“I wish to inform you that your husband, Chijioke Chukwu, died on July 27, 2010, at the Prison Clinic, Enugu. Attached is the death certificate for the cause of death.”
This was the damning message from hell for the two wives and other family members of the dead 45-year- old man, alias Ugwu Akegbe, who died in suspicious circumstances in the Enugu Prisons following inhuman treatment occasioning extreme torture meted out to him, while being detained by men of the Special Anti- Robbery Squad of the Enugu State police command.
The message sent to the senior wife of the deceased, Obiageli, is contained in the letter written to her by the deputy controller of prisons, Enugu, M.I. Atta. Since that fateful day, anguish, forlorn hope and bewilderment had become the lot of the family. The deceased, who hailed from Atakwu in Enugu South council area of Enugu State had, along with other of his compatriots, allegedly had a brawl with some followers of one Pastor Dan. It was gathered that since the pastor acquired a large expanse of land belonging to Akegbe Ugwu people, it has been one trouble after the other between the church and its members and the natives.
When our reporter visited the family house in Atakwu, off the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway last week, psychological devastation was literally written on everyone’s face. In fact, his two wives, Obiageli and Amuche had been taken to a health centre, following feverish conditions that started the previous night. They did not return to the house before this reporter returned to Enugu metropolis. Yet, the real index of heartbreaking and lamentation was displayed, when the deceased’s mother in-law, Madam Maria Mgbafor Nwobodo, broke down and was wailing uncontrollably, as her grand child, 18-year-old Nnenna told the Nigerian Compass the story of the journey of the family into the present predicament of losing its sole breadwinner. It took Pa Mark Ngene, a native of Atakwu who had led the reporter to the village, quite some time to get the old woman to become calm again.
Nnenna, the first child of the deceased, who had passed the last Unified Matriculation Examination for entry into tertiary institutions in Nigeria was to join other successful candidates in writing the screening examination at Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu shortly before her father was arrested along with others, following an altercation with the adherents of the pastor’s church. She explained that, having been taken into police custody, Chukwu had told her to wait till he was out before continuing with her plans to go to the university.
Now, she said: “ I am no longer talking about school. We have entered into trouble now. Even feeding is now very difficult. And my mother and the other wife are sick. They rushed them to the clinic this morning because they are thinking too much.” According to her, the fate of the younger ones, namely Ijeoma, Odinaka, Sochima, Emmanuel and Ejiofor now hangs in the balance. Prospects for their education are certainly bleak.
What angers the relations of the deceased is the circumstances that led to the transfer of the victim and other suspects arrested along with him to the custody of the SARS over a fight. It was gathered that a pastor in the church appeared sought the intervention of the Special Anti-Robbery squad who whisked them away from the police division in their domain - Awkunanaw Police Division - to the SARS office in Enugu metropolis, where they were tortured heavily, leading to his death in prison custody.
As the controversy rages as to what led to getting SARS into that kind of matter, the Civil Liberties Organization and another human rights body, Tropical Watch, working in liaison with extended relations of the deceased and other stakeholders, have written to the Minister of Police Affairs, urging urgent action in investigating the circumstances that led to his death.
Barrister Olu Omotayo of The Tropical Watch wrote: “Tropical Watch writes to you in respect of the above-mentioned matter on behalf of the family of Late Chijioke Chukwu of Olympic Layout, Ndagonyo-Umugwu Akum, Enugu South Local Government Area, Enugu State, who died around 11p.m, on July 27, 2010, at the Enugu Prison, Enugu, due to severe torture meted unto him by men of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), Enugu before his arraignment at the Magistrates’ Court Enugu on July 26, 2010.
“According to the wife of the deceased, Mrs. Obiageli Chukwu Ugwu, the incident which led to the death of her husband started on July 22, 2010.”
Mrs. Chukwu Ugwu said that on that fateful day, there was an altercation between some residents of Ndagonyo-Umugwu Akum Community, and some followers of Pastor Dan, Enugu South Local Government Area, Enugu State.
Omotayo further informed the Police Affairs boss that “Pastor Dan has been having a running battle with the residents of the community, who instituted court action against him over his forceful occupation of the community land where he built his church on, which he claimed he received a revelation from God that he should build his church on.
“Those who had been arrested by policemen from Awkunanaw Police Station and taken to the Police Station were Chijioke Chukwu, a.k.a Ugwu Akegbe (who was later tortured to death at SARS), Chukwunonso Ugwuakum and Ifeanyi Ani. Omotayo who is also of the CLO said: “While the matter was still under investigation at Awkunanaw Police Station, the Church complained to the Commissioner of Police that they are against Police at Awkunanaw Division handling the matter. Later that same day the men from the dreaded SARS came to Awkunanaw Police Station and whisked away the three men”.
Comments