A seminar organised by the Cyprus International University (CIU) at the Rockview Hotel in Abuja yesterday was interrupted by protests from the family of a Nigerian student of the university, whose death they believe was mishandled by Cypriot police.
Gabriel Soriwei, 20, a first year student of Electrical Engineering at CIU, was allegedly knocked down by a female driver on July 13, 2013. He went into a coma and died on September 7, 2013, and university authorities flew his body back to Nigeria five days later.
But his family were angered by the ‘nonchalant’ manner the Cypriot authorities managed Soriwei’s death, and alleged that money was withdrawn from Gabriel’s account using his ATM card that was in police custody.
“Cyprus International University authorities did not deem it fit to even send us a letter of condolence,” said Fidelis Soriwei, Gabriel’s uncle.
“And the police in Cyprus have refused to disclose the identity of the woman that killed our son, and even the dollars in his account was withdrawn. This shows how corrupt the police in Cyprus is,” he said.
The Soriwei family had previously petitioned President Goodluck Jonathan, the National Assembly and the National Human Rights Commission, calling for an investigation into the tragedy, before protesting during CIU’s presentation to prospective students in the capital.
Patrick Douse, CIU’s International Director, apologised to the Soriwei family and explained that the identity of the driver that knocked Gabriel down had being withheld by the police because investigations were still ongoing.
“Onbehalf of the CIU, I apologise for the incident,” he said. “We have put in place measures to ensure that we respond appropriately to incidents affecting our students in future.”
There are around 700 Nigerian students enrolled at CIU in Cyprus.
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