On 19th November 2020, Shehu Shagari Way, a stone’s throw from the National Assembly, was the stage for a tragedy that would forever alter the lives of Josephine ‘Nene’ Ifeanyichukwu, her daughter and seven-day-old baby.
Ifeanyichukwu Okereke, a hardworking newspaper vendor from Arochukwu Local Government Area in Abia State, was the victim of a fatal gunshot fired by a security aide attached to the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Nene had just given birth to their second child a week earlier, and the family was preparing for the naming ceremony when the sad news hit them.
“My husband called me in the afternoon of the day he was killed,” Nene recounted in an interview with THE WHISTLER as her voice trembled.
“He said he was coming to pick me up in the evening because the next day was the naming ceremony.
“Then later in the day, I tried to call his number but the number was not connecting. I called one of his friends to ask about him and he told me my husband had entered an office to charge his phone.
“So, I told the friend to tell him to call me when he comes back. I waited but he did not call back. I called his friend again and he said my husband was not yet out and that he would call me back.”
Little did Nene know that would be the last time she would hear her husband’s voice. As night fell and her attempts to reach Okereke went unanswered, a doomy feeling crept over her.
“Later, none of the numbers were connecting. All those I knew were close to him were not reachable. At midnight I tried his number again but it still wasn’t connecting. Then I said to myself that this man I know is someone who always calls to check on me.
“I started to feel strange. If I turned, it would seem something was moving around me. Then I felt that something was wrong,” she remembers.
Nene told THE WHISTLER that the next morning brought the devastating news that would shatter their world. Okereke had been shot dead on Shehu Shagari Way — a spot known for newspaper vendors.
Ifeanyi Okereke was shot dead on November 19, 2020, along the Shehu Shagari Way near the National Assembly in Abuja. Photo: PUNCH
“I rushed to my mom and told her that my husband did not call me and whenever I turned, I felt something was moving but my mom told me to relax, assuring me that nothing had gone wrong.
“Then the next morning, I started calling again but nobody was picking up. I now called one of my brothers who lives in town to rush to where my husband was selling newspapers to find out what was wrong.
“Later that day, my brother called my mom and told her that my husband had been killed. That was how I collapsed.”
In the days that followed, promises flowed freely. Mr Gbajabiamila, the man whose security detail had robbed Nene of her husband, visited her personally at her mother’s house in Suleja, Niger State, where he made many promises to support and care for the family Okereke left behind.
“Mr Femi Gbajabiamila himself came to see me at my mom’s house. Because when the incident took place, I had to go to my mom’s house. He (the former Speaker) promised a lot of things.
“He promised to take care of my children, that my children would be his children, and that he wouldn’t forget them and they would not lack anything,” Nene recalled. “He also promised to establish a business and get me a job.”
Femi Gbajabiamila pays condolence visit to late Ifeanyi Okereke’s family / Photo: Premium Times
The promises, made in a moment of grief and remorse, offered a sign of hope to the nursing mother who is suddenly faced with an uncertain future. However, as the days turned into weeks, months, and now years, the promises have largely remained unfulfilled.
A trust fund that was supposed to secure the future of Nene’s children currently holds only N500,000, which friends of the late Okereke told THE WHISTLER was a far cry from the “big money” that Gbajabiamiala promised.
“He (Gbajabiamila) came into our room and he made those promises in the presence of the people who came with him on the condolence visit but none of those promises was fulfilled, apart from the trust fund which I had to call and persuade them repeatedly before N500,000 was paid into it during the last election campaign period. I have not received any other alert of payment since then.
“The only thing they did was during the burial time when they released money to my late husband’s father.”
Even more frustrating, Nene has been unable to access the funds to meet her children’s immediate needs.
“I’ve been trying to take care of my children alone but it has not been easy. Recently, I went to Mr Raphael Igbokwe ( Mr Gbajabiamiala’s former Special Assistant on Legislative Matters) to explain to him that things are not moving well and I needed to withdraw the little money (N500,000) paid into a trust fund for my children so I could use it to repair some of the places that I built because the house is not yet completed.
