My last moment with Ugo, by widow

She was still in tears and getting her to talk was a very difficult task. Her eyes were in red and her mood very low. She was yet to come to terms with the cruel fate that befell her husband five days after their wedding. Joan, widow of Ugochukwu Ozuah, the man that was shot dead by men in police uniform, was still in shock.

She looked pale as family members and sympathizers surrounded her, offering her consolation. She only looked into nothingness, unable to understand the tragic turn of event just five days after the couple’s union. “Police killed my husband five days after our wedding,” she managed to say if she was just breaking the news. “They robbed me of marital bliss that every young couple yearns for.

The President and Inspector general of Police must fish out my husband’s killers among the police,” she added in an emotion-laden voice as she laid on her mother-in-law, obviously for some emotional support. Controversy has trailed the murder Ozuah last Thursday at UPS Junction in Gbagada area of Lagos as his friend and family members claimed that he was killed by the police. But police authorities in the state denied the allegation, saying the deceased was actually killed by armed robbers. Ozuah, according to his bereaved family, had seen off a friend, who came to visit him at home.

He was said to have been accosted by men in police uniform, who shot him while dropping off his friend at the bus stop. His bereaved mother, Deaconess Chinwe Ozuah, also insisted that police shot dead his son and demanded for justice. Yesterday, in an exclusive chat with Daily Sun, the deceased’s widow also reiterated the family’s position while recalling her last moment with her late husband. Amid tears, she recalled: “My last moment with my dear was when he came home and told me that he would come back in a moment and went out to drop his friend.”

Apparently downcast, Joan was lost again in thought making the younger sister to the deceased. Mrs. Uzor Nwogu queried the insensitivity of the police to the plight of the family “The police are being callous because we expect that they would have at least visited the grieving young widow and the aged mother. We are not expecting anything much more than for them to say ‘don’t worry, we are there for you. We are investigating the matter. We will get back to you.’ “But not even a phone call was made to us since Ugo was killed.

We want justice on Ugo’s case. The police can’t just shoot a Nigerian and dump him on the road side like a chicken. We must resist such evil practice. Nigerians must rise up to resist that.” Her position was corroborated by the elder sister to late Ugo, saying the time has come for authorities of the Nigerian Police to attach value to lives of victims of their excesses. “There is no reason why they (police) should not take action on this issue. It is high time the leaders and officers of the police force started attaching value to human lives in this country.

Police are supposed to protect us and give us that sense of value to human lives but they are the one killing us. “My brother could have been the president of this country. He was doing his Masters programme at the University of Lagos and the students of his department were here yesterday (Monday) to inform us that they had declared a lecture-free day for Ugo. “It has never happened in the history of the department but in Ugo’s case it happened. That is to tell you how valuable he was to the department even as a student.

He was a mechanical engineer and also a computer engineer. He was running a full time masters programme but was also doing a private business. “We are so disappointed in the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) because she just sat in her office and was making callous statement on the issue.

We expected her to say ‘we send our condolences to the grieving family and we shall thoroughly investigate the matter and we will get to the bottom of this matter.’ It is so insensitive for her to just sit there in her office and make callous statement on this matter.”