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The family of 35-year-old nurse Ernest Owoicho has accused Benue State military involved in Operation Whirl Stroke of torturing him to death in the Apa Local Government Area hamlet of Ugbokpo.

The family claims that soldiers involved in the military operation seized Ernest at his residence on Saturday, April 5, and that he was pronounced dead less than twenty-four hours later.

The deceased’s younger brother, Nelson Owoicho, informed reporters that at 1:54 p.m. on the day of his detention, Ernest called him in panic.

According to reports, Ernest told Nelson that troops had broken into his home and were assaulting him.

Two minutes later, a follow-up contact indicated that Ernest was being taken away by the troops without providing an explanation for their detention. The family didn’t hear from him again after that.

According to Nelson, the family eventually learned that Ernest had been brought to Elu Lodge, a makeshift camp for Operation Whirl Stroke soldiers in the region.

At the lodge, he claimed, Ernest, a father of two, endured hours of torture.

Adams Ochega, the chairman of the Apa Local Government, and other local officials tried in vain to gain his release.

“By 5 p.m. on Saturday, we got information that he had collapsed in military detention and was rushed to a hospital,” Nelson recounted. “We sent people to all the hospitals in Ugbokpo, but no one found him.”

The family learned later that night that a body had been placed in the mortuary at Apa General Hospital. But rather than Ernest Owoicho, the name that was recorded was Victor Otache.

“We relaxed for a bit, thinking maybe it wasn’t him,” Nelson said. “But the next day, calls started coming in—people told us that Ernest had died in military custody.”

When the family went to Elu Lodge to find out where he was, they received evasive answers and were instructed to come back at noon.

Tensions in Ugbokpo increased as news of the tragedy spread, and local teenagers staged protests by blocking important roadways.

During this time, the body that had been identified as “Victor Otache” was reexamined, and the family determined that it was actually Ernest Owoicho.

“When we saw the corpse, his body was badly beaten—from head to toe. It was clear he had been brutalised,” Nelson said. “Information we got later suggested he died within 45 minutes of his arrest.”

The family has persisted in asking the military for clarification on the purported crime that resulted in Ernest’s incarceration and eventual demise.

The Nigerian Army spokeswoman, Onyema Nwachukwu, has not returned calls or texts requesting comment on the event as of the time this report was filed.

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