The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Tears

  • Tears as couple loses property to suspected land speculators

    Suspected land speculators recently demolished property owned by a retiree, Samuel Adegboro, in the Agbado area of Ifo, Ogun State.

    It was learnt that Adegboro, who currently suffers from stroke, bought landed property in Odo Oba area of Agbado in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State, from one Baba Oyeogun in 1983.

    The Nation gathered that the perpetrators fled before the arrival of the police who were invited by Adegboro’s wife, Victoria.

    Victoria said the building was not completed due to her husband’s illness, which started about 16 years ago.

    She said the land speculators had recently tried in vain to take over the building.

    She said: ”We purchased the land from Baba Oyeogun in 1983, and there is a receipt and photograph taken with Baba Oyeogun when the purchase was being consummated. We would have completed the building but for my husband’s illness which started about 16 years ago after he retired from active service.

    “There was a time some landlords in the community alerted us that some land speculators had invaded our property and we frustrated the invasion.

    “In the evening of last Monday, we received a call that some people had demolished our property. The next day, I sighted a caterpillar operator when I got to the site, and he told me that one Sunday Oyeogun contracted him to pull the house down.

    “We immediately left to report the matter to the police and by the time we returned with some policemen, the caterpillar operator had abandoned his equipment and disappeared into thin air. The caterpillar was, however, demobilised by policemen who accompanied us to the scene.”

    The Nation gathered that Adegboro’s condition has deteriorated since he received news of the demolition of his property.

    “My husband’s health has worsened since he got wind of the incident and we are still battling to salvage his deteriorating condition,” said Victoria. “We are calling on those in authority to help us prevent these heartless people from stripping us naked by forcibly taking over our property.”

    A resident who asked not to be named said the activities of land speculators in the community had lately assumed a worrisome dimension. “They (land speculators) have been terrorising innocent landlords in this neighbourhood with impunity. Law enforcement agencies must curb their nefarious activities before lawlessness leads to complete breakdown of law and order.”

    Speaking with The Nation on the telephone, Chief Sunday Oyeogun denied involvement in the controversial demolition of the building. He said: ”I am not in any way responsible for the controversial demolition of the said property. It is true that the woman’s (Victoria’s) husband bought landed property from my late father, but a family called Akinola has secured a judgment over vast landed property in the community, including the particular property that was demolished.

    “As the traditional ruler of the community, I even went to the site and questioned the caterpillar operator who said the new owner of the property sent him to demolish the building. However, another unidentified man, whom I also met at the site, told me that the building was being demolished in order to discourage people from dumping refuse there and to stave off the spread of Lassa fever. So, there are conflicting stories about the motive for the demolition of the property.”

    “It is unfortunate that my name is being mentioned in a matter that I knew nothing about. I have been invited to Agbado Police Division and I have told the police what I am telling you now. The wife of the man who bought the property did not report the matter to me but I went to the site to ascertain the veracity of the news of the demolition because my family name was being mentioned in the matter. I don’t have anything to do with the destruction of the building.”

  • Tears as couple loses property to suspected land speculators

    Suspected land speculators recently demolished property owned by a retiree, Samuel Adegboro, in the Agbado area of Ifo, Ogun State.

    It was learnt that Adegboro, who currently suffers from stroke, bought landed property in Odo Oba area of Agbado in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State, from one Baba Oyeogun in 1983.

    The Nation gathered that the perpetrators fled before the arrival of the police who were invited by Adegboro’s wife, Victoria.

    Victoria said the building was not completed due to her husband’s illness, which started about 16 years ago.

    She said the land speculators had recently tried in vain to take over the building.

    She said: ”We purchased the land from Baba Oyeogun in 1983, and there is a receipt and photograph taken with Baba Oyeogun when the purchase was being consummated. We would have completed the building but for my husband’s illness which started about 16 years ago after he retired from active service.

    “There was a time some landlords in the community alerted us that some land speculators had invaded our property and we frustrated the invasion.

    “In the evening of last Monday, we received a call that some people had demolished our property. The next day, I sighted a caterpillar operator when I got to the site, and he told me that one Sunday Oyeogun contracted him to pull the house down.

    “We immediately left to report the matter to the police and by the time we returned with some policemen, the caterpillar operator had abandoned his equipment and disappeared into thin air. The caterpillar was, however, demobilised by policemen who accompanied us to the scene.”

    The Nation gathered that Adegboro’s condition has deteriorated since he received news of the demolition of his property.

    “My husband’s health has worsened since he got wind of the incident and we are still battling to salvage his deteriorating condition,” said Victoria. “We are calling on those in authority to help us prevent these heartless people from stripping us naked by forcibly taking over our property.”

    A resident who asked not to be named said the activities of land speculators in the community had lately assumed a worrisome dimension. “They (land speculators) have been terrorising innocent landlords in this neighbourhood with impunity. Law enforcement agencies must curb their nefarious activities before lawlessness leads to complete breakdown of law and order.”

    Speaking with The Nation on the telephone, Chief Sunday Oyeogun denied involvement in the controversial demolition of the building. He said: ”I am not in any way responsible for the controversial demolition of the said property. It is true that the woman’s (Victoria’s) husband bought landed property from my late father, but a family called Akinola has secured a judgment over vast landed property in the community, including the particular property that was demolished.

    “As the traditional ruler of the community, I even went to the site and questioned the caterpillar operator who said the new owner of the property sent him to demolish the building. However, another unidentified man, whom I also met at the site, told me that the building was being demolished in order to discourage people from dumping refuse there and to stave off the spread of Lassa fever. So, there are conflicting stories about the motive for the demolition of the property.”

    “It is unfortunate that my name is being mentioned in a matter that I knew nothing about. I have been invited to Agbado Police Division and I have told the police what I am telling you now. The wife of the man who bought the property did not report the matter to me but I went to the site to ascertain the veracity of the news of the demolition because my family name was being mentioned in the matter. I don’t have anything to do with the destruction of the building.”

     

  • Tears, blood as Ikwerre local govt chief, security agents eject tenants

    Tears, blood as Ikwerre local govt chief, security agents eject tenants

    THERE was wailing around the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, Rivers State recently when security men and alleged thugs  ejected tenants from a lone-storey building in the area.

    They were said to have been accompanied the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Ikwerre Local Government Council, Mr Samuel Nwanosike.

    Nwanosike is embroiled in a messy battle with a fellow stalwart of the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State, Mr Deisy Okankwu, over the fate of the building.

    When our reporter visited the controversial property last weekend, it had been deserted; its occupants had all fled, following alleged threats of further attacks on them. They accused the council chief of using thugs to beat them up, destroying their properties and goods without any remorse.

    Some of the affected tenants who spoke to Niger Delta Report narrated their ordeals in the hands of Nwanosike and the thugs. They lamented that they were being made to suffer for the messy wrangling between the landlord and Nwanosike.

    Mrs. Angel Lucky, whose shop and goods were destroyed, recalled the incident: “I was in my shop when some policemen escorted the Caretaker Committee Chairman there. Immediately they alighted from their cars, they told us to pack our things and leave.

    “They threw our things away, destroyed what we were selling. 20 crates of eggs, drinks and other goods in my shop were destroyed.  One of them dragged me out of shop and went inside starting flinging our goods out of the shop. Because of their desperation to kill us we decided to leave. One of the thugs that came with them told us that they will shoot us if they meet us here again.”

    Another tenant, Ms Rita Ugwu, who was relocating her property from the building when our reporter visited the scene, said they had no option than to pack out the house.

    “My brother, the matter is beyond us; before the chairman came some bad boys ransacked our rooms. They pushed us out saying they are acting on the order of the chairman. The next day, I was in my shop when a group of boys came and started chasing my customers away, they scattered everything and destroyed even my tables and chairs. The worst thing is that the chairman was there watching them.

    “There was no notice given to us on this action. If I calculate the cost of what they destroyed, it is more than N800,000. When they came, they asked us to pack our things, we don’t know them; it is our landlord that we know so, we didn’t know what was happening.”

    The owner of the property, Deisy Okankwu, who identified himself as a strong supporter of PDP, expressed surprise at the treatment meted on him and his tenants by the council boss. He particularly lamented that he became a victim of the party which victory he contributed immensely to in the last election.

    Okankwu said he had called many chieftains of the party to wade in and to advise Nwanosike to stay away from his property.

    He said: “The caretaker chairman called me and said the governor asked him to use the property for some government functions and that he was giving tenants two days to pack out or he is going to damage their property and do whatever he needs to do to force them out. I called my lawyer and we went to court to obtain an injunction preventing anybody from interfering with the property.”

    He traced his ordeal to years back when the management of the Greater Port Harcourt City project paid compensation for the property to an alleged imposter.

    When contacted on phone, Nwanosike said the building had been marked for demolition by the Greater Port Harcourt City. He added that the woner had received compensation.

    Nwanosike said he was interested in the building because of the mandate given him by Governor Nyesom Wike.

    “We were instructed by the governor to sanitise the environment and fight cultism and kidnapping. When we came onboard after our security meeting, we discovered that the building was been used by criminals as hideout.  So we gave the occupants a seven-day ultimatum to leave but they refused. My administration has initiated a policy against robbery, cultism and kidnapping and we are going to use this building to carry out our assignment.

    “I want you to know that many visitors to the state have been attacked as soon as they alighted from plane heading to their various destinations. If the landlord doesn’t want us to use the building which Greater Port Harcourt City has already paid a compensation for, then we have no option than to demolish the building.”

