Family of slain Nigerian student in Cyprus cries out for justice

The family of a Nigerian student, who was killed in the North Cyprus city of Nicosia, has cried out to the Federal Government and relevant authorities for intervention.

Gabriel Soriwei, 20, a first year student of Electrical/Electronic/Engineering at the Cyprus International University, Nicosia, was allegedly knocked down by a female driver on July 13.

The impact of the accident caused Mr. Soriwei to fall into a coma; he eventually died on September 7, his family said.

Five days later, the Cyprus International University authorities flew his remains back to Nigeria via the same Turkish Airline with which he travelled to Cyprus in February.

“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,” the family said in a statement signed by Patrick Soriwei, the deceased’s father.

“First, neither the Cyprus International University nor the family of the woman who drove the car that killed Gabriel has found it necessary to at least write to the family to condole with us on the death of this young man who until his death was contributing to the economy of Cyprus by paying school fees as a foreign student,” Mr. Soriwei said.

“It is also unjust that the authorities of Cyprus are hiding the identity of the woman who killed our child from the family. The police authorities in Cyprus insisted that it was the practice in their country to ensure that such a person was shielded from the family of the victim.”

Mr. Soriwei stated that, on his visit to Cyprus, the Cypriot police had informed him that the Turkish woman lost control of the vehicle which knocked down Gabriel.

“It was however 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 hosts about 700 Nigerian students, has shown a lack of interest in the issue. Several entreaties made by the family to the school authorities to send the belongings of the late Gabriel to Nigeria have been ignored.”

The deceased’s family further stated that they had notified the Nigerian Embassy in Cyprus but the Mission had not relayed a favourable response back to them.

“The best the Nigerian Mission in Ankara has done is 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,” Mr. Soriwei lamented.

“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.”

The Soriwei family also implored the federal government and well meaning Nigerians to come to their aid as they search for justice over the death of their child.“The life of a Nigerian child should be treated more decently than that of a stray animal. The situation doesn’t seem to be different in this case,” the family said.

Read the bereaved family’s full letter below.

PRESS STATEMENT

Family of murdered Nigerian Student in Cyprus cry out for Justice

The family of a Nigerian student, Mr. Gabriel Soriwei, who was killed in the North Cyprus city of Nicosia, has cried out to the Federal Government, relevant authorities and indeed all well meaning Nigerians for intervention.

Gabriel Soriwei, (20), was a first year student of Electrical/Electronic/Engineering at the Cyprus International University, Nicosia, in the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus when he was knocked down by a female driver on July 13, 2013.

As a result of the impact of the accident, Gabriel fell into a coma and eventually died on September, 7 2013. On September 12, the authorities of the Cyprus International University flew his remains via the same Turkish Airline he flew in February to us as cargo for us to clear.

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.

First, neither the Cyprus International University nor the family of the woman who drove the car that killed Gabriel has found it necessary to at least write to the family to condole with us on the death of this young man who until his death was contributing to the economy of Cyprus by paying school fees as a foreign student.

It is also unjust that the authorities of Cyprus are hiding the identity of the woman who killed our child from the family. The police authorities in Cyprus insisted that it was the practice in their country to ensure that such a person was shielded from the family of the victim.

The police told the father of the deceased, Mr. Patrick Soriwei, during a visit to Nicosia that the Turkish woman lost control of the vehicle which knocked down Gabriel. It was however 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 issue. 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 screaming demand to defend of 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.

While the Soriwei family intends to pursue this matter to the best of our abilities, we urge the Federal Government and all Nigerians of good conscience to come our aid in the search for justice over the killing of this innocent Nigerian child.

The life of a Nigerian child should be treated more decently than that of a stray animal. The situation doesn’t seem to be different in this case.

Signed

Mr. Patrick Soriwei

Father of the deceased