From: TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
Twenty-three-year-old Mrs. Victoria Njoku, a mother of four young children, is enveloped by grief. Five months after her husband, Mr. Godwin Mbuchi Njoku, was murdered, she is yet to believe the reality of his death.
The young widow said that her life is now meaningless without the husband. If the dead could come back to life, she would have wiped her tears, to await the return of the man she described as “too loving.”
To worsen her predicament, the alleged sponsor of the killers of her husband (name withheld), is said to be boasting that nobody can do anything to him. Indeed, she does not have the wherewithal to pursue the case, for justice to be done.
But, the Umuebulu community where she hails from has vowed to pursue the case to the end. The leadership of the community has declared that it would ensure that justice is done in the matter.
The widowed woman said her husband was murdered at the place where he used to sell sand dredged from the river bed. When Sunday Sun visited her at home in Umuebulu recently, the devastated mother was cuddling a baby boy that was less than one month old.
Amid sobs, she said: “My husband and the person that killed him were not quarrelling over property. So, I don’t know why somebody should kill him for nothing. I was pregnant with this my fourth son, when my husband was killed. I have four boys. From where do I start? Imagine me as a widow at this my age?
“Since the death of my husband, my children and I have been suffering. Life has turned upside for us. I don’t know where to start. My children have stopped attending school because there is no money and no helper. Is this the way I will train my children? What was my husband’s offence and what was my offence?” she asked rhetorically.
“I won’t deny what the community has done for me; they have tried so far, to make sure that justice prevails,” she said, but added that somebody was frustrating the efforts of members of the community.
According to her, the person behind the death of her lovely and peaceful husband had been using his money against Umuebulu community, to frustrate the case. She claimed that eyewitnesses at the waterside confirmed the killer of her husband.
Mrs. Njoku then made an appeal: “I am calling on the government and good people of Rivers State to come to my aid and help me. They should, please, assist my children because I am helpless. I am also calling on well-meaning Nigerians to help me get justice in this matter. I am calling on the Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim Idris, and the Police High Command, not to allow the case to be swept under the carpet. I want the killer of my husband to be arrested and prosecuted. Justice must prevail in this matter.
She spoke further: “I lost a peace-loving husband. He did not have problem with anybody. He didn’t tell me he had problem with anybody. When he was alive, he minded his business. His untimely death has made life miserable for us. I can’t really believe it. It is terrible.” Then the tears begin to gush again.
Sunday Sun gathered that the deceased was shot dead at a river called Otamiri, in the community. According to an eyewitness and uncle to the victim, the assailants (seven in number) stormed the waterside in a Toyota Sienna vehicle, fully armed with AK 47 rifles.
Her husband was shot dead on May 5, 2017, about 3pm. The news of her husband’s death was broken to her by 8pm. Sunday Sun learnt that Njoku, the deceased was shot by the gunmen, he fell into the river. His body was recovered after two days.
The source, who described the victim as his nephew, alleged that one of the natives led the fully armed killers to the waterside in search of their target.
The source said: “I am one of the opinion leaders of this community. Mbuchi Njoku was one of my younger relations. He was shot dead on May 5, this year at the waterside. In fact, I am one of the eyewitnesses, who saw the killer, when he came to the waterside with armed thugs in a Toyota Sienna vehicle. They were seven in number, dressed in black with AK 47. All of them held AK 47 gun.
“They shot at random at the waterside and all of us ran away. They started asking for Mbuchi and when he noticed that they came for him, he took off. The gunmen shot him and he fell into the river. His corpse floated on Sunday morning, which was May 7.
According to Mr. Njoku, the suspect was arrested by policemen in Port Harcourt. The State Command commenced investigation. But, suddenly, it was discovered that there was power play from Abuja. He alleged that the suspect was released in Port Harcourt by the IGP Monitoring Unit without any surety.
Speaking further, the community leader said the suspect was re-arrested in September and a senior Police officer influenced his released the same day.
Meanwhile, the leadership of Umuebulu community has called on the Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim Idris, to intervene in the murder of their son, late Mbuchi Njoku.
The community has cried for justice, alleging a plot by operatives of the IGP Monitoring Unit to frustrate investigation into the killing of the father of four.
Also, the community has said speedy intervention by IGP Idris would prevent the aggrieved youths from taking laws into their hands. In a Save Our Soul (SOS) letter to the IGP dated September 18, 2017, and signed by 20 community leaders, and the latest letter written to IGP on October 16, also signed by the leadership of the community, the people demanded for the case file to be returned and the matter handled in the state.
The signatories of the documents made available to Sunday Sun, in Port Harcourt include: Elder Enyiazu Okere (oldest man in the community), Eze James Nwagwu (paramount ruler), Chief Benjamin Nwafor, Victor Okere (Chairman, Community Development Committee), Godwin Njoku (opinion leader) and Anthony Okere (Youth President).
The letter read in part: “The leadership of Umuebulu community in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State, calls on the Inspector General of Police to immediately perform his constitutional duty and quickly bring to book, the alleged murderer of our son, late Mbuchi Njoku, in the interest of justice, and put a stop to under-hand activities of his men under the IGP Monitoring Unit, Abuja, to cover this murder case. The leadership of Umuebulu community has placed great restraint on the already aggrieved youths not to take laws into their hands for revenge, but can no longer continue to guarantee their cooperation, if justice is unduly delayed or denied in this case.”
The signatories further appealed to IGP Idris to order his men in the monitoring unit to withdraw from the case, alleging foul play to truncate the case.
According to members of the community, the suspected killer of the victim had since been released by the IGP Monitoring Unit. They maintained that the activities of some policemen in the murder case were to pervert justice.
They requested the IGP to allow the Rivers State Police Command to continue with the case. Umuebulu community noted that the State Commissioner of Police, Zaki Ahmed, and his men, had demonstrated professionalism in handing the matter since the incident occurred on May 5, this year. So, Rivers Police should be allowed to continue with the matter, they said.
Also, Umuebulu natives alleged that since the incident, millions of naira had been used to compromise the police team, stressing that it was the main reason the officers were trying to frustrate the prosecution of the alleged mastermind of the murder.