    However, Okankwu said he was in Canada when the purported imposter forged a power of attorney, deceived the Greater Port Harcourt City and collected N46million meant as compensation of his building. He hinted of a connivance between the government agency and alleged fraudster, stressing that the agency went ahead to pay such huge amount of money without confirming from him or his sister whose phone number was with the agency.

    Besides, he faulted allegation of criminal activities in the building.

    He said: “Since there was a matter in court between myself and Greater Port Harcourt for paying a fraudulent man, I sent people to tell the chairman to stay away from my property that there were no criminals or kidnappers living there as he alleged.  Some of the occupants of the property were responsible people who were hired by the company building the International Airport. There has never been any case of robbery of kidnapping for over 15 years that we have owned the property.

    “My lawyer went to the local government office and served the chairman a restraining order not to interfere with the property. But recently he came and caused damage with his own hands and his security men, his boys were watching and also causing damage to the property too. They destroyed the properties of my tenants, broke their plates that was on the dining, broke their chairs and tables and caused so many damages.

    “He destroyed the structure and promised them that they will see the worst of it the next day. He still came back in the night that same day and warned them that nobody should remain in the building. He is still threatening to come and now the tenants are packing out because they are afraid for their lives. There has never been any warning or security issue on that property.  Even, the presence of the property around the Airport junction provided some security and prevented crime in that area. It was really an addition rather than a subtraction in securing the neighbourhood.

    “The staff of Greater Port Harcourt collaborated with the fraudster.  They never made any contact with me or my manager who was dealing with them but they ended up paying him a huge amount of N46 million for the property. So because of that we went to court to challenge the action of the fraudster and Greater Port Harcourt City. Don’t forget we had already applied for the compensation but we didn’t get any response from Greater Port Harcourt only for us to hear that the money had been given to another man.”

    Effort to reach the management of Greater Port Harcourt City proved abortive as all the phone lines provided to us to reach the agency was unreachable.  A text message detailing the matter was also forwarded to same numbers.

     

  • In Amassoma, tears are still flowing for Alamieyeseigha

    In Amassoma, tears are still flowing for Alamieyeseigha

    • His unfulfilled dreams, by community leader
    • Why kinsmen won’t forget ex-Bayelsa governor

    The proverbial forest of the Ijaw, an ethnic group that prides itself as the third most populous in the country, was shaken on October 10. The roots of an Iroko tree in the forest gave way, causing it to fall with a deafening sound. A tremor thus shook the earth as the huge Iroko crumbled and left behind a massive space that may take a long while to fill.

    The sudden death of former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, no doubt constitutes the fall of the Ijaw Iroko. Irrespective of what views outsiders might hold about him, in the eyes of every Ijaw man, Alamieyeseigha distinguished himself as a governor, community leader, father, fighter and dogged believer in the course of the Ijaw nation. He was a champion of resource control, an advocate of true fiscal federalism and a messiah of sort.

    It was not for nothing that Alamieyeseigha was given the Olotu, perhaps the highest chieftaincy title in Ijawland. Prior to his death, the people addressed him as the Governor-General of Ijaw Nation. He was like the governor of governors in the Niger Delta region while he held sway as the first executive governor of Bayelsa State, the only homogeneous Ijaw state in Nigeria.

    Prior to his death, Alamieyeseigha remained the most popular and influential politician in Bayelsa. Not even the incumbent governor measured up to his popularity. He was the toast of the masses at every public gathering. His voice was like thunder and with strength he rendered his oration to attract public enchantment.

    His death

    The news of his death started like a rumour on that dark Friday. It filtered into the state and in no time left the realm of fiction to become real. Yet, most Ijaw people did not believe that Alamieyeseigha was no more. Barrages of text messages and phone calls of people making inquiries about his death left telecommunication networks jammed. The social media was in a frenzy. And when the story of his death was finally confirmed, gloom descended on the state and the entire Ijaw Nation.

    The founder of Bayelsa development was gone. He died of health complications arising from hypertension and kidney failure. He breathed his last at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH). His wife, Margaret, was at his bedside when the hospital removed a life support that had sustained the former governor for more than three days.

    Yenagoa, the state capital, for instance, was calm. People were seen in various groups discussing the development. What could have killed the Ijaw enigma? Then came the controversy. Some people believed that Alamieyeseigha developed health complications after learning about his extradition request by Britain. The British Government reportedly wrote to Nigeria demanding the extradition of Alamieyeseigha to the UK to answer to corruption charges.

    Alamieyeseigha was said to have learnt of the development when he travelled to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), for medical treatment. The former governor, out of fear, reportedly abandoned his treatment and returned to his hometown in Amassoma, Southern Ijaw, where he felt safe. Some people believe that Alamieyeseigha’s fears were genuine. They recalled that it was Dubai where the former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, was arrested and taken to the UK for trial and conviction.

    But Alamieyeseigha’s return to Amassoma midway to his medical trip proved fatal. When he developed complications, there was no hospital in the oil-rich state to attend to him. Even the UPTH where he was eventually rushed to could not handle his case. He passed on.

    Yet, another school believes that Alamieyeseigha’s death was natural and had nothing to do with fear of extradition. This school argued that the former governor had a prolonged battle with his health and could have died even if he had remained in Dubai.

    Amassoma where Alamieyeseigha was a ‘god’

    Alamieyeseigha was like a god in his Amassoma community. The people of Amassoma will forever feel indebted to the former governor. He wore many caps as a king, compound chief, community leader, provider and benefactor. The people were loyal to him and never faulted his decisions.

    Alamieyeseigha, no doubt, earned his respect. Nobody had shown deeper love for his community than he did. Prior to his coming to power as a governor, what is now known as Amassoma was a body of water. Only a pathway led to the heart of the community where few mud houses existed from the Amassoma jetty.

    In fact, there was no road from Yenagoa to Amassoma. It could only be accessed by water after about an hour journey on speedboat. But Alamieyeseigha as a governor constructed a road from Tombia to Amassoma, which included the construction of the longest bridge in the state. He built and equipped a general hospital for his people. To open up the community, the former governor sited the Niger Delta University (NDU), the first and only state university, on Wilberforce Island.

    A pioneer employee of the university, who identified himself simply as Johnbull, said the singular decision to build the university brought unexpected development to Amassoma.

    He said: “Where we call NDU today was a body of water. Not just the NDU but many other parts of Amassoma. But Alamieyeseigha embarked on a massive sand-filling project for reclamation. He reclaimed a vast land from water to enable people build houses. He also built the university to a standard.

    “The former governor ensured that over 2000 non-academic staff and casual workers were employed from the community. It was like giving each household a permanent means of livelihood.

    “The women of the community will remain grateful to Alamieyeseigha because most of them started experiencing modern lifestyle through their earnings from the university.

    “Most contracts in the university are done by indigenes of Amassoma. Alamieyeseigha properly funded the university as a governor. As far back as then, we used to have N10 million monthly imprest and it was regular. The death of Alamieyeseigha is a great loss that the community will never recover from.”

    In fact, the community has been moody since the Ijaw Iroko fell. They have already started missing him. Shops and other business premises in the community were closed from morning till afternoon in honour of a man the residents described as their hero.

    Early in the morning, women, men and youths embarked on a procession round the community, crying and weeping over their loss. They were all dressed in black. Women from the community cried inconsolably with many of them saying that the vacuum left in the community by the late former governor would not be filled in many decades to come.

    All business activities including transportation in the community were halted as members of the vigilante, led by one David, went round to ensure that residents complied with the directive. Some members of staff from NDU also joined in the procession. Students who had examination in the morning trekked to the campus because no commercial vehicles were allowed to operate within the restricted period.

    The university was said to have adjusted its timetable to fit into the mourning programme of the community. Some examinations scheduled for morning were moved to afternoon. A student who identified herself as Pere, spotting a black t-shirt, said she decided to wear it in honour of Alamieyeseigha.

    “Without him, there wouldn’t have been a university here. l in particular miss him,” she said.

    Another undergraduate student, Anita, said: “I trekked to school today because of the procession. There was no vehicle because the community announced that all businesses should be shut down in honour of Alamieyeseigha who developed the community and founded the university.”

    Chief Sharp Sogo, who claims to be the acting Paramount Ruler of the community,  said they were shocked by the death of a man he said was like a god to them.

    He said: “When the sad news filtered into this community, nobody was happy. Boys, girls, men and women cried. He was one of the best leaders we had in this community. He was just like a father and grandfather to everybody.”

    He said Alamieyeseigha had his last outing in the community when he came home with his political associates and community leaders to restrategise for the December 5 governorship election. He said the late former governor was a rallying point and a voice of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which relied on him to win the election.

    He said: “We can’t count the values he added to this community. They are too numerous to mention. Without him, there couldn’t have been Amassoma. He brought the university and constructed all the roads. Everybody took him like a god.”

    He said Alamieyeseigha died without fulfilling some of the promises he made to the community.

    “It was obvious he was not through with the community yet. He promised that a shore protection project would be completed and many other things would be done to further develop Amassoma. We will greatly miss him”, he said.

    Sogo said community leaders would soon assemble to plan a befitting burial for Alamieyeseigha, adding that the community would work with the state government.

    Also, Major Graham Naingba (rtd), first cousin to Alamieyeseigha, yesterday said they would forever remain grateful to the departed Ijaw leader.

    Naigba, who is the certified Traditional Ruler of Amassoma, said Alamieyeseigha would remain a phenomenon not only in the community but also in the entire Ijaw Nation. Speaking before members of his Council of Chiefs, Naingba said the late Ijaw icon single-handedly transformed his community into a town.

