Family Still Waiting for Justice Three Years After NDLEA Shooting Tragedy

(The two victims. Photo by Vanguard News)

For the past three years, the family of Fidelis Omhonria, from Ubiaja in Esan South-East Local Government Area, Edo State, but based in Asaba, Delta State, has been trapped in a nightmare that began on July 13, 2023.

On that fateful day, their lives were shattered when personnel of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), on an undisclosed operation around Okpanam Road in Asaba, Delta State, opened fire, hitting their two young sons.

Onose Ivan Omhonria, just two years old, died hours later, while his brother, Eromonsele, barely one year old at the time, survived but was shot in the eye.

Today, three years later, the family’s agony has been compounded by what they describe as a lukewarm response from the authorities.

While the Senate, through its Committee on Ethics, Privileges, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions, has recommended a N200 million compensation and mandated the NDLEA to cover all of Eromonsele’s medical treatment, the family says it remains left out in the cold.

Their lawyer, Matthew Edaghese, had petitioned the National Assembly over the incident after the NDLEA could not justify the sh00ting, and the Senate, acting on a petition from Senator Ned Nwoko, had recommended an appeal to President Bola Tinubu for approval.

Sadly, three years on, the family continues to accumulate medical bills for Eromonsele, now four years old, while the agency’s lukewarm attitude persists.

The distraught father, Fidelis Omhonria, told a correspondent that Eromonsele cannot see with the eye where the bullet struck him, though he still holds onto hope that with proper medical care, his son might regain his sight.

He expressed deep disappointment that the authorities have done nothing to ease their suffering, noting that July 13, 2026, marked exactly three years since the NDLEA k!lled their two-year-old son, Onose Ivan Omhonria, and left their second son, Eromonsele, badly injured in the eye, affecting his vision.

He described the family’s journey as extremely painful, explaining that since that day they have carried the pain of losing one child while fighting to save the other, with the emotional, physical and financial toll being overwhelming.

He lamented that for three years they had continued to hope the government would do the needful, yet they remain without the help that could restore their son’s sight, stressing that despite the case going back and forth before the National Assembly for three years, justice has still not been served and no funds have been released for Eromonsele’s surgeries and treatment.

The family’s initial petition gave a vivid account of the incident, though the reason for the shooting remains unjustified.

It stated that Mr Omhonria confronted the heavily armed NDLEA operatives, who arrived in a convoy of three vehicles a Hilux van, a Sienna, and a Honda and were still firing sporadically near his wife’s shop.

When he demanded an explanation, one of the operatives reportedly threatened to shoot him and demanded his phone, after which the officers sped off, leaving the two children bleeding.

The family’s lawyer wrote that the killing of Onosereba’s innocent soul and the brutal shooting of his younger brother, Eromonsele, in the eye must not go without consequence and recompense, calling on the Nigerian Senate to order a probe into the case and ensure justice is served.

The family’s demand for compensation reflects the scale of their loss and the urgency of saving Eromonsele’s sight.

The family is now appealing to President Bola Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and Senator Ede Dafinone, Deputy Chairman of the Senate Committee on Compliance, to use their offices to renew hope that Eromonsele may one day see again.