Prevailing security worries in Obudu seem to be worsening with the Sunday, July 27 killing of a nineteen year old undergraduate, Miss Esther Elilo Ukwayi in front of the father’s compound at Bekpam layout by an unknown gunman.
Elilo as she is fondly called, a final year student of Mass Communication at the Renaissance University, in Enugu was gunned down around 8pm on the night by the unidentified gunman who rode on a bike
According to the father of the deceased, Doctor Godwin Ukwayi, the Head, Physical Education Department of the Federal College of Education, Obudu: “My daughter called me from school on Friday because she is a final year student of Renaissance University in Enugu. She called me and said she was not feeling too well so I asked her to come home to get treatment and one of her cousins who is also in school oversea was around and I wanted her to see him so I sent her transport and asked her to come home.
“She arrived home Saturday evening. After exchanging pleasantries we all departed to our bed rooms. On Sunday morning we all woke up and all went to church and returned without any incident. Later that evening, I had a visitor, a brother from my church. He said the pastor needed to go and pray for someone and I was requested to help carry him in my car to the place. I took them there and returned to the house. Just after about thirty minutes or so while I was trying to do some writing, the brother called again to say the pastor had finished praying and I should come and take him back.
“I immediately left the house and went there to take him home. It was dark already. I really did not waste time. All these while, my daughter who said she had slight head ache was sleeping in her room. On my way back, just less than fifty meters from my house, a heard a gunshot, a bike man also rushed past me, I almost brushed him in the process. On getting home I saw my daughter in a pool of her blood. I heard my wife shouting and people panicking and thinking of how to take her to the hospital. I quickly took her into the car and proceeded to the hospital. The first hospital we went to the doctor was not around so we had to take her to the second hospital; that is Sacred Heart Hospital. Even while I was bringing her out of the car and I saw her breathing had ceased, I knew she was dead. When we arrived the hospital, she was declared dead on arrival.
“When I asked what happened, the cousin who I had sent to buy fuel for the generator told me, my daughter said she had got some relief and wanted to accompany him to the petrol station. They had bought the fuel and were back home and were knocking at the gate and waiting for someone to come open the gate. He was holding the fuel and my daughter was holding her iPad which they used as torchlight to find their way.
“The cousin said, while he was knocking the gate, a bike man pulled over near my daughter and was harassing her as though he wanted to collect her iPad. She kept resisting the guy and shouting that the guy should leave her alone while he picked a stone and continued banging at the gate. He said the harassment continued and my daughter kept shouting until she shouted the third time so he dropped the fuel and rushed towards to guy to find out why he was harassing the sister. It was at that point he said the bike man walked back a little to where he packed the bike and brought out a short gun and shot at my daughter. And hopped on his bike and zoomed off without taking the iPad. The bullet went into her just under her ear. Honestly I am still in shock and just want to forget about this incident.” He said.
While some residents who spoke to CrossRiverWatch decried the rise in criminal activities since the inception of the present administration in the local government, the Security Adviser of the LGA Mr. Spokesman Agogo said the authorities along with the police have commenced investigation to unravel the killer and the motive.
Rose Ashibekong, a resident of Obudu told CrossRiverWatch that “Just this evening, there was an attempt to rob another girl at another side of town by someone on a bike too before the unfortunate incident of that poor girl. Since this chairman came on board the security situation in Obudu has worsen. There are increased cases of robbery and burglaries and the police seem to be helpless too.”
But Mr. Agogo said: “It is not correct to say that the Chairman is not doing enough about security in the local government. It sincerely would have been our desire to support the police with the necessary funding and equipment required to fight crime but since the inception of this government we have not had any capital vote apart from the normal allocation meant to cater for overhead.
“Nevertheless, the authorities at the council are not sleeping. We in touch with the police and we are already working very hard to ensure that the killer and the motive are unravelled.”
When CrossRiverWatch called the DPO of Obudu Division, CSP Chigozie Oliver Nnadozie, he was unwilling to comment on the matter and promised to call back but had not done so at the time of filing this report.
The telephone number of the State PRO of the Police, Mr. Hogan Bassey was also not reachable for comments after several trials.
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