…Decomposing body of commercial motorcyclist found in cassava farm
From Obinna Odogwu, Ekwulobia
Some farmers in Ifite-Isuaniocha village, Isuaniocha, Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State, visited their farmland in the early hours of Wednesday, November 2, only to behold the horrible sight of a decomposing human body dumped there.
The fear of the dead body, coupled with the suffocating stench from the corpse, drove them from the farms. With their wailing and lamentation on the Okpuno-Isuaniocha-Achalla major road, a crowd soon gathered to ascertain the identity of the dead body that had virtually decayed beyond recognition.
Eventually, it was discovered that the corpse was that of a commercial motorcycle operator who was said to have gone missing for over one week. The deceased, whose identity was given by his relatives as Mr. Onyemaechi Ugado, hailed from Umuogudu, Ndabuluabonyi in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
According to his relatives and colleagues who spoke to Daily Sun, the deceased lived in Umuife village, Urum, in the same local government area. He had gone to work that morning without a premonition of the doom that awaited him. They disclosed that he had, as usual, kissed his beautiful wife and his only child goodbye, hoping to return at the close of work. But he never did.
His wife, waiting for his return, grew more perturbed and impatient as time ticked by and, eventually, raised the alarm that her husband was missing. Their relatives mobilised a search party and set out to look for him.
The deceased’s in-law, Mr. Linus Onwe, told Daily Sun that he led a team that visited various native doctors and pastors for enquiries on his whereabouts and how best to bring him home; their efforts were fruitless, he said.
His story: “Members of his club came to me and told me that Onyemaechi had gone missing. Immediately, I joined the search party. The wife was looking for him; I myself was also searching for him. Even, as at the day his corpse was found, we were still looking for him. I visited a native doctor to inquire from the gods. They told me that he was lying face down. They said I should bring his wife but if she refused, I should come alone.
“But I did not relent. Even my wife also joined the search party. She visited police stations, the area command, Criminal Investigation Department and the State Anti-Robbery Squad. I called some policemen I know at the ‘B’ Division. They kept assuring us that they would see him.
“I was preparing to visit other spiritual centres to find out the situation of things before I received a call to come to Ifite-Isuaniocha, that a dead body was discovered in a farmland. Lo and behold, it was he. He has already decayed completely. In fact, we saw only his skeleton. We were able to identify him using his clothes and his Task Force bangle belonging to the commercial motorcycle transport union.
“We were looking for him for over one week. He has only one child and he was the only son of his parents. His killers took his motorcycle.”
He explained that the deceased had quarrelled with another okada rider, an Igalaman from Kogi State. He said that the man had pointed a supposed magic ring at Onyemaechi, vowing to deal with him, even after the police in Mgbakwu Division settled their quarrel on Friday. The deceased went missing on Monday.
“That day, the Igala boy brought out a ring from his pocket and said he would deal with Onyemaechi. They even went to the police over it but the police settled them.
“The guy still threatened to deal with him after the argument was settled by the police that Friday. I think the settlement took place at Mgbakwu Division. On Monday he went to work but never returned. He and the Igala man fought at Ifite-Isuaniocha Junction,” Onwe said.
Daily Sun could not speak with the wife, as she had returned to her community in Ebonyi State.
In an account that corroborated Onwe’s story, chairman of Winners Club, to which the deceased belonged, Mr. Ezaka Sunday, told this reporter that he had received a distress call from Onyemaechi before he was killed.
He said, “His wife came to my house in tears, lamenting that she had not seen her husband since he left for his okada business on Monday. So, on Tuesday we gathered at the house of Ebonyi residents’ chairman to discuss how to look for Onyema. We consulted different native doctors to find out where he was, but they kept telling us that he was being held hostage somewhere. They told us that a certain Igalaman from Kogi State with whom he had some misunderstanding recently was holding him somewhere.
“We later consulted some pastors and they told us that he was alive where he was being held. But before then, a certain number had called me, telling us to come and take our brother at the UNIZIK Junction. We went by 1am in the company of some members of the anti-cult group that we met on the way. But when we got there, we did not see anybody.
“Since then, we didn’t see him until when the news filtered in that a dead body was found in the farm. And that number they used in calling us was no longer connecting and his own was also not connecting.
“That was how we found out that he had been killed. He had decayed completely. We only saw his skeleton. We were able to recognise him using his shirt and the Task Force bangle belonging to the commercial motorcycle transport union. We are now planning how to take him back to his community in Ebonyi State for interment.
“He called me on the telephone with his killers’ phone number telling me that he was being held hostage somewhere. He said his hands were tied to his back. He told me that he was blindfolded and as such cannot tell where exactly they were holding him. Shortly after he said that, his abductors took the phone from him and that was the end.”
Ezaka appealed to the Anambra State Government and the security agencies to unmask Onyemaechi’s killers and punish them in accordance with the law.
The deceased’s kinsman, Mr. Joseph Agu, from Iziogo community, Izzi Local Government Area, and another commercial motorcyclist, Mr. Onyebuchi Anatuba, recalled that a commercial tricycle operator whose name was simply given as Mohammed was killed about 10 days ago. The man, they said, was killed in an uncompleted building at the nearby Ezinifite village, Okpuno, in Awka South Local Government Area of the state. They pleaded with the security agencies to beef up security in the area to forestall a recurrence.
Police Public Relations Officer, Anambra State, Nkeiruka Nwode, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, confirmed the incident , saying the police had begun investigation to unmask the perpetrators of the crime and bring them to book.
Lady bedridden by kidney failure needs N10m
By Tessy Igomu
Bedridden and lying motionless, Mercy Anujulu’s laboured breathing and the beeping of machines were the only sounds that filled the room where she lay while undergoing treatment at the Dialyser Centre in Oshodi, Lagos.