    He said he cried overnight when he received the news of the sudden death of Alamieyeseigha, adding that members of his council were yet to come to terms with the fact that their leader was no more.

    He said: “l and members of my council felt very bad. Since then, we have been mourning him. This is one person who has developed this community in particular and the whole of Bayelsa State.

    “He was the person who brought the Niger Delta University (NDU) to our community. He gave us roads and light and a whole lot, so we can never forget him. He has been a very prominent man. So we are all mourning him.

    “You will see that the women from the community are in mourning moods. Alamieyeseigha made it possible for everyone to gain employment in this community. They are all working and that has been helping them. So we are all mourning.”

    He said his late relation was fond of visiting him each time he came to the community, adding that he had his last moment with Alamieyeseigha a week before his death. He said in their last discussion, the late Alamieyeseigha implored him to look after the community.

    “He was full of life when he visited me. I didn’t know he was going to die at this period. This is one man we will never forget,” he said.

    Also, the Secretary of the Council, Chief Samuel Kisikpi, said Alamieyeseigha made some unfulfilled promises before death took him. He said the late leader, at a meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had promised that the government through his influence would rehabilitate the road leading from NDU to the waterside.

    “Well, he made us many promises. He even promised to build a road for us; that is the road leading from NDU to the waterside. The road is very bad. He wanted to do it before his father died. Unfortunately, it didn’t come about that time. But now he promised us that he was going to complete the road. Unfortunately, he died.

    “He made the promise a week before his death at a PDP meeting. He gathered everybody and both of us were there at the meeting. He promised that by the grace of God, he was going to do the road.

    “And by the grace of God any other person either Seriake Dickson or anybody can do the road for us because of Chief Alamieyeseigha. Chief had worked for the community. He had worked for Bayelsa State and also worked for the Federal Government. Everybody is sad over his death.”

    Torrents of tributes for departed Ijaw leader

    Like a cascade of waterfalls, the tributes and condolence messages for Alamieyeseigha and his deceased family poured in. They have not stopped coming. The deceased’s wife had received uncountable number of visitors at their Port Harcourt home before she relocated to their palatial house in Yenagoa.

    Perhaps, the first message came from the governor of the state, Mr. Seriake Dickson, who described the death of Alamieyeseigha as a personal loss to him. The governor later made a live broadcast in the state in honour of Alamieyeseigha.

    Dickson, in his broadcast, confirmed that Alamieyeseigha abandoned his foreign medical trip midway. The governor, in an emotional voice, said the former governor was a victim of orchestrated harassment. He warned against politicising the death of Alamieyeseigha, saying that the incident should unite instead of divide the Ijaw Nation.

    He said: “We acknowledge the anger, the genuine sense of anger and disappointment and the sense of outrage held by our people at home and in the Diaspora and all well meaning Nigerians and lovers of justice around the world for the way and manner our leader was harassed, pounded and forced to abandon his treatment abroad.

    “We condemn in very strong terms the propaganda and the orchestrated harassment that led to his untimely death. However, it is our plea that this is not a time for recrimination and division.

    “This is rather a time for unity and for sober reflection. I therefore call on all and sundry, particularly the youths of this state and of the Niger Deltans and of the Ijaw Nation to remain calm and maintain the peace as we all unite and grieve to mourn our departed leader.

    “I advise that we refrain from politicising our collective tragedy. This is a collective tragedy and we should not politicise it. I advise that we join hands with the family to mourn with them and grieve with them and grieve with one another and work with the family and the government to ensure that we give him what he rightly deserves: a befitting state funeral.”

    Dickson also announced the postponement of the official inauguration of his governorship campaign in honour of Alamieyeseigha. He noted that the country, particularly the Ijaw Nation, had lost a foremost statesman and leader, adding that the state government was determined to give Alamieyeseigha a befitting state burial.

    He said: “The state government is determined to accord him a befitting state burial. In this regard, a high powered burial committee, led by the Deputy Governor, has been constituted. This committee will work out details of the programme with the family and other relevant stakeholders.”

    He said Alamieyeseigha served the nation as a military officer and dedicated himself to passionate and committed service to Bayelsa and the entire Ijaw Nation, both as governor and in other capacities.

    “His selfless devotion and service to Bayelsa State and the entire Ijaw Nation earned him the sobriquet Governor-General of the Ijaw Nation in his lifetime,” he said.

    He said condolence registers had been opened at the Government House, the state secretariat complex, Ijaw House in Yenagoa and the state liaison offices in Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt in honour of the deceased.

    He said: “Alamieyeseigha served our people with dedication and selflessness and that earned him the sobriquet the Governor-General of the Ijaw Nation in his lifetime. Since my assumption of duty as a governor, Chief Alamieyeseigha has been a pillar of support and encouragement and advice.

    “He was a ready and dependable guide, supporter and leader who availed at my disposal his time, his experience to motivate me and to encourage me in the course of my service. In all of this, his motivation was what was in the best interest of our people.

    “In all of these, he showed uncommon dedication and commitment to the service of our people. He showed firm and clear-headed leadership when it mattered most and he did this to the very end.

    “With his passing, our nation has lost a great servant and bridge builder. Our state and Ijaw Nation has lost a foremost statesman and a leader par excellence of this generation. Our government has lost a major pillar of support and encouragement and I have lost at a personal level a great leader and guide and father.

    “I have suffered a personal and monumental loss at his death. Chief Alamieyeseigha in his lifetime was a good man and he touched a lot of lives. He was amiable, generous and kind, and all those who knew him can attest to this. All those who knew him and interacted with him have also suffered a personal loss as I have done.”

    Also, former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, said that she and her husband were in shock over the sudden death of Alamieyeseigha. Mrs. Jonathan spoke when she paid a surprise visit to the family home of Alamieyeseigha in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

    The ex-first lady arrived the home of Alamieyeseighas at about 2 pm and sat with other sympathisers to commiserate with the wife of the deceased till about 5 pm. She also signed the condolence register.

    She reportedly wrote: “Daddy, on behalf of my husband, former President Goodluck Jonathan and the entire family members, we mourn you so dearly. We are in shock and our hearts are full of pains. Though we cannot question God, we are saying goodbye. May your gentle soul rest in perfect peace. Amen.”

    Her husband, former President Jonathan, later came on a condolence visit at the Yenagoa home of the deceased. Jonathan almost broke into tears. He said he remained indebted to Alamieyeseigha, noting that without the former governor, nobody would have known him.

    Lamenting the sudden demise of Alamieyeseigha, he said he had lost an elder brother. Jonathan said his relationship with Alamieyeseigha was not that of a governor and a deputy governor but that of an elder brother and a younger one.

    He said: “It is sad. I directly worked as a deputy governor to Alamieyeseigha. I knew Alamieyeseigha during the UNCP days when we were working for him. I never knew I was going to be his deputy because that was not my interest then. From that time, the political evolution in the country and the state brought me to work with him.

    “And from 1999, we have been together. He always took me as his younger brother. Our relationship was not that of a governor and a deputy but that of a younger brother and elder brother.”

    He recalled that Alamieyeseigha made him to begin to celebrate his birthdays as he never did so until about three years into their first tenure in the state. According to him, Alamieyeseigha’s demise was a rude shock not only to his immediate family but to Bayelsans and the Ijaw Nation.

    Former members of the House of Representatives, Dr. Stella Dorgu and Mr. Warman Ogoriba, lamented the death, saying the Ijaw Nation would forever miss Alamieyeseigha. Ogoriba, a two-time member of the National Assembly, said Alamieyeseigha was a leader to all Ijaw men, adding that his leadership cut across political lines.

    Also, elders and contemporaries of Alamieyeseigha decried the sudden death of the Ijaw icon, describing it as an irreparable loss of a great patriot.

    The elders under the auspices of the Bayelsa Elders Council (BEC) and the Bayelsa Development Forum (BDF) referred to Alamieyeseigha as a defender of the oppressed, the champion of resource control and the crusader of the derivation principle.

    The Publicity Secretary, BEC, Chief Thompson Okorotie, said Alamieyeseigha in his tenure as a governor, laid a solid foundation for the development of the state, including the establishing the only state-owned Niger Delta University (NDU).

    Even heads of security outfits in the state visited the family members of Alamieyeseigha to condole with them. The security commanders visited the Opolo house of Alamieyeseigha in Yenagoa, the state capital, where they commiserated with the deceased’s family members.

    The Commander, Operation Pulo Shield (OPS), Maj. Gen. Alani Okunola, led the delegation that visited Alamieyeseigha’s home on Tuesday. The state Controller, Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS), Nmeabe Legbosi; the Commander, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Desmond Agu and the Commissioner of Police, Paul Okafor, were part of the delegation.

    In fact, everybody condoled with the bereaved family and spoke glowingly of the deceased. But all tongues in Ijawland were silent on Alamieyeseigha’s ugly encounter with the law, especially his bid to amass wealth which led to his prosecution and conviction on corruption charges.

    But Alamieyeseigha is no more.

    Already, Dickson has set up a committee for his burial plans. The Amassoma community said the burial rites of Alamieyeseigha would start on November 15. Is he going to be buried at the Heroes’ Park, a special cemetery founded by Dickson for the interment of fallen Ijaw heroes?

    Or is he going to be interred in a tomb which Alamieyeseigha was said to have built for himself in his Yenagoa house before his death? There is no doubt that government institutions and edifices will be named after the late Ijaw hero to immortalise him, among which may be NDU, the university he founded.

