval of the motion, the House directed that the Foreign Affairs and Human Rights Committees, as well as the Diaspora Committee, conduct an investigation into the matter.
