Uba and his children
Photo: Sun News Publishing
My relationship Really, my wife, Christiana, was involved in the Sunday, July 8, tragedy in which nine people were killed. The person in question, Mr. Pascal Njoku, is my in-law and my wife is the senior sister to his wife. And that was the essence of attending his late mother’s burial, Mrs. Felicia Njoku Pascal, in Umuakuru.
Death after burial We were all there throughout the funeral activities. We went from the mortuary to their home (Umuakuru). After the church service, her body was interred and thereafter different groups from various places were entertained.
At the end of the funeral on the same day, I left with two of my children and my people, who accompanied me to the burial. In the morning of Sunday, July 8, as early as 7:30 I received an unknown call, “come down now, run to Umuakuru now, wonders have happened.” I was confused, but I thought that probably as a result of the previous quarrels they had in their old compound, there must have been another quarrel.
I went there with some people and what we saw was a terrible shock, nobody could believe it. My wife was dead, her friend, Pascal, and his family all gone. Needless to say we were worried. I could not control my emotions.
I immediately went to the backyard to check the generating set. That was what came first to my mind. I saw that the generator was not on. Curiously, I opened the tank and discovered that the fuel was at half tank and they had intentionally put off the generating set.
I began to think of food poisoning, as people were saying. I ate what they cooked at the funeral like every other person. I ate Igbo salad (ugba), the vegetable soup, and I took the drinks. There was no other person that attended the funeral whom we heard of having food poison problem. I began to suspect that either somebody had gassed them while asleep, or sprayed dangerous chemical on them. Strange deity
However, what happened was that the same strange deity that drove them away from their old home (family compound), must have finally caught up with Pascal and his family. He (Pascal) had been out of the old family home for almost two years, and not until the passing away of his mother, Felicia Njoku, did he come back to complete one of the buildings in his new compound.
Nobody can rule out spiritual attack against Pascal and his family, because the man (prime suspect) had boasted in the past that he would “clear” the entire family. The late Pascal Njoku was the only son of his parents and he had a son, who died alongside others in this tragedy. Now, his boast is no longer a mere threat, it has come to reality.
Umuakuru community’s action When we arrived in the morning of the fateful day, the police were there. We went to the residence of the President-General of the community and he was nowhere to be found, the traditional ruler, Eze Cyril Njoku, also vanished into thin air and none of them showed up later. Even the first ambulance car we hired to convey the nine bodies to the hospital mortuary left after waiting for almost two hours in vain. Not until an army major from 32 Brigade, Obinze, went to the village to force the President-General and others to come out from their homes. He told them to work with him. All of them were afraid over the issue of the strange deity, believing that any person that touches the bodies of the victims must equally die.
Narrow escape One of my daughters, Amarachi, after the funeral ceremony at 4 p.m. the same day, called me to a corner and said, “Daddy, take me home, I would like to go home.” I asked her why? She said, “I don’t want to stay here.” Right from that moment she started following me and didn’t give me any chance to operate freely. At 7:30 p.m. we left the venue to our home in Umualam, Uratta.
Spiritual attack I learnt the pastor that was brought to Pascal’s compound for prayers was spiritually attacked and he was rushed out. We also heard there was a situation after the burial. An old woman came out from nowhere and said “every person should go; nobody should sleep in the compound.” We also heard that the people who washed the pots used for the cooking moved to another direction. I was not in the kitchen and the people in the kitchen have not confirmed that this is true.
I cannot recall all that happened, which led to the sad incident. It is like going back to another life. My wife is no more, all my belongings gone. It is a terrible loss to me, having lost my wife, my in-law and his entire family. I am facing a hell of problems. How can I come out of this shock? I am just a poor retired civil servant, and my benefits have not been paid.
I pray government to come to our aid, because this is just like a massacre; to have nine healthy persons die in questionable circumstances. The state government has removed everything found in the late Pascal’s home, including my wife’s belongings.
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