  • Tears of the natives

    Tears of the natives

    Five communities in Ugheli South Local Government Area of Delta State are being ravaged by death due to inaccessible roads that would link them to the outside world. In some of the areas, the men are afraid to make love to their wives for fear of the trauma of delivery. Assistant Editor, SEUN AKIOYE, who visited the area, reports on how safe delivery is not a guarantee for pregnant women.

    • Communities where husbands are afraid to touch their wives

    BAD things happen to the pregnant women and children in Esaba community. Many of them die either at home while being treated by the village herbalist or in the canoe on the Esaba-Owahwa River, which flows into Forcados tributary of the River Niger. But of these two violent means of exiting the earth, death inside a dugout canoe, on a hyacinth-infested river, is the most dreaded. That was where Ogheneyoma Makaba died in March 2015. He was six years old.

    His father Francis remembered it all.  He was a good boy, his father’s favourite because “he was always asking after my wellbeing; he was also an only son,” Francis said.  And he loved to play football; someday the father reckoned, his son might become one of those rags-to-riches stories, instead he became history. The day he died, the sickness came suddenly and wasted no time in killing him.

    “He was not sick previously. I had gone to the farm and on my return, he was feeling hot; so, we gave him some medication. That night about 11pm, he went to sleep and we even played together. Around 2am, his sickness returned and we decided to rush him to the hospital in Warri; we could not use the road, so we had to put him in a canoe. He died in the canoe,” Francis said.

    Francis is not the only mourning father in Esaba. Kingsley Clark is also mourning the death of his daughter who died on April 17, 2015.  Clark’s pregnant wife, Beatrice, went into labour in the night, a bad time in Esaba. “My wife went into labour in the night and because we could not get her to the hospital, we had to settle for an herbalist to take the delivery,” Clark told The Nation.

    That decision proved to be fatal. A baby girl was born and complications occurred; mother and child were put in a canoe on the way to the hospital in Warri, again the baby died in the canoe; she never even got a name, nor the chance to live.

    For the people of Esaba, in Ugheli South Local Government Area of Delta State, life could not have been more cruel. Esaba, with a population of about 6,000 people with half of them resident outside the community, is located 15 kilometres southeast of Warri, is one of the 10 settlements of Owahwa in the Ughievwen section of the Urhobo nation.

    It lies on the Southbank of the Esaba-Owahwa River which serves as its main source of water. The land itself is a tropical rainforest on the northern border of Ijaw swamps of the Niger Delta; the land is conducive for farming, and thus the people follow after the profession of farming and fishing.

    Ordinarily, Esaba should be blessed. The land is fertile and the river has abundant fishes. Also just four kilometres away is Otorogun gas plant, operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and reputed to be the largest in West Africa, producing 500MMscfd of gas.

    Today, Esaba has been brought to her kneels by poverty and government’s neglect; death prowls around the community and a simple injury may prove fatal. In Esaba, it is not taken for granted that the pregnant would be delivered safely or that the child would live. Life is lived on the edge; it is a constant reminder that death is just around the corner and all the woes of the community is blamed on only one thing: lack of access road.

     

    A road to hell

    There are two roads that lead to Esaba and both begin from Ukperhren, one is on land and the other on water. But the road on land from the beginning was a road that never existed.  Miller Abedi, 80 years, who is the oldest man in Esaba, said he has never seen any motorable road to the community.

    “We have never had any road here, even though if the government had helped us we would have been able to drive into this community. Since I was young, we have always been suffering because of the road and it has continued till today. Government has just forgotten about us here despite all our pleas,” Abedi said.

    Accessing Esaba is an undertaking that would try the soul of the hardest of men. Usually, in the absence of the road, residents are compelled to use the Esaba River which is usually not reliable. On the day The Nation visited the community, about a quarter of the river was infested with water hyacinth, forcing everyone back to the road.

    It was a journey no one would willingly undertake. The over five-kilometer road is a marshland, totally impassable to vehicles and humans quickly get stuck in it. For about five kilometres, one would have to traverse what the locals have termed the “devils road,” falling down and getting stuck in the mud repeatedly.

    The access road has been the bane of all the problems of Esaba and the Owahwa island communities. The road, which spans from Ekrota, Ukperhren, Esaba, Otutuama, Ophorigbala and Iwhreogun is important for the social economic development of the communities. The executive chairman of Esaba community, Comrade Sane Peter Darah, said government has been promising to fix the road since 1980. “They know the way here when it is election time; we have always voted for the government in power but what do we get in return? This road leads to three local governments of Ugheli south, Udu and Burutu, yet the government abandoned us,” he fumed.

    In frustration, the community decided to build the road through manual labour; in July 2015, a levy was raised and  youths between 15 and 25 years were levied N2,000 while all the adults paid N20,000. The money came in trickles and work began. “We were dredging sand using crude instruments; we did the drainage channels, an indigene invented a dredger using water pump and pipes,” Darah said.

    These brave efforts yielded little fruit as less than two kilometres have been dredged. It has also consumed at least N2, 000,000 and when the funds ran out, work also stopped. “It is very painful that our little efforts have made no big difference. That is why the government has to come in and help,” Darah concluded.

    The state of the road has been blamed for all the misfortunes in Esaba. For instance, some teachers posted to the community primary school were said to have stopped coming, while those who still do come very late.

    Francis believes the road killed his son. “If the road was good, I would have used my motorcycle and my son would have been alive today. It is a great pain for me even to talk about now,” he moaned.

     

    Death is just around the corner

    •The Esaba health center
    •The Esaba health center

    The people of Esaba, determined not to be defeated, decided to solve their major health problems by building a clinic in 2008. The community rented a residential building for a monthly fee of N5,000, which was converted into a hospital. The local government posted a nurse there.

    To keep the clinic open, the community levied every household to pay the monthly rent and other expenses. The clinic is hardly anything of substance but for the desperate people of Esaba, it was a life saver and for seven years, it was the only wall standing between the villagers and death.

    But it was not only Esaba community that benefitted from the clinic, the surrounding communities of Otutuama, Ophorigbala, Iwhreogun and Otitiri also benefited. Then, everything went to hell. In February 2015, the matron of the clinic died unexpectedly and, according to Darah, the community had sent entreaties to the local government for a new nurse but has been rebuffed.

    The death of the matron led to the closure of the clinic and while the community awaits a new nurse from the government, the body bag mounts. Both the old and young, pregnant women and nursing mothers all became casualties.

    Thirty-year-old Elohor Siakpere is one of the prominent women in Esaba. She is the woman leader and the village hairdresser. On July 19the 2015, her labour pangs began; it was her fifth child. “The labour pains started in the night and in the morning we entered the canoe and went to Warri,” Elohor said. She was lucky to have made the journey on the river, but her luck ran out in Ukperhren.

    “I got on a motorcycle that would take me to Warri, but because the road was bad, we kept falling off the motorcycle. It was a painful experience for a woman in labour to enter a canoe and also fall off the motorbike many times, it was like I was going to die,” she said.

    Elohor survived her ordeal. But more bad news awaited her. In the hospital, doctors said she had lost the baby and an operation was conducted to evacuate the fetus. Since then, the picture of the child she couldn’t have has remained, haunting and driving her mad.

    •Elohor and her surviving children
    •Elohor and her surviving children

    Elohor was lucky to be alive. In August 2015, pregnant Mrs. Dora Oritsheju, a resident of Otutuama, was not that lucky. She died with her baby, again in the canoe, on her way to the hospital. The death of Mrs. Onojirhayie Waka was most painful. On September 29, 2015, while leaving her house, she slumped; neighbours rushed to her aid and an herbalist was sent for. After one hour of battling for her life, she died, right in the hands of the herbalist.

    The people bemoan the lack of health care in Esaba and other communities. According to Darah, since the hospital was shut down, over 50 children have been born in all the communities. The process involves dragging the woman in labour to the canoe and taking her to the general hospital in Warri over the river and unmotorable roads. “Many of them give birth in the canoe; some of the children die. In all, we have lost about five children because they could not access healthcare on time. The clinic here saved our lives; we plead that the government should send us a nurse fast before we all die,” he pleaded.

    Elohor said the greatest problem facing the women is the road which made pregnancy less enjoyable and labour a deadly affair.” That is our problem,” she started in a low voice. “We don’t have antenatal and from the beginning to the end of pregnancy, it is problems. The only problem is the road, it prevents workers from coming here and also the residents from accessing the rest of the world,” she said.

    The situation has forced the people to reorder their lives; husbands are afraid of going into their wives for fear of endangering their lives if they become pregnant. Fear rules the community as a small injury may prove fatal. “Since the nurse died, we have made adjustments to child bearing, we are afraid to even make love, we are afraid of any injury,” Madaki said.

    But the herbalists have profited from the absence of government healthcare, with disastrous consequences for the people. In Esaba, shrines dedicated to gods abound everywhere. “Since the nurse died, many people have been patronising the herbalists either for health care or for child bearing,” a resident said.

    Patience
    •Patience Etete…vowed to give birth at home

    One of those likely to patronise traditional birth attendants is Etete Patience. The 40-year-old is in the last trimester of her ninth pregnancy. The delivery date is not looking too good as she would have to be transported in a dugout canoe to the Otujere. “I am not looking forward to that day,” she said.

    She has a good reason, her house is far from the riverside and the peril of the journey to Otujere may put her life and that of the baby in jeopardy. That was how Elohor lost her baby and almost her life. “I want to give birth here, in my house,” Etete said, a frown playing on her face, it was a firm decision to patronise the village herbalist despite its dangers; she would rather face that uncertainty than a grueling journey on the river.

