THE National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has demanded the prosecution of two Ukrainians alleged to have killed Gbolade Ibukun Ejemai, a 30-year-old Nigerian who was, before his murder, a medical student at Kharkiv International Medical University, Ukraine.
Expressing its grief via a statement published on its official twitter handle on Wednesday, NANS called the Ukrainian police to immediately apprehend and prosecute Victoria Popravko and her father, who had reportedly murdered Gbolade. This it said would ensure justice.
“Despite arresting her at murder scene after collaborating with her father to kill Gbolade Ibukun Ejemai, the investigating authorities in Ukraine have released Ms.Victoria Popravko to return home,” lamented NANS.
NANS said the Ukrainian embassy owed Nigerians explanations about the “notorious killing and assurance of the safety of other Nigerians schooling or residing in Ukraine”.
Gbolade who was in his final year had been invited by Victoria, a 36-year-old Ukrainian mother of two, to her house to have a discussion. Having lived in Ukraine for 10 years, the deceased had developed an acquaintance with Victoria. Unknowingly to Gbolade that day, the two Popvrakos had planned of killing him.
Gbolade’s wife, Luganska Victoria who is a Ukrainian, recounted that she had received a distress message from him where he demanded her to call the police.
“Traktorostroitelei 95, 188 apartment, call police! that there is a conflict,” the message read.
Before she could get there, Luganska said she met an ambulance conveying him to a hospital. He had initially slipped into a coma but after five days of the incident, he gave up the ghost. He died on August 14 from complications as a result of the injuries sustained.
Meanwhile, Victoria was initially apprehended on the day of the incident but was granted bail after 24 hours, while the father was also walking as a free man.
The Nigerian Embassy in Ukraine is already involved in the matter. On Monday, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission announced that the Ukranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Police Department in Kharkiv had been petitioned.
She said the petition demanded a full and thorough investigation into the circumstance surrounding his demise, with a view to ensuring that justice is carried out.
NANS called for the safety of Nigerian students outside the country as the deaths of Nigerians in the diaspora through alleged attacks keeps growing.
According to available data, about 118 Nigerians were killed in South Africa as of July 20.
On Wednesday, Abike Dabiri also said she was in China to ask the authority in investigating the death of Joseph Nwajueze. The Nigerian Pastor in China was reported to have died at Guangzhou Guandong Province when he was being chased by the Police.
The 34-year-old Thomas Ewanishia who was a PhD student of Management at the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology in Malaysia was also a victim of an unknown death in the foreign land. He had been arrested on July 4, 2019, but died five days later.
“Even with a valid visa, they took him away and locked him up and the immigration didn’t inform the school until he died in their custody,” His wife, Blessing had said.
On July 8, Obasanjo Adeola Owoyale, a 33-year-old Nigerian doctoral student of architecture at Cyprus International University, was found in the boot of his car dead and oozing out bad smells.
Recently, Elizabeth Ndubuisi, deputy director-general of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) was found dead in a hotel room in South Africa when she was there for an official conference.