A report by the Foundation for Investigative Reporting says the death of Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, Joseph Egbunike, began with a meal.
Mr Egbunike was said to have slumped and died in his office at the Louis Edet Force Headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, a claim now punctured by the FIJ report.
The deceased came to limelight after he investigated and recommended the demotion of embattled Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Abba Kyari, a suggestion considered as too mild and uncertain for the charges brought against the detained officer now facing drug related charges at a federal high court.
The report quoting top sources at the force headquarters said a fish born stuck in the neck of the DIG caused his death.
“He was eating in his office when he got hooked in the throat by a fish bone, and all efforts to retrieve it proved abortive,” explained the source. “He had to be rushed to the hospital, where doctors successfully removed it via a surgery.”
The police chief, the source said, felt better after the procedure, so he returned home.
“However, not long after returning home, he started feeling great discomfort again and had to be returned to the hospital; that is where he eventually died.”
Another source confirmed the deceased was at the hospital to remove the fish bone stuck in his throat, adding that the obesity of the top officer contributed to his death.
“His health was so fragile because he was obese,” said the second source, “and he tried his best to manage it, for example with the standard bed inside his office that enabled him to rest at short intervals whenever he felt weak.”
Mr Egbunike held a Bachelor of Science (Hons) Accounting degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; a Bachelor of Laws (LLB Hons.), B.L.; a Masters in International Law and Diplomacy (MILD); and a PhD in Criminology.
Professionally, he belonged to the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), Association of National Accountant of Nigeria (ANAN), Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Institute of Cost Management (ICM), Nigeria Institute of Management (NIM) and the Chartered Institute of Fraud Examiners.