     

    If education is expensive, try ignorance

    The people of Esaba did not take education for granted; the Emoghwe Primary School was established in 1957 and for many years remained a mud school. Today, the school is roofed and plastered and modestly kept clean. There are over 200 children in the school and facilities are beginning to be overstretched.

    There is no secondary school in the five communities of Owahwa; the closest secondary school is Adadja Secondary School in Emadadja. Though only about 10 kilometres away, Emadadja is not for the faint-hearted as students would cross the river and traverse a difficult and almost impossible mud ridden road to school.

    It was 3pm and activities were high at the Esaba riverbank. On the river, one could see some canoes being paddled by school children rowing gently towards the shore. In one of them, Samson Ogheneremo, Benson Ayorome and Otor Christabel talked excitedly. They are Senior Secondary three students of Adadja Secondary school.

    Directly across the river, about 20 students had just wadded through the muddy road, their legs were kneel deep in mud and on getting to the river as if on cue, they all jumped into the water and began to wash their feet.

    “This is the way we go every day; we would trek the muddy road and when we get to Ukperhren, we wash our feet and on coming back we do the same. It is a difficult journey but we have to go to school, if the road is good, it would make it easier,” one of the students named Benjamin said.

    For majority of the students who could not afford the fare for the canoe, they simply wait for the community raft which can contain at least 10 people at a time. It is operated free of charge by the community. To pull the raft, a rope has been tied at both ends of the river; the rider would pull at the rope, slowly drawing the raft to its intended destination. As long as the rope remains intact, all lives would be saved, but if the rope snaps, one’s survival would depend on his swimming skills.

    “We are used to living like this,” Christabel said. She is a rugged woman who wears low cut hair and unafraid to speak her mind. “We can never drown on the raft because it is strong and all of us can swim,” she said. Now preparing for her West Africa Senior School Certificate (WASSC) examination, Christabel and her friends have little time for rigorous study; neither do they hope to come out of the examination in flying colours.

    But despite the hard and impossible conditions under which the people live, they cling tenaciously to their culture and ways of life. The women in addition to farming are experts bamboo cane weavers. One could see by the bank of the river, their expert hands cutting the bamboo which would then be made into fish trap and other utensils.  In the evenings, they gather at the various beer joints to drink away the day’s sorrow and fashion out a solution to the myriad of problems confronting them. If a general assembly is to be called in the community town hall, a flute, made from cow horn known locally as the Ogbon is blown by one of the youths. The ogbon resembles the horn used in the Middle East.  It is heard in every corner of the community and a signal that something important is about to be discussed.

    Communities like Esaba, located in the oil rich Delta State, are a habitual reminder of the enormous work needed to be done by the government of Nigeria to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At least more than half of the 17 goals are lacking in Esaba and other communities.

    In spite of the government, the community has devised a self-sufficient way of coping with every situation through direct labour and taxes. “That is how we have been living; we tax ourselves and live as a community. But how much can poor fishermen do by themselves, that is why we need the government,” Darah said.

    In the air, the smell of death pervades the community. No one is sure where the death knell would sound. Etete looked out of the corner of her eyes and gave a weary smile. Any moment, she would fall into labour and if that happens in the night, she already knows what to do. “I will stay here in my house and give birth,” she repeated, with a fervent obstinacy.

  • Tears, praises as Bishop Evawere is laid to rest

    Tears, praises as Bishop Evawere is laid to rest

    Eulogies and tears poured freely last Saturday as the remains of the late General Overseer and Founder, Holy Spirit the Redeemer’s Mission, Bishop Felix Amakeno Evawere, was laid to rest at Orie-Irri in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State.

    Bishop Evawere died on June 18, after a protracted illness and was laid to rest at his ancestral home by a high-power delegation of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, his colleagues in the ministry, members of the church he founded in 1997, christian community in the state and well-wishers.

    Leading the praises for the deceased 53-year-old man of God, the Vice Chairman of the PFN in Uvwie, the erudite Apostle Victor Ogagaoghene, reminded the crowd of friends who besieged Orie-Irri for the burial that “age is not what counts,” but how much impacts people make in the lives of those around them.

    In a thought-provoking message woven around the story of Tabitha (Dorcas) as told in the Acts of the Apostles Chapter 9:38-43, Apostle Ogagaoghene remarked that the good deeds done by man is what mark them out, and not how long they lived. He noted that the good deed as hallmark of discipleship was exemplified by widows and others, who displayed the coats and garments Tabitha made for them.  The preacher noted that it was her deed that was the topic after her death and not how much she amassed, stressing that it should be a lesson for public officeholders and wealthy members of the society.

    “The material things that people steal do not count but good deeds are products of a good heart. This is instructive because there is no man that is born with a good heart. There are believers and there are disciples; it is not all who believe that are disciples,” he noted.

    •Pst Amagada laying a wreath at the tomb of Bishop Evawere
    •Pst Amagada laying a wreath at the tomb of Bishop Evawere

    While urging the congregation and those left behind by late Bishop Evawere not to mourn or cry that he died at an early age of 53 years, but instead should rejoice that he lived a good life. He urged them to emulate him by doing things that count by making a difference and adding value to the lives of those around them.

    “There are people,” he said, “who have wealth, but use it to oppress the poor  and once in a while they do philanthropy. Dorcas used her wealth to do good deeds and impacted lives. No matter how long we live, it is the impact that truly counts; what we do for others, not what we do for ourselves.”

    Earlier, the son of the late Bishop, Mr Omena Evawere, brought the guests to tears when he recalled that his father “was dedicated and committed and he was very happy despite the ups and downs” of his life.

    Omena noted that the man everybody loved and called ‘Daddy’ “loved the things of God and doesn’t joke with his prayer life because he believed that a prayerless christian is a powerless christian.”

    He said his late father loved and participated in community activities both in his home community and his adopted Enerhen community, where his church is sited.

    Recalling Bishop Evawere’s last minutes, he said, “He sang and prayed, he spoke in tongues as he gave up the ghost gradually. Daddy started with prayers and ended in prayer.”

    In a brief tribute, his widow, Mrs Alice Evawere, lamented that her late husband did not live long enough to reap the fruits of his labour, but accepted that “God knows best”. She described him as a beloved husband and friend with a good mind and peaceful soul.

    Also speaking with Niger Delta Report after the interment at about 2:00pm, Pastor (Mrs) Beauty Amagada, one of the senior pastors of HSTRM, said the church’s late founder was a man who cared so much about his flock.

    “He was a dedicated and true man of God who lived and died by the Word. He was caring to a fault. He took time daily to call every member to inquire about them, to offer advice in difficult situations. He was a good shepherd who fought for his flock.”

    There were also flowing praises by Pastors V Asigor and Mark Evawere, Mrs Rita Omena Felix and church groups, including Good Men and Women fellowships, Royal Generation Children among others.

    The highpoint of the burial rite was the paying of last respect by members of the PFN, which Bishop Evawere served as Treasurer in Uvwie Chapter for several years, and a dance parade by women of HSTRM, led by Pastor Amagada, members and choir.

    The burial at Orie was preceded by a Service of Songs held at the Church’s premises in Enerhen on Wednesday.

    The ceremonies attracted top religious leaders, including Bishops Solomon Gbakara and Joshua Aiguekegbe, Reverends Jerry Ejaromedoghene, Sunday Mewe, Philip Enemoze, Isaac Chichi, Sunday Ovie, Emmanuel Enuwe and Sam Onodiama among others.

    Guest included the President General of Orie and members of Orie Development Union, led by Mr John Onini and Rev Ikoko William, among others.

  • Tears, curses as slain Iyaloja of Ijebuland is interred

    Tears, curses as slain Iyaloja of Ijebuland is interred

    Tears flowed yesterday as hundreds of traders in Ijebuland gathered for the funeral of the slain Iyaloja of Ijebuland, Alhaja Sadia Elewuju,  in Ijebu -Ode, Ogun State.

    Alhaja Elewuju, who was installed the Iyaloja by the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, in 2002, was buried at 4pm.

    Mourners and sympathisers, who thronged her Itorin-Sabo home to receive her remains, cursed her killers.

    Some threw themselves on the ground as the hearse, bearing her body drapped in white, pulled up at her home at noon.

    Many bemoaned the killing of the 82-year-woman, who was described as bold, courageous and upright.

    Security agents had a hectic time controlling sympathisers, who kept wailing and cursing the murderers.

    It was gathered that Alhaja Elewuju was attacked at 4pm on Wednesday, when assailants invaded her home, shooting and also inflicting severe cuts on her before leaving the octogenarian in a pool of blood.

    The assailants, sources said, struck when her male workers went to the market to buy food items for entertainment of guests.

    A source said she was first taken to a nearby private hospital on the Ijebu – Ode – Ore Expressway, then the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOU), Sagamu and later to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, where she  died.

    The Commissioner of Police, Abdulmajid Alli, who resumed yesterday afternoon, vowed to arrest the killers.

    Police spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi told reporters that the police were on the killers’ trail, promising that the police would put measures in place to prevent a recurrence.

  • Battle for Minority Leader tears PDP senators apart

    Battle for Minority Leader tears PDP senators apart

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senate caucus is engrossed in a bitter struggle for Minority Leader. In the race are Senators Godswill Akpabio, James Manager, George Sekibo, and James Enoh. So far, the contestants have shunned the party’s advice to close ranks and give peace a chance. Assistant Editor GBADE OGUNWALE reports. 

    Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators have drawn out their swords. They are battling themselves over the choice of principal officers.  Lobbying by the zonal caucuses started barely 24 hours after the party’s national leadership announced the sharing of the  positions, based on the six geo-political zones.

    The PDP leadership, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, zoned the Senate Minority Leader to the Southsouth. According to the party, the  Deputy Minority Leader should come from  the Northeast zone. The party zoned the Minority Whip to the Northcentral. The Southwest will produce Deputy Minority Whip.

    The battle for the Majority Leader is fierce. Four senators from the Southsouth are in the race.

    The contenders are James Manager (Delta South); George Sekibo (Rivers East); John Enoh (Cross River Central); and Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom Northwest). If the Senate standing rule is to take precedence, the contest should be narrowed down to Manager and Sekibo. The two senators are serving their third term. Enoh and Akpabio are first timers. However, Enoh has served three terms in the House of Representatives, which, according to the Senate rule, gives him an edge over Akpabio.

    But, there were indications at the weekend that the balance may be tilting in favour of Akpabio, who, according to the Senate rule, is the most junior of the four contestants.

    A Senate source said that many of senators from the Southsouth had thrown their weight behind the former Akwa Ibom State governor. According to the source, who pleaded for anonymity, the PDP leadership has indicated its preference for Akpabio through its body language. “That is the main reason some the senators appear to be backing him,” the source said.

    When our correspondent sought to confirm the party’s position on the matter, Metuh said the party had left the decision for the caucus.

    Metuh, however, added that, if the senators eventually pick Akpabio, the party would respect their decision. “If the senators decide to choose Akpabio, the party will respect their decision and accept his nomination. But, we are not imposing him on them because we are not autocratic like other parties,” he added.

    The scramble for the job has attracted the attention of former President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience, on the one hand, and Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike on the other. A Senate source said while the Jonathans are rooting for Sekibo, who is from Rivers State as the former First Lady, Ekweremadu and Wike are favourably disposed to Manager’s aspiration. Wike’s preference for Manager over Sekibo may be a pre-emptive move to stave off possible rivalry in the Rivers State PDP. According to sources, Wike is trying to avoid a clash with Sekibo over who becomes the  party leader, if the senator becomes a principal officer. On the other hand, Ekweremadu is said to have put in a word for Manager on grounds that he is the most experienced in the chamber among the contestants.

    A meeting of the four contestants called by Ekweremadu at his residence over the last week failed to resolve the matter. None of the contenders was ready to step down. Akpabio, sources said, argued at the meeting that the PDP Southsouth caucus in the House of Representatives had already settled for Hon. Leo Ogor as Minority Leader. “Akpbabio said  since Ogor is from Delta State, it would not serve the interest of the party to pick Manager, who is also from Delta, as Minority Leader in the Senate”, added the source.

    The battle for other principal offices zoned to other regions is not fierce. The contestants, according to party sources, have agreed to sort things out amicably. The PDP leadership did not pick candidates for any of the positions. Rather, the party threw the race open to senators in the zones to sort things out among themselves.

    The party, however, reminded the senators to take into consideration the Senate standing rule on ranking, which confers seniority on senators according to the number of terms they have spent in the Senate.

    The party also advised that gender and religious factors should be considered. Going by the party’s directive, the senators have up to Wednesday to conclude the process and communicate their nominations for the offices to the party.

    At the time of filing this report, the contestants were still intensifying their lobby for the positions as none has agreed to step down.

  • TEARS FOR HALF-BLIND OPABUNMI

    TEARS FOR HALF-BLIND OPABUNMI

    Femi Opabunmi started his football career in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, where he was a household name until he was picked by the late coach Musa Abdullahi alongside 22 others to fly Nigeria’s flag at the 2001 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago.

    He became a national hero  few months later because of his dazzling runs on the flanks for the Golden Eaglets even though Nigeria lost 0-3 to France in the finals of the event. Fans back home will remember him for the hat-trick against Australia. He won the Silver Shoe as the second highest goal scorer and the bronze ball as the tournaments’ third best player.

    A star was born. Yes, it was no fallacy as he was promoted to the senior national team, the Super Eagles a few months down the road.

    Opabunmi needed no godfather to join the big boys in the national team because the Super Eagles’ caretaker coach, Adegboye Onigbinde, who was drafted to the team after the sack of Amodu Shaibu and his assistants, had seen enough of him during the cadet World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago.

    The Moddakeke High Chief wasted no time in putting a call through to Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC), his first club in the Nigerian professional league. Pronto, Opabunmi was on the plane to Asia, host of the 2002 World Cup co-hosted by Korea and Japan. He made his debut for Nigeria against the Three Lions of England in a game that ended goalless. He made history as the third youngest player at the age of 17.

    From Asia, Opabunmi didn’t return to the ancient city of Ibadan, as he finalised his move which started at the FIFA Under -17 World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago to Swiss top division side, Grasshoppers. He left for Isreal after three seasons in Switzerland. Next  stop was Hapoel Be’er Sheva of Israel, where he spent a season and left for French second division side, Niort.

    Opabunmi’s grace to grass story began after two seasons in Niort, precisely one morning in 2006 in training when he discovered that his vision was blurred.

    He was my guest on SportSplash on Lagos Television and Top Sports on Top Radio 90.9fm on Friday, June 26, 2015. He tells his story:

    “In December 2006, I was training one day when, suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my eyes. I could not see the ball again.

    “My vision became blurred and I decided to see an optician. The woman told me that in a few days, I could be blind if I did not have surgery, I went for it and the surgeon said it was a success.

    “The bill was so much that I was forced to contact a few of my friends. My team mates in the Super Eagles like Osaze Odemwingie and Seyi Olofinjana responded by sending some money to me. Others did not even reply my mails or called to know how I was feeling.

    “I was expecting to see again but there was no improvement. I visited the doctor and other hospitals in Paris without a solution. They told me that my problem was a complex case that I was too young for such a painful experience”.

    Meanwhile, news of the young  man’s plight had gotten to his mother who advised him to come back to Nigeria to seek local remedy. Left with no other choice, he returned home.

    “When I came back to Nigeria, I visited churches, mosques, alfas, native herbal homes and many more. At the end of the day, I was left flat broke.

    “The places I visited included Ojulowo Eye Clinic in Ibadan, but I had no money to pay the bill. When chief Adegboye Onigbinde, my former coach in the Super Eagles heard about my return to Nigeria, he called and assisted me by paying the bill at Ojulowo, but the problem was only solved halfway”.

    With just one eye working at 60% and the other completely blind, Opabunmi says he is confident of seeing with both eyes again as he waits for the mercy of God for divine healing.

    For a man who says he has gone through hell and back, he definitely has his wife to thank for standing by him all through his travails.

    “My wife, Ayoola Bukola is God-sent. But for her, I would have committed suicide long ago, because I actually felt like killing myself several times but she would say to me ‘relax, God is alive’. She is my strength. You won’t believe that people laugh at us when we are walking along the road and it gets to her sometimes. It’s been very tough, my brother. There are days we don’t have food to eat. My wife is a teacher and they’ve not been paid for over four months”.

    Did he receive any help from his former club, 3SC?

    He insists that there’s too much politics in his former club and that explains why he has stayed away. Although he feels he doesn’t need to go to them before help should come his way.

    “I played for 3SC before leaving Nigeria. They know my condition and how bad it is. There’s no football person in Ibadan who is not aware of my plight”.

    However, he was quick to thank the former Oyo State sports commissioner, Dapo Lam-Adesina, who assisted him financially at some point.

    The 30-year-old is also thankful to Alesund FK of Norway star, Lateef Akeem, for helping out with the kids’ school fees.

    “My brother, I’ve gone through a lot. My three kids, two boys and a girl, one in secondary school, were driven out of school because I couldn’t pay their fees. They stayed at home for weeks but miraculously, I received a surprise call from Lateef Akeem who plays in Norway, he asked for my account details and sent me money to settle their fees. Now, they’re back in school. I don’t know him and I’ve never met him. I’m grateful to him.

    “I also can’t forget Osaze Odemwingie. He was there for me several times, unfortunately I’ve lost contact with him because my phone went bad.

    “I’ve also reached out to Vincent Enyeama who we were at the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan together but he never replied my calls and mails after I told him I needed his financial assistance”.

    An obviously bitter Opabunmi has vowed to stop any of his children, who takes to football as a career, from representing Nigeria.

    “I am not happy that I have been abandoned by my country. It’s a bad story. Sometimes I don’t want to watch Nigerian football because any day I do so, I cry.

    “I don’t know if the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will help me now. I need their  assistance in any capacity, even as a curator, I don’t mind. I need to work and feed my family.

    “I believe in God. If he says they (NFF) will do something for me, they will, and if they can’t, there’s nothing we can do. I want to go to the National Institute for Sports (NIS) to be trained as a coach if I have money. That’s my dream and target right now.”

    Opabunmi further revealed another interesting side to his life when he was asked about his love relationship with a young girl whom he promised to marry.

    It was rumoured that the said girl had placed a curse on the former Nigeria international who jilted her.

    “It’s not true that I was cursed by any girl. Yes, I did promise a girl from Ibadan that I would marry her but it didn’t work out. Not all relationships end in marriage no matter the promises made by both parties. I’m not perfect because I’m a human being,” Opabunmi explained.

     

    •Here is his account details: First bank Account No: 3058788201 Name: Opabunmi Femi.