For the past 10 months, this has become a necessary medical routine to keep her going. But the 23-year-old Banking and Finance undergraduate from the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State, is optimistic that God would bring her travails to an end.
Mercy’s condition has virtually reduced her parents to beggars. They now rely on the benevolence of people to survive and cater to her needs.
Her father, Alphosus Anujulu, explained that his daughter’s problems started in May 2016 when Mercy called to say she was very ill and had been diagnosed with malaria and typhoid. She was placed on admission at a hospital in Awka, Anambra State, for many days, yet her condition deteriorated.
“When I learnt she was not getting better, I made arrangements to have her brought to Lagos. I could barely believe my eyes when I saw her; she had become so lean and pale,” he said.
Mercy’s father said it was later discovered that she had chronic kidney infection, and was immediately admitted at the Nigeria Air Force Base Hospital, Ikeja, for a week. She underwent blood transfusion and had two dialysis sessions before being discharged.
However, the ailment had seen them in and out of several hospitals, and, at a point, Mercy was admitted at St. Nicolas Hospital, Lagos Island.
“I took her out of the hospital against doctor’s advice due to accumulating medical bills. She was undergoing dialysis treatment three times a week. Since we left, I have been gradually paying off the outstanding hospital bill of N135,000,” he said.
Anujul stated that he has resorted to begging to keep his daughter alive, because, following his daughter’s ailment, everything everything has taken a downward plunge for him. His business has also suffered, as the Lagos State government demolished his shop recently.
Said he: “I had no alternative source of income, so after selling off my goods at very ridiculous rates to pay for my daughter’s mounting medical bills, I had to start begging. Once we take her to the hospital for dialysis, my wife and I would go to different parts of Lagos to beg for money.
“I feel heart-broken watching her suffer like this. Most times ahe requires oxygen. This is why I don’t mind to endure any form of humiliation, knowing that, momentarily, the money I come up with will give her some relief. If for any reason she misses any of her doctor’s appointments because we couldn’t come up with enough money, her bill will increase because she would have to undergo blood transfusion. It has been a sad journey for the whole family. ”
Anujulu explained that the only chance of survival for Mercy was urgent kidney transplant in India. For the surgery, they need about N10 million.
A medical report signed by a consultant physician and nephrologist, Dr. M.A. Amisu, dated October 7, 2016, said there was urgent need for Mercy to travel abroad for treatment. The report, which described her as being hypertensive with very low blood level, confirmed that she suffers from chronic kidney disease.
“Her clinical state is poor because she cannot afford adequate dialysis of three per week. She has been advised that kidney transplant will offer her better quality of life. The patient’s father seeks for financial assistance. Please accord her necessary assistance,” the report said.
Donations to save Mercy’s life can be sent to George Aphons Uche, Fidelity Bank Plc (6238857365) or First Bank Plc (3110003916). Mercy’s father may be contacted on 08066534505.
20-year-old lady goes blind after surgery
By Bianca Iboma
There is hardly anyone who will not weep for Linda Mercy Chideraa Okani, 20. At her age she ought to have either completed her studies in her preferred course, Mass Communication. She had looked forward to doing that with great enthusiasm but now that looks like a pipe dream. She is down with a strange brain tumour, even as efforts to correct the condition at theLagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, have rendered her blind. Chiderra, a beautiful and vivacious lady, has been thrown into a dilemma by theturn of events. Recently her small circle of friends gathered to celebrate her 20th birthday with her, just to make her happy. She was resplendent in her colourful dress but beyond the facade was a young woman burning with pain and anguish. Her two eyes were open even as she danced but she could not see anything because she had gone blind.
Recently, a glimmer of hope appeared for her. A hospital in India offered to help her to reverse the situation, at an estimated cost of N6 million.
Her travails began in 2014, when she was diagnosed with craniotomy (tumour in the brain), a life-limiting condition. She underwent clinical surgery at LASUTH in April 2014 to correct the defect, however, her joy was curtailed after the surgery as she suddenly went blind. And, unless there is urgent intervention for her to undergo secondary cranioplasty, the situation might grow worse, experts have said.
Her father, Mr. Geoffery Okani, a petty trader in Lagos, said his dream of ensuring that his daughter had a fulfilled life and later be of assistance to him and her siblings was gradually becoming a mirage, except a miracle comes their way. Right now, his family could not afford to pay for the treatment. So he iss appealing to corporate organisations and individuals to come to his aid and save his daughter’s life.
“Chideraa’s life needs to be saved,” Okani said tearfully. “We have not stopped spending money since these conditions surfaced. I have sold every possession I have; yet I’m right now in huge debt, all in a bid to see that she pulls through. The cause of this strange ailment I cannot really explain but it has been so tough managing her condition, especially with the huge cost involved.”
He recalled that Chideraa’s ordeal started two years ago after it was discovered that she was having memory loss and other odd symptoms. But no one suspected it was anything serious, let alone a brain tumour. However, clinical findings showed hat she had a right craniotomy defect that had led to her using a titanium mesh though she has been on routine follow-ups at the neurosurgery out-patients clinic at LASUTH. Okani said financial constraints have been hindering the second phase of the surgery, which had been scheduled to take place in Maniple Hospital, India, as soon as money was raised.
He said, “We were referred to the Indian hospital by Dr. Obiora Ajuluchukwu, a consultant radiologist based in Lagos. If I can’t raise the required amount for the surgery, it means my daughter will die. I don’t want this to happen.” He has appealed to Nigerians to help save his daughter. Anyone willing to help Chideraa can contact Mr. Geoffrey Okani, on 07033233946, 07068945448. Donations can be made to Access Bank account number 0689091272.