Philomena is the mother of an undergraduate, Joy, allegedly killed in Abuja by one Alhaji Usman Adamu.
The troubled woman, her lawyer and one of the teenagers, said to be privy to the activities of the man, share their stories with ADELANI ADEPEGBA
Tell us about yourself.
I am Philomena, mother of late Joy Odama. Joy was my first daughter and she was a student of Cross River State University of Technology. She came back for Christmas holidays before she met her death.
How did you meet Alhaji Adamu?
It was within the week on December 18, 2016, we were home that day when Elizabeth came. She is our neighbour. I know her. She was close to me and she used to come to my house. We ate together. I didn’t know she had any intention. She pleaded with Joy to accompany her to see a man that wanted to assist her with her education. She said she didn’t want to go alone. She also pleaded with me to allow Joy to accompany her and since she was a girl I know, I permitted Joy to go with her. Not up to 30 minutes, I called Joy to know if they had seen the man and she confirmed that they had met him. I asked her not to stay too long.
Shortly after, she called me that the man said he wished to know me. She pleaded that I should come and that the man promised to help her. I went and met the man. He promised to get me a job in the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps. That was the first time I met Alhaji Adamu.
What happened after that day?
On December 20, it was a Tuesday and I went to Karmo market. When I returned, I didn’t see Joy at home. I called her and she said the daddy (Adamu) called her to come and take care of her house help that was sick. I didn’t know the house help but I told her to come back early since it was getting late. I called again and she assured me, that she was there with another girl who is a nurse. I asked her to give one of the girls the phone so I could speak with her. She did. She gave the phone to a girl called Gift who said she was from Imo State. Around 8pm, I called her again, her phone rang but she didn’t pick the calls. I began to get worried. I went to the Alhaji’s house but the gateman didn’t allow me in. I went back home and I was restless, I couldn’t sleep throughout the night. In the middle of the night, I called again. The phone rang but there was no response. I remembered that Alhaji called me so I dialled his number, but it took some time before he responded. I tried to introduce myself as Joy’s mother but he pretended as if he didn’t remember me. He then asked, ‘Did anything happen to Joy?’ and hung up.
I called again but he didn’t respond. Before I could take any further step in the morning, two policemen came to my house. They asked after my husband, but I said, “what happened to Joy? They only asked me to come to Karmo police station to see the divisional police officer.
What happened at the police station?
When I met the DPO, I asked what happened to my daughter, but the DPO, Raphael Nkem, sent me out. He asked his boys to take me out of his office; he said, ‘Go out, I don’t want to listen to you. Go and meet the DCO.’ I went to meet him and it turned out to be the man that came to my house. I asked where my daughter was and he said I shouldn’t worry, that she was fine.
He said she only had a health challenge and was admitted to a hospital. He asked me to come back the next day. My heart was set on fire. I couldn’t do anything. Her friends in the neighbourhood came to meet me and asked what the police told me. I narrated everything and they said we should go back to the station and demand to know what happened to Joy. That night around after 10pm, we trekked to the police station, but they didn’t open the gate for us.
One of the policemen simply told us that the officers in charge had gone home and that we should come back the next day. Early next day around 6am, I was at the station, but one of the policemen said it was too early. He told me to come back by 10am. You know how insulting the police are, when they see that you are a nobody? They talk to you rudely. That was what they did to me that day. I left and before 10am, I was at the police station with my family members. That was when they told me my daughter was dead. It was on December 22 that they broke the news to me.
Did the police tell you how she died?
The DPO was saying it was a pity she died a natural and sudden death. We demanded to see the girl, but he said they had taken her to the mortuary. They refused to take us to the hospital. They only directed us, with the receipt that was issued by the hospital. The girl had been embalmed before we got to the Federal Staff Clinic. The pathologist was shocked to see people coming to claim the girl as their family member. They didn’t even put her in the mortuary. She was placed on the floor. They refused to allow me to see her body. I only saw her face and hair. One of the mortuary attendants, who heard me speak in Idoma language, told me that Alhaji brought the girl on December 21
for embalming, saying she was his daughter. She said they refused and asked for a death certificate, adding that he left with the body and came back with the DPO of Karmo Police Station who ordered them to embalm the corpse. The funny aspect is that they asked a 14-year-old girl, Martha, to pay for the embalmment and sign the documents.
Excerpts from Punch