Obrikom, a bustling town in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local government of Rivers State, now wears a mournful look. Even trees and animals bear witness to the pale mood that has descended upon the ancient community. Since the gruesome killing of a former Caretaker Committee Chairman of the area, Chief Christopher Adube, his three children – Joy, 27, John, 25, Lucky, 22, his younger brother, Ikechukwu and his two gatemen on the evening of Friday, April 3, 2015, life has not remained the same in the sleepy town. The scars left by the tragedy remain very fresh wherever you turn to here.
While the sad incident took away with it three of the family’s children, it equally left two more on the treatment table. Paul and Ruth, both very promising, were hit by bullets during the deadly raid as they managed to escape from the building. Though, the former is gradually beginning to talk and move his legs, according to Saturday PUNCH’s findings, Ruth has remained incapacitated since that time. Their condition adds more salt to the Adubes’ already bleeding wound.
“I was in the house that evening resting on the couch in the living room when suddenly something told me to take a walk outside,” Henry, eldest son of the family, told our correspondent in the course of the week.
“It wasn’t up to 10 minutes that I had that strange feeling and left the house that the gunmen arrived to unleash terror on everybody they met in the compound. If I were in the house at the time, I could have been killed as well.
“This is the saddest period of our lives as a family. Our father who was the only hope we had in the family, was not a troublemaker. Whoever did this to him in the name of politics should know that he or she has destroyed the peace of an entire household. We are still in shock and are deeply saddened by the incident, but we leave justice to God.
“My father and siblings did nothing to deserve such a wicked death. The killers believed that my father, being a popular politician in the local government, would be an obstacle to their evil plans during the governorship election if they didn’t take him out. He always stood for the truth and that was the only crime he ever committed. It’s so unfortunate for him to be killed this way,” the heartbroken young man said.
Though the perpetrators of the gruesome murder of Adube might have hit their target with his death, their scores with the family may be far from over. The eldest son gave a chilling insight into what manner of threats they have received from unknown persons since that time – a situation that has forced the family building in Obrikom to be completely deserted.
“We are still receiving threats from unknown persons who call and send messages,” Henry revealed. “They told us that we cannot escape and that our blood would still soak the floor no matter how long it may take. We are not taking the threats for granted and that is why we have deserted our house at Obrikom. The rest of us now hide our heads from one place to the other for fear of being killed.
“We are appealing to the state and federal governments to come to our rescue. Our lives are no longer safe and we have suddenly become refugees in our own land, running from one place to the other for fear of the unknown.
“As the eldest son of the family, enormous responsibilities have now been put on my shoulders as a result of the killing of our breadwinner and father. They have uprooted the tree of the family. It is a loss we will never recover from,” the 32-year-old said, pausing momentarily to find his breath.
Chamberlin, another of late Chief Adube’s sons who miraculously escaped the gunmen’s bullets that fateful evening, also gave an insight into the moments leading into that infamous massacre.
“That night, I was outside with two of my siblings discussing a new phone one of my sisters just bought,” he started.
“Suddenly, two young men dressed in black T-shirt, black trousers and red berets entered our gate and made straight into our parlour. The next thing we heard were gunshots.
“Out of shock, I immediately hid myself somewhere while my sister ran into the room. When the situation got calm, I heard my mother crying. My father’s body lay dead on the floor while Joy was also there, dead. Lucky was killed inside the bathroom and left in the pool of his blood.
“My father died as a result of politics. He always supported the All Progressives Congress and he died defending the party and its ideals. We are pleading with the authorities to ensure justice prevails and that we do not suffer,” he said.
The late Adube, a staunch member of the APC in Rivers State, had truck-loads of plans in the pipeline for his large family before life was snuffed out of him that fateful day.
Married to two women – Patience and Precious who bore him 15 children together, the former council boss was more than just a father to the household – he was a friend and inspiration to all under his roof. Even with limited resources, Adube ensured that quality education was within the reach of all his children. The late Joy was a graduate of Mass Communication from the Imo State University where she finished three years ago. John was a 300 level student of Electrical Engineering at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, while Lucky, the youngest of the three children killed, was pursuing a National Diploma in Civil Engineering at the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Imo State before the sad incident. The recuperating Paul is a Senior Secondary 3 student of Oma Comprehensive High School, Omoku while Ruth is pursuing university admission. Eldest son, Henry, on his part graduated six years ago from the Federal College of Education, Omoku. The rest of the children are also at various stages of their academic pursuits. They fear for the worst now that the pillar of the family is gone.
