A blind widow Benny Francis yesterday appealed to Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo to intervene in what she described as prolonged injustice suffered by her and her children following the death of her husband and earlier unresolved grievances with the state government.

Speaking with journalists in Benin, the mother of four said her husband was killed after he was knocked down by a bus driver allegedly being chased by the Edo State Task Force.

She said all her efforts to secure an audience with the governor to present her case had so far been unsuccessful. Benny said: “When the governor heard about the incident, we were told he asked ‘where is the family of the man?’ “The governor is actually interested in the case but we are being blocked from gaining access.

“I have met with the Coordinator of the First Lady, and she was trying to arrange for our meeting with the governor, but in one of my visits to the Office of the First Lady, I met Ebo-Stone in the office, so I waited at the reception.

“To my own surprise, the Coordinator didn’t meet with me that day despite the fact that she was the one that asked me to come. Till this moment, no attempt from that end.

“This is what happens to any highly placed political office holders. They may attend to me and listen to me initially, but once I meet them with Ebo-Stone, their doors become completely shut against me. I don’t know what they are hiding.”

Recounting the events that preceded her present condition, she said her ordeal began years earlier when she was still an active contractor with the Edo State Oil and Gas Producing Areas Development Commission (EDSOGPADEC). Benny said she had been awarded a contract to build a 10-unit staff quarters in Ughoton community before tragedy struck.