Teenage stowaway certified mentally fit

The teenage stowaway, Daniel Oikhena, has been certified mentally fit. Read more

Our correspondent learnt that Oikhena was taken for medical examination at an undisclosed hospital in Benin to ascertain his mental state. He went through series of tests, which showed that his mental stability was not in doubt.

It was also gathered that Daniel complained of being alone inside the Government House lodge with no television or radio to keep him company.

A reliable government source who pleaded annonymity said Daniel requested that his siblings be allowed to visit him.

“Daniel is looking so sober, he complains of staying alone with no television or radio to keep him busy. He also requested that his siblings should visit him, because he is seriously missing his brothers and sister. As for food, the government feeds him like a king. He has no complaints about that.

“He went for the test in a hospital in Benin. All the results came out and they proved that he is okay. He has no mental disability. All his action was based on his adolescent thinking.”

There is, however, uncertainty about when he will leave  the Edo State Government House to reunite with his family.

While government officials have remained silent on the matter, Daniel’s mother, Mrs. Evelyn Oikhena, in an interview, expressed hope that her son would soon be allowed to return home.

Evelyn however dismissed the possibility of reconciling with her husband, Mr. Osaigbovo Oikhena, 44, over what she described as his uncaring attitude during her trying times.

Asked whether or not Daniel had been reunited with his family, Special Assistant (Media) to Governor Adams Oshiomhole, Mr. Kassim Afegbua, said he could not confirm where the stowaway was.

He said, “I can’t  confirm that. Were you not in Government House when he was handed over to government? Either way (family or government), he will be in a safe custody.”

A source at Tuesday’s meeting at the Government House told our  correspondent that there was an heated argument between the governor, State Security Service director and an official from the Ministry of Women Affairs, over Daniel’s custody.

The source, who did not want his name mentioned, said, “While the governor said the boy should be given to her  mother, the SSS and officials of the Ministry of Women Affairs argued otherwise.”

The source added that Daniel’s mother however demanded that her son be handed over to her.

“She vowed to resist any attempt geared towards denying her custody of her son, saying she preferred to be detained along with her son,” said the source.

All efforts made to confirm this from the Edo State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Youth Development, Blessing Megida, whose officials took custody of Daniel from the SSS, proved unsuccessful.

An official of the ministry, however, told our correspondent that government had a place where “such persons are kept.”

When asked for such a location, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to volunteer information.

She said, “You saw the way the governor spoke when the mother was in the Government House. The governor has compassion for children and he says that often. He is interested in the boy’s development and that much I can say.”

Another source, however, confided in our correspondent that Daniel had remained within the confines of the Government House, since he was handed over to the state government.

“Daniel is presently residing in Gold Mine (a section of the governor’s official residence) and he is being taken care of. It is obvious he is a troubled boy, so it is only expected that he will not be left uncared for,” the source said.

Daniel’s mother had earlier said her husband abandoned her when she had problem with the Lift Above Poverty Organisation, a microfinance bank.

The father, Ohikhena, had on Tuesday surfaced in Government House when Oshiomhole had a meeting with the Director of SSS (Edo), Bello Bakori; ministry officials, as well as the mother.

Evelyn said she had problem with the financial institution when she was robbed during one of her business trips from Koko,  Delta State, in 2012.