  • Tales of sorrow, tears and blood

    Tales of sorrow, tears and blood

    The Chidi Odinkalu-led panel probing politically-motivated killings in Rivers State is on recess. Testimonies already given to it drip with sorrow, tears and blood, writes PRECIOUS DIKEWOHA 

    Late Joy Adube The tales they told were of sorrow and blood. They were of killings, permanent disabilities and lives fractured forever.  Wives spoke of husbands wasted in their primes. Fathers and mothers spoke of sons taken away for no just cause. A witness even recounted how a father, his three children and others were mauled down in one day. All in cold blood.

    The Adubes and two others were killed in the same compound. The father, his two sons and a daughter were killed.

    When the River State Commission of Inquiry probing politically-motivated killings heard the case of the Adubes, it was like nothing could be worse, but more heart-rending tales have followed. The testimonies have been heart-broken since the commission began its hearing, despite the attempt to stop it.

    The Prof Chidi Odinkalu-led commission, instituted by Governor Rotimi Amaechi, is investigating killings, damage to properties and grievous bodily harms before and during the presidential and governorship elections.

    Speaking at the commission’s inaugural sitting on May 4, Patience Adube narrated how her husband, Christopher, was killed at home in Obrikom, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area.

    The late Adube was Caretaker Chairman of the local government. She said aside the children killed alongside their father, his son-in-law, Ikechukwu, and one of his security men were also murdered.

    In her words: “I want them to find those people that killed my husband. Fight those people that sent them because many of them threatened my husband that they will kill him. And they have killed my husband, let them fight them.

    “Let them help us, because me and my mates and our family are helpless, let government help us and find them. Because they said they will take power by force and they have already done that by killing my husband and our children.”

    Another of the late Adube’s wives and mother of the three slain children, Precious Adube, cried that all her children are dead.

    The eldest of the three, Joy was 25. John was 22 and Lucky just completed secondary school.

    “I have nothing left. All my children are dead… I ran back to the house and saw everybody dead.”

    A relative of the late Adube’s in-law, Ikechukwu who was also killed that day,  Anthony Ogarabe, said: “I was in our compound until about 7.30 p.m. when I left the house. I was told that his (Ikechukwu’s) friend, Silver, asked him out to Chief Adube’s house.

    “From where I had gone to, I heard gunshot which made me run back to our house. When I arrived home, I then called my brother to know his whereabouts but received no response from his phone.

    “His friend Silver then called me back to say that Adube and my brother Iyke were shot dead a while ago. I then ran to Adube’s house and I met him in a bath in the toilet with his son, dead. My brother Iyke and Joy Adube also lay down dead close to the toilet.

    “I shouted and cried but later organised some boys who brought them out. Someone then advised me to boil water to clean their bodies. I used heater to heat water, took them to the backyard. We used knife to tear off the cloth on their bodies because the blood was thickly gummed to them. We later took them to the mortuary.”

    Chijioke Ogbuagu, a resident of Omoku in ONELGA, who also testified on the killing of the Adubes and others, said the killing took place on April 3 (Good Friday).

    “The killing started at Obrigom at late Chief C.N Adube’s house, my political mentor. They finished from there and went to the APC office at Obrigom where they killed a boy. From there they moved to my community.

    “People saw them. It was not a hidden something. In Obrigom, they killed seven persons. In Chief Adube’s house, they killed six – Adube, three of his children, his security person…

    “Two were killed in my premises. The one that was burnt to ashes, the bone has been gathered and buried. The Sampson Ezekiel was buried too, his body was taken to Nassarawa State because he’s from there.

    As I talk to you, my supporters are no longer living in their homes. All of them have fled because the lives of APC members are not safe.

    “This operation that took place on the 3rd lasted for over three hours. In my house they said why they were not able to save anything was because the people set the house on fire and supervised the burning.

    “The Commission should help us to ensure that the people who committed this violence would not go unpunished. ONELGA used to be a very sweet place that we enjoyed 24 hour free light from Agip facility.”

     

    More sad tales

     

    From Port Harcourt to Eleme and other parts of the state, the commission has heard testimonies and inspected scenes of violence.

    If you have a heart made of steel, chances are it would have melted on hearing the testimonies of Justice Orikwowu, 19, and his mother, Ruth. Both testified about the killing of their father and husband, Clever. The deceased’s eldest son had just finished writing WAEC, and that all her children, except the baby, are in school.

    Orikwowu said he was at home when his father was killed, adding that he saw his body at the police station.

    Mrs. Orikwowu, the widow, a house wife, said she collapsed when the news of her husband’s death was relayed to her.

    She said: “That fateful day, as APC youth leader, he was a ward collation agent of the party. He went for the election. We are not on the same polling unit.

    “In my own unit, I went to ease myself, when I came back, they said some people came in military fatigue and told people to lie down. They came and carried my husband.

    “Please look at me, seven children without a father. I am 41 years old, without anything. My husband served Rivers State government very well. So I’m pleading with this honourable court to assist. The house he was building he couldn’t finish. We live in an uncompleted building.

    “People should come to our aid. We have nowhere else to go, that’s why I returned to the house. And if I take the children out of that place, they cannot go to school again. We need safety from the government. If my husband is being killed by unknown people, who am I and my children?”

    The deceased’s brother also testified about how he spoke with his brother three times in the morning before he was killed on April 11.

    He said his late brother, Clever who was 43, was an APC leader in ONELGA.

    “What we gathered that armed men came and laid down everybody.”

    Clever’s remains are still at the mortuary. He is survived by his wife and their seven children. The eldest child is 19 and the youngest is 11 months.

    Also left to cater for her children is Mrs. Caleb-Ahmed, a native of Emoh in Abua/Odual Local Government. Her husband left behind four children – 11, 8, 4, and 2 year olds – who are all in school.

    “I’m afraid for my life because what I see (sic) that day was terrible. I don’t recognise their faces but they were not wearing masks. They were just wearing face caps.”

    Mrs Caleb-Ahmed, who is an official of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, said her husband was shot by unknown gunmen three weeks before the presidential election.

    “I was pleading with the people, that I don’t want to be a young widow,” Mrs. Caleb-Ahmed told a Commission of Inquiry probing politically-motivated killings and destruction of properties in the state.

    “They said my husband is an APC (All Progressives Congress) member. I said ‘please please, he will not do again.’ Before I can finish, they have shot him down in the room. They finished and ran away. I call the police. He died on the way to the hospital. He was buried the next day.

    “I’m afraid for my life because what I see that day was terrible. I don’t recognise their faces but they were not wearing masks. They were just wearing face caps.

    “One spoke Abua language. But the ones that came inside spoke English, that ‘I think you are APC member.’ I was shouting but everybody had run away.”

    The testimony of Isaac Orikwowu, who was accompanied by a woman nursing a baby whose husband was killed during the election, was also touching.

    Orukwowu said petitioned the police on behalf of the widow, who was married to his younger brother.

    “When this issue happened, my elder brother informed me. I was in Port Harcourt. They told me he was killed on election ground when he went for accreditation.

    “They said gun men went there, picked him out and shot him at a community primary school, Ward 5, in ONELGA. I was not there.”

    Ijeoma Mbamalu, 21, who appeared before the panel bearing an 11-month-old baby, said her husband, 27, was killed at Oprikom. She said her mother is dead and her father is “very old.” She broke down and wept.

    “I ask for you people’s help. That very day he wanted to go market before those boys came. The N100,000, he left, they took it away. As I told you, I don’t have anything I’m doing. And my husband left me with a baby.

    “They took my baby that very night and throw him on the bed and told me to lie down. They asked my husband to take them where the landlord lives and all the APC members in the compound. My husband said he doesn’t know the landlord and he pays his rent through his lawyer. At this point they got angry and took my baby from me and threw him on the floor and told me to lie down. They took my husband outside and shot him three times.

    “They asked the party we belong and my husband said we don’t belong to any party. They started searching the house maybe to look for any APC evidence. It was then they saw the money my husband wanted to take to market. This year will make it four years we have been living in Oprikom. But we married in September 2013.”

    Innocent Ogbuehi, who lives in Emohua Local Government, said his 59-year-old brother, an APC member, was killed on election day. According to him, he was shot while he was shaving in front of his house on the day of the governorship election.

    He said his late brother was married with five children.

    He said he reported to the police and an Inspector was sent to the crime scene and was later told to handover the matter and all the evidence to the State CID “and since then we have not heard anything from them.”

    Ogbuehi said he was shouldering the responsibility of taking care of his brother’s widow and children.

    “On the 8th of April, he (Mr. Friday) came out to make a comment that the three boys who will killed my brother are in his phone.”

    Joe Poroma, the Commissioner for Social Welfare and Rehabilitation in Rivers State, testified about a killing in his house.  He tendered photographs, including that of a man identified as Lekia who was shot in the neck in his home,

    “The bullet went through his neck and shattered the window. It’s unfortunate that on the day that this incident took place, it was precisely by 6p.m. I’m the leader of the APC in my ward. I want a proper investigation because that has not been done till now.”

    He said the gunmen also shot at his Hilux van and generator in his home and damaged them.

    “Over 22 houses in the community were destroyed on that same day. They went through houses belonging to APC members, shatter your window, break your door.

    “When the police came to arrest them, the trigger man was arrested, and unfortunately they outnumbered the police and the police abandoned them even the ones they handcuffed and ran away. They mobilised in so many numbers and the police were afraid and ran away.”

    HE named those he suspected: Monday Ngbor  (the financier), Johnny Ngbor, Mwine Sunday (the trigger man).

