By Dickson Okafor
One question that has persistently remained on the lips of his mother and other people who knew him is, where is Uzochukwu Ojini? The more the question is asked, the more the answer remains unanswered.
What initially looked like a joke eight years ago has become a reality that is gradually dawning on everyone.
To Monica, the widow of late Ichie Patrick Ojini of Ochuche village in Ogbaru, Anambra State, her pain has no relief as she could not forget the disappearance of her son on October, 23, 2013. The development has apparently remained a burden in her heart.
Monica, who lost her husband a few years after they got married in what could be described as a pathetic circumstance, said that she could not bear the sudden disappearance of her son, who was allegedly declared wanted by Fulani herdsmen.
As she narrated the sorry episode in tears that began eight years ago, she said that Uzochukwu was the breadwinner of the family.
Recounting what happened on that fateful day, she said, at exactly 10am, her twin daughters, Ifeoma and Ijeoma, left for the farm. But not quite long after, news came in that the girls had been attacked in the farm by alleged Fulani herdsmen, who attempted to graze their cows in the farm.
She said Uzochukwu, who did not take the news lightly, mobilized his friends to the scene. She stated that on getting to the farm, they were provoked by the condition they found the girls as they were inflicted with various degrees of injuries by the herders.
Uzochukwu and his friends engaged the herdsmen in a fight and at the end of the fracas, they chased the herders out of the farm, but not without casualty as one of the cows was killed in the process.
The injured girls were taken to the hospital, where they received treatment. Everyone thought that was the end of the feud, but, unknown to Monica and her children, the herdsmen only retreated. To their surprise, four months later, when they had almost forgotten about the incident, the suspected Fulani herdsmen staged a reprisal. They were said to have stormed her home in the wee hours of December 3, 2013, and demanded that Uzochukwu be brought out.
She said that Uzochukwu on hearing that he was wanted by the herders, escaped through the window and disappeared. She added that the hoodlums, after searching the house and not finding Uzochukwu, made away with some livestock and said they would come back.
However, after frantic efforts to locate the whereabouts of her son, on January 2014, she reported to Atani Divisional Police Station that Uzochukwu was missing and ever since they have not seen or heard from their son.
Asked why the late outcry over an incident that took place eight years ago, she said she hoped that her son would return, until a few weeks ago when the herdsmen came again asking for Uzochukwu, hence, her fear that they must have killed her son.
She said: “I reported the matter to Atani Divisional Police Station even though I thought that, after my son and his friends were able to chase the herders out of our farm, they won’t come back for my son”
In spite of assurances from relatives and friends that her son would return, she could not be consoled as she expressed the conviction that the herdsmen must have later found her son and kidnapped or killed him.
She appealed to the security agencies to help bring back her son. To her, it is difficult to overcome the nightmare of not knowing what exactly befell her son, as she continued screaming, “Where is Uzochukwu?”
Also narrating what happened on that fateful day, Ozo Chidi Mbonu said Uzochukwu was in the house with his friends when someone ran to their house with the news that his sisters, Ifeoma and Ijeoma, who went to the farm that morning, had been attacked by suspected Fulani herdsmen. And the news ignited outcry and sympathy from villagers, which prompted Uzochukwu and his friends to rush to the scene and rescue the girls, after overpowering the herdsmen, who where four in number. Mbonu also confirmed that the herdsmen were chased out of the farm and in the process one of their cows was killed.
He expressed surprise that, after some months, when the family had moved on, the herdsmen came back and invaded the residence of late Ichie Patrick Ojini one morning in December 2013 demanding that they should produce Uzochukwu, who they claimed led some people to attack them, resulting to death of one of their cows in the farm.
He said: “They came and asked the family to bring Uzochukwu out because their house is close to mine. It was then I realized that it was a reprisal and as God would have it Uzochukwu heard them and escaped through the window.”
He expressed worry that they were yet to set their eyes on Uzochukwu till date. He affirmed that Uzochukwu was the breadwinner of the family. He described him as a young man, who didn’t only live for his family members, but for other members of the community.
On his part, Mr. Ikenna Ojini, who is one of the brothers to Uzochukwu, corroborated his mother’s story on what transpired that day. According to him, his brother ran for his life because the Fulani herdsmen were after him. He said he was not at home when the incident occurred. He thanked God because they were not around, noting that they would have taken them away or killed them if they had found them at home that morning.
He said Uzochukwu did what is expected of him by defending his sisters against the suspected herders who encroached on their farm to feed their cows with the crops and in the process beat up and manhandled his sisters.
Also, Chief Odinaka Okeke, one of the respected title holders in Ochuche village, attested that since the disappearance of Uzochukwu his kindred have not been the same again. He explained how far they have gone to detect the whereabouts of their son to the extent of consulting the village deity just to ascertain if he was still alive.
Okeke said that before the October 2013, they had no problem with the herders as they had cordial relationship with them until the sad incident occurred. He said that Fulani herdsmen had been rearing their cattle around the community for a very long time without going into people’s farms to destroy the crops.
He said: “Hausa people have been passing through this village with their cows. We never had misunderstanding with them until they began to take their cows into people’s farms to graze and this led to the face-off with the indigenes”
However, all attempt by the reporter to get the views of the DPO, Atani Divisional Police Station proved abortive as the officers on duty said their boss was not around and none of them agreed to comment on the issue. The DPO could also not be reached on the telephone.