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Murder is defined in criminal law as the unjustified killing of one person by another, usually distinguished from the crime of manslaughter by the element of malice aforethought.
In
Nigeria, most of these murders go unreported, unrecorded and uninvestigated. The perpetrators are never suspected, caught nor prosecuted. The crime of murder and assassination thus bolsters in our society with high unemployment rate and violent political processes that arms touts to the teeth.
When a high ranking politician is killed, the IG sets up a special panel to “investigate and prosecute”. Three months down the line, after faking and framing witnesses, the hype is down and dead. For an ordinary Nigerian in the streets of
Lagos
or in the valley of
Idemili
River, nothing is heard. Not even the tears of the helpless loved ones are noticed. Rather, the police capitalize on such murders to extort money from family members in the name of investigation.
Two weeks ago, I heard that Chukwuma Ogbueli has been missing. He was last seen in Awka on his way back to
Lagos
from
Enugu. We waited for contact from him or from whoever may be holding him, we prayed, we wished Chukwuma will come out of this and join us once again in our village meeting, we hoped that we will once more enjoy the fun, the glamour and all the excitement of being with him.
Yesterday, I got a call that the lifeless and decomposing body of Chukwuma has been found dumped somewhere in Awka. It happened that Chukwuma was cornered and murdered in cold blood.
For three weeks Chukwuma went missing, for three weeks nobody could do anything except wait and pray, including the Nigerian Police Force. You will definitely not hear about his death on the pages of the newspapers, but everyday, many Nigerians like Chukwuma – the less familiar faces - are murdered in our villages, towns and cities.
In the cities many law abiding Nigerians are attacked, some killed as they retire home to their loved ones after a hard days work. In the towns and villages, grand mothers, wives and daughters are raped and husbands made to watch.
In
Aba
the vigilante group Bakassi, has been regrouping in many areas following the increasing incidence of robbery in the town, despite its official ban by the state government last year. Most parts of
Lagos are being guarded by the OPC Vigilante and other security outfits that are being organized by residents in the clear absence of protection from police.
Nigerians are made to pay for these vigilantes in the cities where they reside. They still have to pay their taxes to the government and back in the villages contribute to the support of youths who are armed to protect the village – call it triple taxation. Chukuwma was among the group of Nigerians that were made to pay for their security thrice.
Yet he was murdered when he needed to be protected.
The last time I was with Chukwuma was in
July 19, 2007
at the burial of my uncle Josiah Agudosi. At a stage in the burial ceremony, I beckoned on one traditional musical group to come and play for me. As I danced, Chukwuma joined me, he was smiling as ever, he was merry and his dance steps and infectious smiles attracted friends and relatives as we danced to freedom.
That was my Chukwuma. That was our Chukwuma that always insisted that “gone are the days when we have to keep on quarrelling and eating bitter cola whenever we gather for village meetings at home or in
Lagos”. He advocated for brotherly love progress and development of Ngo- Nnobi. With his death, something big has forceful been taken away from our midst.
Last night I couldn’t sleep when I got the information that … Chukwuma has been found dead. Tears however refused to flow. I would have loved to cry to lighten my heart, to bury the expectation of the reunion we talked about in July 2007, to mourn the demise of some one who believed in me…
But as I write these words now, tears have finally dropped as I remembered the pains and the joys I shared with Chukwuma.
With your brutal murder however, I wish the tears of the silent majority and the less familiar faces in the ever increasing crime wave of unreported murders will be addressed by the relevant authorities.
Adieu my brother, adieu my friend, although I still wish this sunshine would have been allowed to continue a little longer.
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Authors 
Posted by Robot| 17.10.2007 04:28