The morning of August 27, 2013 started out like any other one for the family of Corporal Chijiokwu Solomon Ngozi; there was nothing unusual to show what the day held in store for the family of four, husband, wife, Purity Ogadimma, and daughters Divine, 5, and Treasure, 3.
Ngozi, with Force Number 401728 was attached to ‘B’ Department, Operations of the Lagos State Police Command, went to work after bidding his family goodbye that morning. Sadly, he never returned alive.
As Purity waited for her husband to come back in vain, she grew more and more agitated. By the following day with still no sight of him, she called a few relatives to alert them.
On August 28, a Police wireless message from O/C Patrol and Guard to COMPOL ‘B’ OPS, Ikeja, Lagos read: “Incident report on 27/08/2013 at about 2200hrs at 3rd Avenue, Festac Town, Lagos.
“A team of policemen from Patrol and Guard, AP/NO. 1144217, Inspr. Ogbushi Simon F/NO. 355745, Cpl Adebayo Olaposi and F/NO. 401728, Cpl Chijoke Ngozi, attached to the Young Shall Grow Transport Service (YSGTS), Satellite Town, while escorting the company’s chairman to Festac Town, at 3rd Avenue, were attacked by robbers. In the process, one F/NO. 401728, Cpl Chijoke Ngozi was killed, as well as Nweke Peter, the driver of the escort vehicle. Two of the suspects were killed and their rifles recovered”.
“Meanwhile, the chairman of YSGTS and Cpl Adebayo Olaposi, sustained injury and were hospitalised at an undisclosed hospital within Festac. The corpse of the late corporal has been deposited at the General Hospital Mortuary, Badagry, for autopsy”.
Recent revelations show that Umunede, Delta State-born Ngozi and his colleague died at the hands of Chukwudi Onuamadike, alias Evans and his gang of kidnappers during their failed attempt to abduct the Chairman of YSG Motors, Chief Vincent Obianodo.
Evans has since admitted being among the members who attempted to kidnap Obianodo. A cousin, John Chijiokwu, recalled that one of Ngozi’s colleagues called him, after calling his wife earlier, to say they had just lost him. John would later learn that Ngozi, 41, was shot in the head, dying instantly, and his body was deposited at the mortuary before his family got there.
It was gathered that following Ngozi’s death, Obianodo assisted Purity with some money for immediate needs. Her trips to the Police headquarters in Ikeja regarding her husband’s entitlements yielded no fruit, as she was directed from one office to another, without a kobo being given to her. Due to this unfortunate series of events, she fell ill shortly, with her blood pressure rising to dangerous levels, according to Mrs. Rosemary Afambu, Ngozi’s elder sister. The money Obianodo gave her was sadly expended on her treatment.
Purity never recovered from the shock and illness, passing away in 2015, leaving behind their Divine and Treasure. As a result of the death of both parents, Mrs. Afambu, whose husband abandoned her years ago, assumed their care, along with her own four children, leaving her with a burden too great for her to bear.
Divine, now nine and a Primary 3 pupil of Community Primary School, Amikole in Agbado area of Lagos, and Treasure, seven, in Nursery 1 in the same school were full of tears when they spoke to The Guardian. Seeing them in that state drew tears from the reporter as well.
Divine misses her father dearly, especially as “he used to buy something for me and take care of me.”
It was their mother that told them that their father had died before she followed shortly after. “My mummy told me that he is dead, after some time, my mummy died too. She was sick and she died and I am feeling sad,” she said. In school, she is occasionally asked about her parents, and: “I tell them that my mummy and my daddy are dead.”
Treasure, too, is not oblivious of that fact. Like Divine, she recalled that her late parents used to buy her things, luxuries she can no longer get.
Asked what they would want done to those who killed their fa
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