ω I want my son back dead or alive, 90-yr-old mother cries
From Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
For the Onyeka family of Inyaba Umudim, Nnewi, Anambra State, anxiety has been their lot in the past 11 years since the mysterious disappearance of one of their kin, John Onyeka on August 18, 2006.
John, a University Professor who served as Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Jos is the first son of Godson and Eunice Onyeka who lived most of their productive years in the University town of Nsukka, Enugu State.
Born in 1948, John went to school partly at Nsukka and London for his junior fellowship and also lectured briefly at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka before transferring his services to University of Jos. He got married to Ethel Ada Onyeka nee Anazodo and they had three children. As at the time he got missing on August 18, 2006, he lived alone in Jos with a cook while his wife and their only daughter, Uju lived in Abuja. His two sons were in the university then but lived off campus.
Journey of no return
According to family sources, Prof. John was billed to travel to Makurdi on Saturday August 19, 2006 with his friend Ben Angwe, a former top shot at the National Human Rights Commission, Abuja, supposedly to collect money for some contract job they executed with the Benue State University. He was last seen on Friday evening of August 18, 2006 during a service of songs in honour of the wife of a staff of Unijos and was there till the service ended at about 9pm when he was said to have left for home. The next morning, he supposedly travelled to Makurdi for the business trip but didn’t return till today.
John’s father, Godson died heartbroken in 2010 after waiting for four years for his return to no avail. His mother, Eunice now in her 90s is still clinging onto hope that before she also breathes her last, she may see her beloved son and possibly talk with him before going the way of all mortals.
When Saturday Sun reporter visited the country home of the Onyekas last week, a pall of unusual silence enveloped the compound. The missing John’s uncompleted storey building still occupies a central portion of the large compound. The mother though feeble from the effect of old age still had a strong voice and did not hesitate to talk of her missing son.
“I don’t know how long it would take but I still believe that anything missing may be somewhere. It’s been 11 years of agonizing pain for me. I have not set my eyes on John my son for so long but something in me tells me that he is alive. Even his children, three of them, don’t visit home because their mother who is supposed to be my son’s wife confused them but I believe that no condition is permanent. If he was reported dead and we saw his corpse, I would have mourned him after paying him last respect and the burial but this one is different. He went on a journey but has not returned. My God has never failed me and I believe strongly in Him and that’s why I can still hope and face tomorrow” she said.
So many unanswered questions
Saturday Sun gathered that the very day Prof. Onyeka was declared missing on August 18, 2006, he was supposed to travel to Markurdi, Benue State with his friends and business associate to collect payment for a design work they did for the Faculty of Law, Benue State University, worth N15,500,000 (Fifteen million, five hundred thousand naira). When Prof. Onyeka did not return after the day, the family raised the alarm and reported to the police. The matter was assigned to the then CP Ahmodu Ali of the IGP Monitoring Squad during the tenure of IGP Sunday Ehindero.
The police took one year to investigate the matter and eventually charged five people to the High Court 3 Jos Judicial Division. Surprisingly, the suspects were later discharged.
It was also gathered that three weeks after Prof. Onyeka was declared missing, the dark gray Peugeot 406 Salon car which he supposedly traveled with was found abandoned at a location in Kwale, Ndokwa East Local government area, Delta State . The car with plate number Plateau AL 765 GW and a Chassis Number VF 38BRF V281346681 was found with a Benue State number plate but with the exact and similar features with the missing car.
One Emeka Anyaegbunam based in Jos was also found in possession of the Prof’s personal GSM phone. Emeka was arrested and paraded in IG’s conference room Abuja and the Onyeka family thought that solution was in sight to unravel the mystery surrounding the disappearance of their illustrious son when suddenly, the police allegedly began foot-dragging on the case.
The final death knell that truncated the course of justice in the matter, it was learnt, occurred when the case file was sent to the Ministry of Justice Plateau State through the Director of Public Prosecution for advice. The names of the prime suspects were allegedly expunged from the file to the surprise of the family members while the few who were later arraigned in court were finally discharged on September 21, 2011.
Family still seeking for justice
Okonobi Onyeka, younger brother to the missing Prof John Onyeka, told Saturday Sun that the family has not slept well since the incident and is bent on getting to the root of the matter.
“When the incident happened, we travelled several times to Jos to see whether we can make headway. Johny’s wife was already living separately in Abuja when this happened and she never cooperated with the family in searching for her missing husband. The Nzuko Umunna Cultural Association, a family meeting of our people resident in Jos tried in their own way too for solution. At a stage, they had to brief some of their lawyer members who applied for fiat to prosecute the case on behalf of the government but I think some of the personalities connected to the case had ‘long legs’. They made sure they killed the matter in court and walked away unscathed but we know that court judgment is not the final one, there is another divine judgment which no man can escape”, he said.
Another younger brother, Bob Onyeka also said that the family has spent much trying to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of their brother.
“We have sought spiritual solution through several prayer forums and family meetings and we are still not resting. That was why it pained some of us when family strife wanted to erupt over the issue of property while we are still looking at the bigger picture that a man of Prof Johny’s status disappeared without trace till today. We are hopeful that this mystery would be unraveled someday.
John’s uncle, Francis Onyeka who also spoke to the reporter from his base in London said the situation really makes him feel sad most times. He restated that the family is still standing by its stake of N5m for anyone who could give useful information towards unravelling the mystery behind the Professor’s disappearance.
He called on the security agencies and the government to reopen investigation into the matter and to ensure that it gets to a logical conclusion. He expressed worry that if somebody of John’s status can disappear without traces while the government cannot do anything, then, the fate of the common man in the street would be worse.
“We shall continue searching for our son, no matter how long it takes, we are not relenting. Let it be on record that we did not keep silent but government must do something on this matter so that all anxieties and pains would be addressed. We suspect a high-wired conspiracy on this matter but I know that all hidden things done under the sun would be revealed someday. The search for our missing brother continues as long as we are still alive and there is no going back “he said.