The Delta State Police Command has confirmed the death of a contractor with the Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku, who went missing some days ago.
The spokesman of the command, ASP. Chuks Orisewezie, told NAN on Thursday in Asaba that the corpse of Mr Chukwuedo Iwelu was discovered in a decomposing state inside a structure at the polytechnic.
“On April 8, 2019, the family of the deceased lodged a complaint with the police that Iwelu was missing after he left home.
“However, four days after, the corpse of the missing man was found inside the school premises.
“The police command has since commenced investigation into the matter and we have taken statements from persons of interest in the matter.
“Investigations are still ongoing so that is all I can say for now,” Orisewezie said.
NAN investigations, however, revealed that before his sudden death, Iwelu and the management of the polytechnic had been at loggerheads over a debt of N15 million owned him by the polytechnic.
A family source, Mr. Austin Obi, told NAN that Iwelu executed some building contracts for the polytechnic but that the management had failed to pay him.
“Iwelu had worked as a contractor for the polytechnic for over 10 years now, right from the tenure of former Rector, Prof. Andy Egwunyenga.
“He built some structures for the polytechnic and before Egwunyenga left, the job was not paid for.
“So, when Dr Edna Mogekwu took over as the rector, the debt was not paid, a situation that led Chukwuedo to take the polytechnic to court,” Obi said.
According to him, the matter has lingered for over five years, up till the time Mogekwu left office and the present rector, Prof. Stella Chiemeke took over.
Obi said that on the day Iwelu went missing, he had informed his wife that he was going to the polytechnic to meet with the management.
The management of the polytechnic has however, declined comments on the matter.
The polytechnic’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Manfred Oyibogbeye, told NAN on telephone that the polytechnic would not speak on the matter, pending the outcome of police investigations.
“The polytechnic will not be issuing any statement on the matter because the police are already investigating the case.
“The rector has told me not to speak on the matter. We don’t want to jeorpadize police investigations,” he said. (NAN)
