The Oyo State Government has expressed its readiness to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Richard Gbadebo, a 300-level student of the Department of European Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan at a factory in Ibadan.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Dr Bashir Olanrewaju, stated this on Thursday, when he led a state government delegation on a condolence visit to the residence of the bereaved family.
The state government said it had begun a safety audit of the factory saying it would ensure that necessary sanctions are meted out on the company after investigation.
It also said compensation would be given to the family of the deceased.
The Permanent Secretary, equally stated that the current administration in the state would ensure that no resident of the state suffers injustice or undue exploitation irrespective of social status.
He said, “We are here to condole the parents of the deceased and to inform the family that measures are being taken by the government to ascertain the cause of Richard’s death.
“The government will get to the roots of this gruesome incident and give due compensation to the family of the deceased.”
The father of the late Richard, Mr. Shola Gbadebo, demanded for the CCTV footage of the scenes of his son’s death, noting that a thorough investigation must be conducted in order to truly ascertain the cause of his death.
He insisted that before any attempt by the management of the soap factory to initiate a talk with the family, they must be assured that there was no foul play or conspiracy in his death.
The father of the deceased said,
“What I want to say is, the issue of compensation does not arise now. My son could become Governor or President in future if he was alive. So, I don’t care about what they will offer me.
He added, “My appeal is that the government should assist me to pressurise the company to show its CCTV footage so that the whole world will see how my son died.”
It will be recalled that the student died in an industrial accident late last month, having reportedly fallen into the factory’s soap-making machine.
