Police killed my son just like fowl over nothing – Mother of slain UNIPORT student

Mother, slain Uniport student

Success Nwogu and Eric Dumo

April 11, 2016 will forever remain memorable in the hearts of the Offurums, a small family from Oburu in Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State. It was the day horror descended on their roof, taking along with it one of their sons and brightest stars – Peter. The young man was allegedly felled by bullets from the rifle of a policeman while on a peaceful demonstration alongside fellow students of the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The students, as early as 6:00am had mounted the East West Road, a busy highway in the city linking several towns and states, chanting solidarity songs as they raised their voices in unison to protest a hike in fees by the school’s management. However, in the middle of the demonstration, from nowhere, three, sharp bullets pierced through the body of Peter, a high flying student. Within minutes the vibrant and energetic scholar had been flung to the ground. Soaked in a pool of his own blood, he was motionless. Life had been snuffed out of him. The sixth of seven children, his tragic demise now means the Offurums are now left with only four children after the death of two others initially.

“His death is a great blow to the entire family,” his distraught mother, Hannah, 68, told Saturday PUNCH earlier in the week at their Okokomaiko, Lagos home. “We had great expectations that he would graduate from the university, finish his national youth service, get a good job and become a great pillar of help to the family. But now his death has ended all of those dreams and taken away the little hope that the entire family had,” the bereaved woman added, before collapsing into a chair inside their tiny living room. Entreaties from a handful of women who surrounded her failed to calm her fraying nerves. For the next minutes, only Hannah’s cracked and wailing voice resonated all across the room and beyond. Those who initially stayed resolute were soon overwhelmed by the pathetic sight. The bereaved woman suddenly found company in other wailers. It was an unlimited flow of tears and raw, undiluted emotions.

Peter or Chibuzor as family members called him had managed to brace odds to find his way to the university despite his humble background. Amidst series of challenges – financial and material – the 29-year-old excelled at his academics and was only weeks away from graduating from the Faculty of Management Science where he was president of the students’ association before tragedy struck. The Imo State-born, on account of his scholarly exploits, was on his way to graduating with a first class honours from the institution thereby paving the way for a big future. But in a split second – in a moment of flared tempers and madness, everything came crashing. His death leaves a sour taste in the mouth of all who knew him.

“I nearly defecated on myself when the news of my son’s death was broken to me. In fact, I passed out,” Mrs. Offurum said, her lips vigorously trembling. “Since that day, I have not recovered from the shock. I have been devastated. I have not been able to even walk out from our compound. I have been down and depressed; I have been on drugs ever since and even lost count of the number of drips that have been administered on me. The loss has been too tough for me and the rest of the family to bear,” she said.

Though, far away from Lagos where his parents and siblings reside as a result of his academic pursuit in Rivers State, Peter had never gone a day without calling home to check and see how his family members were doing. To his mother, he was more than just a child – he was a friend who showered her with plenty of love and care.

“I remember Chibuzor calling me as early as 6:00am on the last Mothering Sunday to wish me well and also let me know how much he cared about me and the rest of the family. He told me that he would send something to me as a gift and that he would have wished to come and be with me for the day but that he could not because of his academics.

“I was very happy to hear those touching words from him. I told myself immediately that by the end of this year when he would have graduated with flying colours, got a good job and began to take care of me and the family; we would have several opportunities to celebrate. I was looking forward to that moment but see what has happened to us. My son was killed  by the police like a fowl for committing no crime,” she said, bursting into further tears.

Sensing what damage the news of her son’s death could do to her fragile health, Hannah was kept in the dark for almost two days after the tragic incident. Her children cleverly hid all mobile phones away from her reach and that of their 76-year-old father, Augustine, so that the news would not be rudely broken to them. But the unusual gaze she received from neighbours and fellow members within their Okokomaiko neighbourhood as she went about her daily activities aroused suspicion in her that something was amiss.

“Many people who saw me immediately after the tragedy just walked past in a strange way. I had not heard anything then but many of them had already watched the news on television and had heard over the radio that Chibuzor had been killed, so they were feeling for me. My children even took my handset and that of my husband away so that nobody could give us the news. It was until the following morning that my brother came and informed us about what had happened.

“Immediately I heard the news, I fell to the ground with all of my body shaking. Till this moment, my womb with which I carried Chibuzor’s pregnancy for nine months has been tumbling. His death is still like a dream to us. If you see his brother, sisters and relatives, they are all still very devastated. In fact, his father has grown very lean as a result of the tragedy.

“I have not found sleep since the news of my son’s death was broken to me. My heart has been shaking; it is as if my body has been set on fire. I only call on God to show mercy and restore my health because I have not felt normal ever since,” she said.

While disclosing to the reporter that her son wasn’t a troublesome person, Mrs. Offurum revealed that no member of staff of the University of Port Harcourt or representative of the Nigeria Police Force, his alleged killers, had visited the family since the sad incident.

According to her, it was criminal for the school authorities to have invited the police to harass and intimidate students on a peaceful demonstration to the extent of using live ammunition to disperse them. She said if government failed to bring her son’s killers to book, the Heavens will avenge his death and “inflict serious pains” on the household of whoever was responsible.

“Chibuzor was not a troublesome person,” she said. “He was very cool-headed, quiet and easy going. He was very popular with a lot of people because of his calm and respectful nature. He was the second to the last out of seven children but with his death, only four are now alive.

“The school authorities are culpable for my son’s killing. If they did not bring the police, the police would not have shot a boy who carried no gun, knife or stick. Government should fish out the killer of my son, prosecute and make sure that he is punished according to the law. I am calling on God to avenge the killing of my son and punish all those culpable.

“Nobody from the school’s management has visited or come to sympathise with the family. Even from the police, we have not heard or seen anybody. They behave this way because we are nobody to them but if it was the child of a rich man or politician, the case would have been different. They may think we don’t have anybody but I am happy to announce to them that we have the Almighty God, and He will fight on our behalf and give us justice. He will surely punish all those responsible for this pain we are suffering,” she said.

Public Relations Officer of the Rivers State Police Command, DSP Ahmad Muhammad, while refuting claims that the victim was killed by a policeman, said officers at the scene of the protest used minimal force to disperse the students.

Jointly addressing journalists along with the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students in Port Harcourt a few days ago, an activist and Coordinator, Integrity Group, Mr. Livingston Wechie, accused the Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Professor Ndowa Lale, of ignoring all counsel to shelve the idea of a fee increment, which eventually led to Peter’s death and the closure of the institution.

Lale while reacting earlier to the tragedy and chaos that greeted the April 11 incident alleged that the protest by the students was sponsored by his enemies as part of strategies to remove him from office.

But while the police and the school’s management absolve themselves of any wrong doing in the latest incident, family members and friends of the victim cry out for justice. For them, only the identification and punishment of their son’s killer would heal their wound. Those three, sharp bullets, according to them, not only ended Peter’s life but also shattered the hopes of an entire household looking to leverage on his promising future to escape poverty. He has yet to be buried.

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