“They have killed our happiness for life,” Precious, the younger of the two wives whose three children died during the attack on the family, sobbed during a telephone conversation with our correspondent. “They have taken the lives of three innocent children and a peaceful father away. Two are still in critical condition at the hospital. We don’t know if we will ever get over this loss,” she said, crying.
Patience, the first wife and mother to Ruth and Paul, who are still battling for their lives at the hospital, while explaining how the incident occurred, reiterated that the loss is too huge for the family to handle.
“At about 7:00pm that evening, my husband and I were in the parlour discussing when suddenly some boys came in. They asked where Adube was and my husband answered that he was Chief Adube. The boys said they had warned him to leave APC and come over to the PDP but he refused. He stood up and tried to run into the bedroom but they shot him several times immediately and turned me into a widow,” she cried.
Council boss of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area, Augustine Ahiamadu, called on the police to unravel the perpetrators of the gruesome murder of their kinsmen. According to him, the entire community is yet to recover from the shock of the tragedy.
“The incident is a very sympathetic one, an eye-sore in fact. The people who committed this evil have no regard for human life. We know this act was politically motivated. How can somebody attempt to wipe out a family all in the name of politics? It is very wicked.
“What is happening in our local government is purely a political war. They have been killing APC members in this area for long. But the loss of Chief Adube and his children is a big blow to the entire community,” he said.
The APC in Rivers State in a statement issued by its Chairman, Dr. Davies Ikanya, said it would no longer tolerate the killing and harassment of its members by alleged PDP thugs.
“We received with utmost shock the killing of a monarch and nine other members of APC by hoodlums hired by the PDP leadership in Rivers State on April 3.
“Gunmen hired by PDP went on the rampage in Obrikom and killed Chief Adube, a traditional ruler and APC chieftain in the area along with his children and seven others. These miscreants also moved to Oboh, a neighbouring community and destroyed the house of Vincent Ogbuagu, an APC House of Assembly aspirant. This is completely unacceptable and we call for an immediate stop to the persecution and harassment of our members,” Ikanya said.
Governorship candidate of the APC in Rivers State, Dakuku Peterside, said Adube’s killing was the height of intimidation of the party’s members in the area. He said individuals had a right to choose which political association to align with.
“Political rights and freedom of expression are inalienable rights. As citizens, we must work to ensure that these rights remain unchallenged.
“We have also witnessed, like never before, persistent killings, torture, disappearances, harassment and intimidation of APC members.
“Our people are still in shock over the murder of Chief Adube. His wife, Madam Adube has already accused a PDP chieftain of ordering the murder of her husband. This should not be allowed to be swept under the carpet,” he said.
Governor Amaechi during a condolence visit to the home of the Adubes in Obrikom a few days ago, assured that all those involved in the killing of APC members in the state in recent weeks, will be made to face the law. He said the killers of the party stalwart and his children would soon be apprehended and prosecuted.
“All those responsible for this bloody act will pay for it. This kind of killing of APC supporters has gone beyond political violence.
“Why should politicians go beyond politicking to take anybody’s life? They will pay for this; I promise to fish out the culprits,” he said.
Publicity Secretary of the PDP in Rivers State, Samuel Nwanosike, rubbished talks of the party’s involvement in the death of Adube, his children and the others who were also killed during the latest attack at Obrikom. He said the allegation by the APC was in the characteristic habit of the party politicising every issue through cheap propaganda.
“If the APC is accusing the PDP in ONELGA for an incident that just occurred, then the police should interrogate their chieftains. The PDP in ONELGA is not violent. The police should do a thorough investigation on this matter,” he said.
Public Relations Officer of the Rivers State Police Command, Ahmad Mohammed, revealed that the massacre at the Adube’s family home in Obrikom took place around 7:30pm last week Friday and that they were on the manhunt for the perpetrators of the evil act. Mohammed said that anyone found to be connected to the crime, no matter how highly placed, would definitely be made to face the consequences.
The Obrikom massacre is the latest in a series of ruthless killings that have greeted the 2015 general elections in Rivers State. In the days leading to the March 28 presidential election which Gen Muhammadu Buhari of the APC won, a handful of individuals lost their lives while several more were killed on the day of the exercise through political violence. This is apart from the dozens still lying on hospital beds with varying degree of injuries.
Though earlier in the week, the governorship candidates of the PDP and APC in the state, Nyesom Wike and Peterside, agreed to a peace pact initiated by the Commissioner of Police, Hossiah Karma, tension still pervades the air across oil-rich Rivers.
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