By Ife Osemedua
Josephine Ifeanyi, widow of the slain newspaper vendor, Ifeanyi Okereke, also known as Elechi, has cried out for justice for the murder of her husband by a former security aide to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.
In a BBC Pidgin video, she said in tears that her husband was a gentle man who lived like an angel, saying she had been deprived of the love he used to shower on her.
The mother of two who is just recovering from the birth of their second child which happened about 2 weeks ago, stated that Ifeanyi came “like an angel and left like an angel.”
Speaking in Pidgin English, she said, “’Ifeanyi Chukwu was a gentle man, Why, why now?’’ in apparent reference to the news of his death. “Even this house, I do not know how I will cope with living alone because everywhere I turn, I see him.”
Mrs Josephine broke down in tears while lamenting that the now suspended Department of State Services official, Abdullahi Hassan, cut her love story short and asking that justice should be done.
While displaying pictures of her husband’s celebration of her birthday, she recalled fond memories with him, narrating how he told her “sweet words in her ear” while the party lasted.
The BBC report also added that the deceased vendor left his village in Ebonyi State 7 years ago to Abuja in search of a means of livelihood to feed his poor parents.
Cradling her infant child while going down through memory lane, Mrs Josephine said, “He did not have anybody when he came to Abuja. He used to sleep in an uncompleted building in a church in Area 1. Someone directed him to the distribution (Newspaper distribution) in Area 1 and when he reached there, he was directed to a man called Imo, Imo welcomed him and gave him papers and directed him to go to Federal Secretariat that that is where his stand is. When he sold them, Imo took him to his house and he started staying with him for some time before he gathered money and went to rent a place of his own.”
Mr Ifeanyi Okereke was shot dead on November 19 by one of my security aides who was attached to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.
In the wake of the incident, the Speaker said he was shaken by the incident which occurred at the Federal Secretariat where he had stopped to exchange pleasantries with Newspaper vendors.
In a statement, he regretted the sad occurrence which led to the death of “a citizen going about his business, trying to make a living for himself and his family.”
He also announced that the security operative, Abdullahi M. Hassan, had been handed over to the Department of State Security (DSS) for investigation and appropriate administrative and judicial action. In the interim, he has been suspended from the convoy.
The Speaker also promised to “’see to it that the family of Mr Ifeanyi Okereke receives the full measure of justice so that their bereavement is not compounded by any actions that can cause them further pain and suffering, “and “committed to them that I will support his wife and the immediate family he has left behind.”
Gbajabiamila has since the incident, visited the family of the deceased in Suleja, Niger State, as well as his professional colleagues – The Abuja Newspapers Distributors Association (ANDA) and the Newspapers Vendors Association, Abuja (NVAA) – to condole with them over his death.