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| Rita |
Four employees of Linksoft
Communications Systems, an Abuja based computer software company, have
been arrested by the Force Criminal Investigation Department Annex,
Alagbon, Lagos, in connection with the death of their colleague,
Tochukwu Aneke, under controversial circumstances.
The suspects -Justus Ogbuagwu, Micheal
Falode, Rapheal and a fourth yet -to-be identified person- were
allegedly arrested more than a month after Tochukwu’s death on July 10,
2013. The arrests were said to have been based on a petition to the
Inspector General of Police, on behalf of Tochukwu’s wife, Rita, and the
deceased’s father, Crescent Aneke, by their lawyer, Mr. Victor Opara.
Tochukwu allegedly sustained a gunshot
injury at one side of his head, around Zuma Rock, Suleja, in an alleged
attack by armed robbers.
His family, however, claimed that no
bullet or pellet was found in his head during an autopsy neither was
there gunshot holes on the vehicle in which Tochukwu was said to be
travelling with his colleague.
Continue reading after the cut...
Rita told PUNCH Metro that she had only been married to the deceased for two years.
She said, “Tochukwu was the Technical
Service Manager for the company before his death; he was 34. On the day
he died, Tochukwu had travelled for an official meeting in Kano.
Usually, attendance at the meeting was rotated among officials in
Tochukwu’s department.
“He wasn’t meant to go this time but his
boss, Falode asked him to. Early on July 10, 2013, Tochukwu left home;
he had planned to take public transport to Kano. He later called to say
that he was travelling with Ogbuagwu in his car instead; he had met
Ogbuagwu at Karo junction, Abuja.
Around 5pm, Rita said she got another
call from her husband that the meeting was over. They were on their way
back to Abuja; this time, Tochukwu was the one driving. Four hours
later, Rita got another call from Tochukwu. They had just arrived at
Banawa, Kaduna, where they planned to spend the night.
She said, “Tochukwu had a particular
hotel where he passed the night whenever he travelled that way. He told
me he would call after he had checked in. Unfortunately, he never did
and I fell asleep while waiting for him.
“The following morning, I woke up
suddenly at 5am and checked my phone. There were no missed calls from my
husband. I called his phone but his lines were switched off, both his
personal and official lines. Because I did not have Ogbuagwu’s number, I
had to call another colleague of Tochukwu, Rapheal.
“I explained to him that I couldn’t
reach my husband and asked for Ogbuagwu’s number. Rapheal sent the
number to me but despite calling repeatedly, there was no response.”
An hour after she had spoken to Rapheal,
he called at 7am and asked to speak with her brother-in-law, Okwudiri,
who lived with her. At the time, Okwudiri was away at a job interview.
Rita called him on the telephone and asked him to meet with her. When he
arrived, she told him to call Rapheal and find out what he wanted.
Okwudiri was informed by Rapheal that
Tochuwku had been involved in an accident and was at the Suleja General
Hospital. He was advised to proceed there immediately with Rita.
Unaware that Tochuwku was already dead,
Rita advised Okwudiri to go back to his job interview; she would go
alone to the hospital.
“Right from the moment I met Rapheal at
the hospital, he was dodgy. No one could explain how Tochukwu, who was
supposed to be sleeping in Kaduna, got shot at Suleja that same night.
It was a lady doctor, who finally came to tell me that Tochukwu had died
of a gunshot wound, sustained during an attack by armed robbers,” Rita
said.
While Tochukwu was said to have died on
the spot, Ogbuagwu allegedly escaped to a nearby army formation after
taking control of the vehicle and parking it off the road. Tochukwu’s
corpse was reportedly taken to the Suleja General Hospital by the army
personnel. The case was later reported at the Suleja Police station.
The deceased’s father, a retired Deputy
Superintendent of Police, said, “I had just left Lagos for Enugu when
the call came in. I quickly terminated the journey and went to the
company’s Lagos office at Ikoyi to find out what happened.
“All they did was apologise to me on the
incident and offer me an envelope which I believe contained money. I
rejected it. Till date, Ogbuagwu never told us himself what happened.
All the explanations we got were from other employees of the company.”
Opara, the family’s lawyer, said he
wrote a petition to the IG on August 2, 2103, and received an
acknowledgement on August 15, 2013.
He said, “The FCID, Alagbon immediately
took over the case. When the police demanded an autopsy, Tochukwu’s body
was taken to the University Teaching Hospital, Enugu, at the family’s
request.
“Four autopsies have been done and we
have yet to get a single result. All we were told by the doctor was that
there was no bullet in Tochukwu’s brain. The IPO also saw Ogbuagwu’s
car, there were no bullet holes on it.
“There are lots of unanswered questions.
Although, we are aware that four persons have been arrested, the police
have yet to explain what exactly led to the death. All the family is
asking for is justice.”
When PUNCH Metro contacted the
Police Public Relations Officer of the FCID, Alagbon, Mr. Archibong, he
said he had yet to get details from the Officer-in-Charge.
Linksoft’s legal adviser, Mr. Chima
Ojinnaka, said, “I am aware that four of our employees were arrested
based on a petition by Tochukwu’s family. His death was unfortunate as
he was well loved by everyone at Linksoft. We want the police to do
their job and that those responsible for his death, be brought to
justice. Tochukwu was already a manager before his death and had a
bright future.”
- Punch
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