My name is Ikechukwu Nwosu, I am based in the United States of America, but a native of Umuoshi, Avutu in Obowo Local Government Area, Imo State Nigeria. I am the only child of my parents, Mr. Emmanuel Nwosu and Mrs. Maria Nwosu. I have never felt as much sorrow as I am feeling at this moment writing this story and begging the Nigerian people to join me in seeking justice for the death of my precious mother, Mrs. Maria Nwosu who was shot and killed by gunmen in our home in the village at Umuoshi Avutu in Obowo Local Government Area, Imo State Nigeria.
Thursday,
June 8, 2017 9:07pm (USA) ET/Friday, June 9, 2017 2:07am Nigerian time,
is a day and moment I will never forget because it is the time I
received the worst call of my life. I was informed that my mother was
shot and killed by unknown gunmen, and “fortunately” for me, my dad was
not killed as well. You can imagine how I felt, given that I had just
finished speaking with my parents over the phone two hours earlier when I
got off work before I got that horrible call. Mind you, my mother was
supposed to be getting ready to come to the US to visit me and my family
including her newborn grand-daughter on June 23, 2017.
When
I called my dad, he was already at the hospital where he and a family
member rushed my mum in an effort to save her life. Of course he was
distraught at the time. He could not even communicate with me because he
was crying so deeply. When he finally got himself together, he managed
to tell me how the incident unfolded, and how the love of his life was
shot in few seconds without him having a chance to protect his wife. He
went on to tell me that he had gone to the Police Station at Otoko (the
headquarter of Obowo Local Government) to report the horrible crime that
just happened; however the police first asked for money before they
could follow him to the hospital and the crime scene. Upon getting
there, police demanded that my dad call a photographer to take pictures
of my mother and the crime scene (Mind you, this is a man whose wife had
just been killed in a horrific way, yet police is making him run around
in the early hours of the morning). My dad finally found a photographer
who was willing to take the pictures, but not until he was paid for his
services by my dad.
Two days later
my Dad was notified of the whereabouts of some of the suspected young,
evil boys who killed his wife, and they happened to be from my
community. My dad was able to call people, whose identity I will not
mention for security reasons, to ensure that those boys were caught.
Fortunately, they were able to catch three boys who admitted they were
involved in the crime.
They
were immediately taken to the police station and were handed over to
police. My family was informed that there was an additional person
involved, but when they went after this person, the suspect got away
from them. I would expect police to spring into action in searching for
this boy, or even go to his house to obtain a photo of him and make the
public aware of his identity, but unfortunately none of these happened.
As days went by, we learned that there were more people involved, and
that the individual on the run knew their identity. The three suspects
in custody where transferred to the State CID in Owerri. At this point, I
was hearing that police in Owerri would come see the crime scene, but
there was no haste in action from them in doing so. As a matter of fact,
they were given money because they claimed they needed it for gas
(petrol) and to charter more vehicles to enable them to make more
arrests when they get to my community. When they arrived, they also
asked for money for food, and it was given to them.
As
days went by, police demanded an autopsy to be done on my mother, and
of course the payment to the doctor for performing the autopsy came out
of my family’s pocket. That was not the end of it. It was said that the
doctor who performed the autopsy would not be the one to stitch my mum’s
open body. Now the person who was supposed to do it collected his own
payment. But wait, that is not the end. Do you know that my dad had to
also pay the photographer who was documenting the autopsy process for
his services?
Now I ask
myself, what is the job of the government and the police in protecting
and serving her citizens? To know that a crime of this magnitude was
committed, yet there is not much activity in catching the remaining
suspected perpetrators who are on the run and no news in arraigning
those in custody to court in order to begin their judgement proceedings
baffles me; although I would not say I am surprised.
I
was told that police even obtained pictures of those suspects on the
run, yet I have not seen any publication in the news warning the public
of these evil doers and the threat they pose to the public. Who knows,
you, your family or friend may be interacting with a suspected killer
and armed robber without knowing because police have not made the faces
of these suspected killers known to the public.
I
really do respect the police and all the hard work they put in
protecting our nation, Nigeria every day. I know most of them, if not
all, have family members they have to return home to at the end of their
shifts, and I commend them for putting their lives on the line for us
all. However, I wish in this case, that they would put their good hearts
and all energy into making sure that all those involved in murdering my
mother are brought to justice
I
hope that Imo State government is aware of this hideous crime, and are
able to provide all the necessary support that police need to carry out
an effective and swift investigation. I am also calling on the justice
system of Imo state and Nigeria at large to not let this case to be
“swept under the rug.” Finally, I beseech the public not to let this
case rest until justice is served appropriately, and hopefully the rest
of these evil doers are caught to face justice. I do not pray for anyone
to experience this kind of horrific act, and go through what my family
and I are going through at this time.
Thank
you all and God bless you as you join me in the fight to seek justice
for my mother, Mrs. Maria Nwosu, she was gentle and kind. I pray for her
gentle soul to rest in perfect peace.
13 comments:
It is well o
... Merited happiness
nawa
-D great anonymous now as Vivian Reginalds
The nigerian police is full of shit and not trust worthy at all.
otoko police is known for this stupid attitude,am from obowo too,that's why most villages in obowo has started to bare them from entering their communities. they prefer to make arrest for a quarrel between brothers than do their actual work.January 2017 precisely,that useless came with 13 hilux vans to arrest youths of umuosinta for a problem between brothers not concerning.am ashamed of obowo police,its a fact
Terrible! And one of the bastards is laughing. Write to NASS tru Hon.Chike Okafor rep of ur constituency for follow up. They must not be let to go scotfree .
Terrible! And one of the bastards is laughing. Write to NASS tru Hon.Chike Okafor rep of ur constituency for follow up. They must not be let to go scotfree .
Our police system is just so poor,sorry my guy.
TOOO LONG!!!
Nigeria police can never do their job without demanding money from the victims, that is Nigeria police for you.
Brother first of take heart! I also reside in the u.s .. Philadelphia to be exact. I recently experienced the same exact thing you are going through just 3 months ago. It hurt me & my siblings because we had just buried our mom on the 18th of January 2017. This time it was my dad who was kidnapped and killed. I expected the police to take action being that my dad was an officer who recently retired about a year ago as a senior inspector of police. But nothing was done.. they kept asking for money but no valuable feedback were given. It got to the point where they now asked us to pay for an autopsy, when I declined they were still persistent that it was the only way they can find out what happened. So I told they d.p.o that the first thing should be tracking his phone number to know who he spoke to atleast 48 hrs before the incident, that autopsy won't prove who killed him. But they still never took my word seriously... precisely because I'm not the son of a senator, Governor or president. My point here is the police only care about the well known people in the society. If you don't know someone, or have the connection you are no one in the society. Ok lets assume it was the mother of the imo state Governor who was killed, do you think they wouldn't find out what happened within a week? If it can happen to my dad who served diligently in the force for 35 years with reputation, it can happen to anyone. Except the so called famous people in the society.
This is crazy my brother, i am from obowo too and this is pathetic and unfortunate, Nigerian Police Force is a big shame, it is a clear example of the national corruption , obowo emebiele na mmaghi otu ese ekwu ya, umu aka na aghu si wewe na ezuzu.
Thank u Linda ikeji for using ur platform to let the world know about this issue
My dear take heart. Unfortunately Imo State govt is busy demolishing people's houses in shell camp as i speak. It's unfortunate that Imo State has turned into a state of lawlessness. Even the governor is a criminal. May her soul rest in peace
Post a Comment