Family of Nigerian student killed in Cyprus cries for justice

Family members of a Nigerian student killed
in Nicosia, Cyprus by a woman driver have
pleaded with the Federal Government and
the security agencies for intervention.
The family said the victim, 20-year-old
Gabriel Soriwei, a first year student of
Electrical/Electronic Engineering at the
International University, Nicosia, was
knocked down on July 13.
Thereafter, he went into a coma for close
to two months before he eventually died
on September 7. On September 12, the
authorities of the university flew his
remains via Turkish Airlines as “cargo” to
his family in Nigeria.
The deceased’s father, Mr. Patrick Soriwei
was forced to travel to Cyprus for enquiries
on the death of his son where the Cyprus
police told him that the woman driver lost
control of the car, knocking Gabriel down in
the process.
The Soriwei family is miffed by the fact that
neither the authorities at the Cyprus
International University nor the family of
the woman driver deemed it necessary to
send a condolence message.
The family said it’s more painful because
the authorities of the university and the
country’s police were hiding the identity of
the woman from them.
The Cyprus police were said to have
insisted that the practice in their country
does not allow them to reveal the identity
of such killer drivers to families and
relations of their victims.
A statement by the family, a copy of which
was made available to our correspondent
on Monday said:
“While the family has accepted the reality of
the painful loss of our child, his death has
raised some issues about the value placed
on the life of the Nigerian outside the
shores of this country.
“It was reliably gathered that the woman
was drunk even though we have no proof
of it. The police said that the woman was
detained for three days and released.
“Painfully, our investigations revealed that
the university, which was said to be
pursuing the case and which is host to
about 700 Nigerian students, has shown
lack of interest in the case.
“Also, several entreaties made by the family
to the school authorities to send the
belongings of the late Gabriel to Nigeria
have been ignored.
“We have informed the Nigerian Embassy in
Cyprus and the mission there does not
seem to see this demand to defend the
rights of Nigerians in a foreign country as a
priority.
“The best the Nigerian Mission in Ankara
has done was to send one Uche to the
university to find out the cause of the
death. The Mission has not rendered the
necessary assistance in getting the police to
write a report on his death. This delay in
writing this report, we believe, is inspired
by a plot to subvert the process of justice
in this matter.
“Consequently, we have written to the
President and Commander-in-Chief of the
Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, the leadership of the National
Assembly, with copies of the letter to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Turkish
Embassy in Nigeria, and others.”