The Edo State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Prince Kassim Afegbua, has recounted his last encounter with the late ThisDay State Correspondent, Austin Adibe Emenyonu, saying the deceased had booked an appointment to interview him on Saturday, October 19, 2025.

DAILY POST reports that Austin Adibe Emenyonu, a senior journalist with ThisDay newspaper, passed away on October 17, 2025, in Benin City.

Afegbua disclosed this on Thursday during a condolence visit to the leadership of the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the Correspondents’ Chapel of the council in Benin City.

The Commissioner, who described the deceased as a very loyal and consummate journalist, added that his death was a personal loss.

According to him, “We have come to condole with the Edo State Council of NUJ and the Correspondents’ Chapel of the union on the death of Mr. Austin Adibe Emenyonu, who was one of your formidable members.

“He was very opinionated, very responsive in his analysis of news and issues, and gentle to the core.

“On Thursday, before his demise, I had a telephone conversation with him. We chatted, talked, and laughed, and in my usual manner, I hailed him ‘Ogbuefi.’ We agreed that on Saturday we would meet for an interview.

“Later in the evening, we spoke again, and I told him we should make time to meet because I wanted to grant him an interview on a specific issue. I was excited, hoping he would come and talk to me. I was shocked when I was told that he was no more. The death of Adibe, for me, is a personal loss.

“He alone can predict with exactitude what will happen to any of us. It is a sad reminder that we are all walking on corpses. That is why we should devote time and energy to ensuring that we do our regular check-ups, because little pains can trigger death.

“The most I know of Adibe is that he was an easy-going man who was hardworking and meticulous in delivering any assignment. I was quite close to him. There were things he would do for me even when I was not in Edo; I would call him, ‘Adibe, do this, do that,’” he said.

Afegbua prayed God to grant his soul eternal rest and to prevent a recurrence of such unfortunate incidents in the future.

While consoling the union, he prayed that God would comfort and grant the entire family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

Earlier, the State Chairman of NUJ, Comrade Festus Alenkhe, who welcomed the Commissioner and his team, thanked them for sharing in the pains of the union.

Alenkhe said the death of the ThisDay Correspondent was a shock to the union, noting that he was at the secretariat earlier before his death and showed no sign of illness.

He added that the union places premium on the wellbeing of its members, revealing that a team of medical professionals, led by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Edo State chapter, was recently invited to attend to journalists in the state, and members took time to get themselves examined.

On his part, the Chairman of the Correspondents’ Chapel, Comrade Patrick Ochoga, also commended the state government and the Commissioner for the condolence visit.

Ochoga, who spoke glowingly about the deceased, prayed for the repose of his soul and God’s protection over the family he left behind.

Edo Information Commissioner, Kassim Afegbua mourns late ThisDay Correspondent Emenyonu