    Poroma, who said he was living abroad and only returned to Nigeria when Amaechi became governor, added: “I went to the king, we met with the DPO and a joint meeting was called between the APC and PDP leadership and we were made to sign a peace accord to be responsible for any violence caused by any of our groups.

    “Not quite three days afterwards, there were gun shots all over the community. Unfortunately, it’s a community where young boys carry guns.”

     

    Destruction galore

     

    It was not all tales of killings. There were those of destruction to men and property.

    Thankgod Igwe may not see again. He told the commission how it all happened.

    Igwe, 38, said: “On that very day, I discovered there is no result sheet when we started accrediting. As an agent, I have to ask about the result sheet, if there is no result sheet, we don’t know how this election will go. There was a lot of argument between the PDP people and I.

    “We were there exchanging words. They said election must hold. There was a fight. They beat me up and blind my eyes. As you can see, my eyes are blind.

    “There was no movement that day. Everybody started running. One of my brothers ran to their house, brought a bike and carry me to a clinic. The clinic rejected me and directed me to one of the clinics at Elelenwa. They rejected me again. They now took me BMH. They kept me there 3-4 days before they moved me to surgery department.

    “They said because my bp was high, they cannot take me to the theatre. After three days, they controlled my bp and took me to the theatre.”

    Promise Amadi walked up to the witness area supported by clutches. The clutches, according to him, were necessitated by violence visited on him in Elioparamuo in Obiakpor Local Government Area.

    Amadi, a welder, said:  “I saw PDP boys shooting, so I turned and they said ‘Yellow man, you again!’ They shot me and I ran to the backyard where I jumped the fence and fractured my leg. I don’t know any of them but they are PDP boys because some of them were telling me to remove that canopy. I’ve spent up to 500 to 600,000 because after they removed the bullet, they still cannot set the leg well. I’ve sent messages to my party (APC) but no one has come for me.”

    Uzodinma Silas, a resident of Andoni and All Progressives Congress (APC) agent, tendered photographs of injuries he sustained during the governorship election.

    His words: “I want the Commission to bring those who inflicted the injuries on me to book. I also want the Commission to liaise with the government to compensate me. I reported to the police but the policeman I saw on the counter was on mufti. He asked me to narrate what happened and I did. Then he told me to pay N30,000 for them to follow up the case. So I left.

    “Some boys came in that morning and were chanting ‘No PDP, no election. No Nyesom Wike, no election.’ Everybody ran away including the people that wanted to vote. As I speak to you, I’m no longer receiving treatment but I’m still feeling pains because I was hit on the chest. A friend advised me to go for x-ray but I don’t have money.”

    Felix Ejechi, a resident of Omoku in ONELGA, said APC offices in the local governments were attacked on January 29, April 12, and April 13.

    He joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 1998 and served two tenures as Councillor. In 2008, he was elected Chairman of ONELGA, and was re-elected again before the APC/PDP split.

    “We were going to host the APC governorship candidate, Dakuku Peterside, for a rally in ONELGA. In the early hour of 29th, that was when they did all these damages. For three hours (between midnight and 3 a.m.) they were moving all round and police were there.

    “I confronted the DPO on why they would allow those boys three hours to be destroying things and he told me the fire was too much and he had to take cover,” said Ejechi who accused a man he identified as Uche Jeremiah of spearheading the April 13th attack.

    He continued: “The way forward is simple. All these perpetrators of violence must be brought to book. The police should no longer side one side. They refuse to do their work. I was told the DPO said he was posted there to work for PDP,” adding that he left ONELGA since January.

    Christian Alali, who lives in ONELGA, said the       house he inherited from his father was destroyed and that he would need N5 million to refurbish it. He later re-adjusted the figure to N20 million, but the commission told him the amount was outrageous to fix a room.

    He said the building, which was burnt by hoodlums, was completed in 2000 and it housed 18 people. The house is now empty.

    David Akio, from Abua/Oduah Local Government Area, told the commission that his Mercedes car was destroyed by hoodlums and he was beaten up and chased out of his home by the thugs led by a Special Assistant to the Rivers State governor-elect, Nyesom Wike.

    His words: “On that 27th of March, I was attacked in my father’s compound. I don’t know how my opponents monitored me and know I was in the community. I went into hiding and was smuggled out of the community on the 29th.”

    44-year-old Akio said he returned to the community on the night before April 11 because he was a contestant for the House of Assembly election.

    “After the 28th, most of the people that were chased out of the community returned. I was communicating with them and they said it’s like things have cooled down.”

    He said there was a second attack on the night he returned and he went to hide in the bush until the police rescued him.

    He said he joined PDP in 1998 and served as a Councillor under the party.

    For Victor Amadi, a member representing Etche Constituency 1 at the Rivers State House of Assembly, it was a tale of arson. He said  on the night of March 20, his brother told him that over 40 hoodlums came in a bus to burn his uncle’s and father’s houses.

    “I didn’t want to look at it as a political issue, I want to see it as a criminal issue. “It’s a build up issue. On 20th December, on my way to the village for a wedding, some of supporters came to inform me that some PDP thugs were brandishing guns and shooting. One of them actually shot himself… “On 20th of March, my father’s house was burnt down.”

    Amadi said: “On April 1st, a team the IG sent from Abuja came and took my statement. The next morning, they were on their way to make arrests when the CP called them to abort the mission. The CP told them arrests would mean they are taking sides in a political situation. So they aborted the mission and promised to come back after the election.”

    He added that when the hoodlums were burning his father’s house, the police prevented the village vigilante group from curtailing them.

    “They are PDP thugs because it was the same persons who came to tear my posters. The vigilante boys identified some of them. The boys mobilised from the house of one Ephraim Nwuzi, a known PDP member.

    “I was reliably told that the CP signed a detention warrant against me, which I immediately informed the governor. The governor quickly called the CP and he denied issuing any detention order and promised to get back to him. He never did.”

     

    Even a policeman

     

    The victims are not only politicians. A policeman also came to recount an ugly ordeal. Johnson Onunwa, a police inspector who works in Benin, the Edo State capital, also appeared before the commission. His house was burnt.

    His words: “My elder brother called me at about 8.45 pm and I was told that my house is burnt, including his and my senior sister.

    “I asked what happened, they said it’s because of this PDP-APC thing. I said I’m not a politician so why will they burn my house.

    “When I got home, I ask them for the police station where the case was reported. They said the elders in the community had intervened. And they said the case had been reported to the state CID.”

    A Delta State indigene who resides in Rivers, George Oreremie, 69, told the commission of an alleged assault against him on January 10. According to him, he and some 15 others were having a meeting when they were attacked.

    “As soon as they came in, they started shouting ‘We don’t need APC in this Rumueme community. All of you here are APC and you will all die today.’ The next thing they started cutting us with cutlasses and weapons. They used cutlass on me and cut my head. I’ve never seen them and I don’t know them. I’m not from the community so I don’t know anyone…”I don’t know any of them (the attackers). It was my first time of going to that kind of meeting.”

    He removed his hat to reveal the machete cut on his head, adding that he was hospitalised for ten days and had been going for medical check-up ever since.

    “I used to be a Base Engineer until my company in Calabar shut down, before I came back to Port Harcourt. Before the injury, I do repairs for companies when they need me,” Oreremie said.

    Blessing Nwuchegbuo, a known campaigner for the APC, said of the attempt on his life:  “Before the burning of my house, I received threats from PDP members. I’m known as a grassroots politician, a very strong one for that matter.

    “PDP people said to me one on one, not even on phone, ‘are you sure you will come to this community on that election. Three days after the mobilisation, I was attacked. I had to leave my car and ran into the bush. It was after three days that I went to retrieve the car.

    “I reported the threats to the police and they said it’s a normal thing in political setting. After my attack, I equally reported to the police but the man didn’t accept to follow me to the village.”?

     

    Behind camera /legal ‘tussle’

     

    There were also those too afraid to give testimonies in the presence of reporters. So, the commission spent some time listening to testimonies ‘in-camera’ from witnesses on allegations of assault and kidnapping. For the safety of the witnesses, secrecy was utmost.

    Also of note is the fact that the PDP sees the commission as illegal. Its lawyer, Emmanuel Aguma, appeared before the commission arguing that there was a court order restraining the proceedings.

    “I wouldn’t want to be a part of a process that does not obey the rule of law, so I’m bringing attention to this. There’s an order temporarily restraining proceedings here till a fixed date,” said the lawyer.

    Odinkalu said the commission had not been served the court’s decision.

    “We are accepting because you are an officer of the law. We’ve not been served on us. But we are accepting from you.

    “We are seeing this for the first time. Do you want a brief on this and we take an argument on this on Wednesday. So serious we need to place everyone on record.”

    But Aguma asked: “How do I participate in a proceeding where I have questioned its legality? When I’m questioning the competence of the Commission to proceed?”

    Odinkalu said: “The commission does not confer lawfulness where lawfulness does not exist. What I suggest is, we are seeing this for the first time. We will hear arguments about this on Wednesday and listen to judicial authorities. If on Wednesday we cannot continue, it means that all the records will be expunged.”

    But the PDP lawyer stood his ground and asked to be excused from the proceedings.

    “I heard gunshots which made me run back to our house. When I arrived home, I then called my brother to know his whereabouts but received no response from his phone. His friend Silver then called me back to  say that Adube and my brother Iyke were shot dead a while ago. I then ran to Adube’s house and I met him in a bath in the toilet with his son, dead. My brother Iyke and Joy Adube also lay down dead close to the toilet”