‘We’ll not abandon deceased outrider’

The police officer, who was one of the outriders on the convoy of the Vice President, lost his life on Friday in an accident while on the escort of Professor Osinbajo, who was heading to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport to catch a scheduled flight to Lagos.

The death of Gomina was however followed, almost immediately, by the death of the wife of yet another outrider in the Vice President’s convoy. Yusuf Bawa lost his wife on Saturday morning.

Gomina was said to be off duty on Friday, but had volunteered to relief his colleague, Bawa, who was meant to be on duty at the time he died, but was reportedly attending to his sick wife, who later died on Saturday.

However, the Vice President, who had to abandon his scheduled visit to Lagos, in honour of Gomina, visited the deceased policeman’s family at Gui community in Abuja Municipal area council, to commiserate with his family.

Osinbajo assured that the federal government would support the family in anyway necessary to ensure they are comfortable.

Addressing journalists after the visit, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, (Office of the Vice President), Mr Laolu Akande, assured that the federal government would do all that is necessary to ensure the family is comfortable.

“The Vice President has come to commiserate and console with the family of late Inspector Ali Gomina that lost his life during official duty.

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“He was killed when a vehicle ran into him, as an outrider that holds down vehicle, another vehicle came and hit him and threw him against another oncoming trailer. The Vice President had immediately aborted the trip and said he was going to come today.

“He had asked us to come ahead yesterday and inform the family and the village head. He came today personally to express his condolence to late Gomina’s family, wife, children and the entire community. And to say himself and the federal government of Nigeria will continue to support and do everything that is necessary to comfort this family. He is greatly saddened by what has happened”, he said.

Asked if the government will look into the scholarship as requested by the children, Akande said “that won’t be a problem at all”.

The late Gomina, who lost his first wife, Ajara, five years ago, is survived by his second wife, Asiya and 12 children, the youngest being just two days old as at the time he died.

His second son, Abdullahi and first daughter, Hafsat, describes their father as the best father anyone could ask for.

They however appealed to the government to offer them scholarship to enable all of them go to school, a dream their late father had hoped for fulfil in his life time.

They also cried out for help to enable them complete a house he had started to enable the family move in.