Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The mother of Oghenemine Ogidi, the 28‑year‑old musician shot dead by a police officer in Effurun, Delta State, has alleged that this tragedy marks the second time she has lost a son in circumstances involving the Nigeria Police Force. In a tearful account shared during a condolence visit by human rights activist Harrison Gwamnishu, the grieving mother, whose name has been withheld for security reasons, said her first son was arrested at his home in 2022 and later killed while in police custody. Authorities claimed that he died during an exchange of gunfire, but that official explanation has been contested by the family and by civil society groups. “We met with Oghenemine’s mother, and her story is heartbreaking,” Gwamnishu wrote in a widely shared social media post. “She revealed that both of her sons were killed by the police. The first was arrested from his home in 2022 and later killed. The police claimed he died in an exchange of gunfire but that version of events has been questioned. Now, Oghenemine Ogidi has become the second son she has lost under similar circumstances. No mother should have to endure this kind of pain twice”.
The killing of Oghenemine Ogidi took place in broad daylight on 26 April 2026, near a motor park in Effurun. A viral video shows the victim, with his hands tied behind his back, pleading with officers in civilian clothes. Despite his appeals, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Nuhu Usman shot him twice, including a final shot to the head at close range. The Delta State Police Command initially claimed that Ogidi had been found with a Beretta pistol and ammunition, but the footage appears to contradict that assertion, showing an unarmed man who was already restrained and offering no resistance.
The mother’s disclosure adds a devastating temporal dimension to the tragedy. She recounted to Gwamnishu that her first son was arrested at his home in 2022 and never returned. The police report at the time claimed that he was killed during an “exchange of fire” with officers. However, the family’s account suggests that the young man was taken into custody and subsequently died while in police hands without any formal trial or independent inquiry. “My two children were killed by the police,“ she said emotionally. ”They first took my son in 2022, and now they have taken another one from me again. How do I survive this?”. No official documentation or investigation has ever been released to vindicate the 2022 incident, and calls for a probe have gone unanswered over the intervening years.
The immediate killing of Oghenemine Ogidi sparked nationwide outrage and led to disciplinary action against the officers involved. The Inspector‑General of Police, Olatunji Disu, ordered an expedited review, which resulted in the dismissal of ASP Nuhu Usman and five other officers connected to the scene. Their case has been forwarded to the Police Service Commission for ratification and to the judiciary for criminal prosecution. Despite these internal measures, the mother’s revelation has continued to fuel public anger and renewed demands for systemic transparency. Activists have pointed out that the 2022 case remains uninvestigated and that the official version of the first son’s death has never been independently verified. Human rights groups such as Amnesty International and the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) have called for a full judicial inquiry into both incidents and for the prosecution of any officer implicated in cover‑ups.
The Delta State Police Command has confirmed that ASP Usman and the other officers have been detained, but it has not issued any comment on the mother’s allegations concerning the 2022 death. Gwamnishu, who has been documenting cases of police brutality and extrajudicial killings in the region, has urged the National Human Rights Commission and the National Assembly to compel the police to release records relating to the first incident. “This is not an isolated tragedy,” Gwamnishu wrote. “It is a pattern. The same system that failed to investigate the first death now says it has disciplined the officers responsible for the second. But where is the accountability for the first?”.
The mother’s account has also galvanized public protests. On 30 April 2026, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the Ekpan Area Command, carrying placards demanding the prosecution of all officers involved and a full investigation into the 2022 death. Chants of “Justice for Two Sons” and “End Police Brutality” filled the air as the crowd called for the disbandment of the Effurun unit. The protest was peaceful, but it underscored the depth of public distrust in law enforcement institutions that appear to recycle officers involved in deadly incidents.
As the family prepares to bury Oghenemine Ogidi, they are also revisiting the unresolved grief of the 2022 loss. The mother’s plea – “How do I survive this?” – has become a refrain for a community that has watched the same institution take two sons from the same household. Whether the Police Service Commission will ratify the dismissals and whether the courts will secure a conviction remains to be seen. But for a mother who has already endured the worst twice over, the answers cannot come quickly enough.
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