Nigerian killed in India, buried in Imo

    
The 35-year-old Nigerian,  Mr. Simeon Obodo, who was killed in Gao, India, on October 30, has been buried in his hometown in Obogwe-Umunwaku community in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government area of Imo.

A representative of the family, Mr Ejike Esinkoye, disclosed this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Monday.

Esinkoye, who said the funeral service of Obodo took place on Monday at St. Paul’s Catholic parish Obogwe-Umunwaku, expressed dismay the Federal Government did not send any official delegation to the burial.

He also said that the family had yet to receive any compensation or assistance from the India government.

NAN recalls that the murder of the Nigerian, during a violent clash in Goa village, India, sparked a diplomatic row between both countries.

Around 200 Nigerians in India protested Obodo’s murder by blocking a national highway and clashing with locals and police in the area.

Fifty-three of the protesting Nigerians were arrested and later released, after paying fees to secure their release.

On December 16,  Mr Abdulazeez Dankano, the Director, Consular and Immigration Services, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told NAN that  the  diplomatic rift between both countries caused by Obodo’s murder, was now “under control.”

Dankano was part of a Federal Government delegation that visited New Delhi in early December to conclude negotiations on three agreements affecting the welfare of Nigerians in that country.

He said the Indian government had made some arrests in connection with Obodo’s murder but did not say whether the suspects had been charged.

NAN