“I also wanted them to release the money to me so I could put the children in school but he (Igbokwe) told me that the money would not be released until the children start primary school because the money is meant for the children.
“I told them that my husband is late. I had to remove them from the school they were attending and put them in another school but he said no, that we can’t touch the money until they get to primary school,” she added.
Today, Nene and her two young children — a seven-year-old girl and a boy who will turn four this November — face a daily battle against poverty.
The widow has been forced to relocate to a house she partially built in Kwankwashe, Suleja, Niger State.
“When I built the place and needed to change the children’s school, I rushed to Igbokwe (Gbajabiamila’s former SA) to tell him that I had built the place but the windows needed to be put in order because the rain comes from outside to my room. I also told him that I needed to access the N500,000 paid into the trust fund account but they said the money was not meant for fixing the house, that the money is for the children.
“Then I told him that I was no longer staying where I used to live and that I wanted to change the children’s school but they insisted that it’s not yet time to access the money, until the children start primary school. That was about three years ago and since then I have not met or spoken with him.
“When next my brother called him (the former speaker’s ex-SA) to inquire why they had not paid any other money into the trust fund apart from the initial N500,000, he told my brother that he was not the one in charge. He said it is Mr Femi Gbabiamila’s brother (Smart) that’s in charge of it.”
Nene informed THE WHISTLER that paying for her children’s education has become a constant struggle.
“I go to my children’s school to plead with the proprietress,” the widow lamented, adding “She understood and asked me to pay for one of them pending when I could get the money for the other.”
To make ends meet, Nene sells foodstuff in the market, but the income is barely enough to keep the family afloat.
The difference between their current situation and the life they once knew when Okereke was still alive is pathetic.
“My husband was a caring man,” Nene recalled, with tears welling up in her eyes. “He was a nice man. He did not like seeing us suffering, and every day when he returned from work, he would ask if everything was okay. Whenever there was nothing in the house, he would try everything possible to provide.”
The compensation that would have ordinarily come to her after Okereke’s death largely went to her late husband’s family.
“They (Gbajabiamila’s camp) gave money for the burial of my late husband. They didn’t release the money to me. It was given to my late husband’s father. I think it was Gbajabiamila himself who released the money to my late husband’s father.
“And what the family gave to me was N5 million which I used to buy land and partially build the house I’m currently living in. But I could not fix the windows before we moved in and that’s why water enters the house whenever it rains.”
Nene added, “They released N15 million. My late husband’s people took N5 million, used N5 million for the burial and gave me N5 million which was what I used to buy land to build the house to the level it’s currently at, including roofing. And because of the many things I passed through during that time, the money went down.”
As the years pass, Nene’s struggle for support continues as calls to those who made promises to her go unanswered while text messages get ignored.
“At least, I should be given a secure job,” Nene pleaded, adding “They should also be paying my children’s school fees and fulfilling the promises. Alternatively, a business could be established for me,” added Nene who only holds a secondary school certificate.
In the aftermath of Okereke’s death, Gbajabiamila, who has since risen to become the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, had issued a statement, claiming that “unidentified men obstructed the convoy which got the attention of security men in the convoy who shot into the air to disperse them.
“Some hours later, after getting to our destination, it was brought to my attention that someone was hit by a stray bullet, contrary to an earlier report by men in the convoy that they applied their security discretion to shoot in the air.”
The former speaker added, “My value for human life and my respect for all people – irrespective of social economic status – is what endeared me to these vendors and these are the reasons why I stop my convoy quite often to connect with them.
“For one of them to have been shot by my security detail is horrific and I cannot begin to imagine the grief and loss Ifeanyi’s family must feel on this sad day. No family should have to go through this. I am personally distraught about this incident and my deepest sympathies go to the victim, his family and Abuja vendors.”
Femi Gbajabiamila (left) and late Ifeanyi Okereke (right)
THE WHISTLER reached out to a senior aide who worked closely with Gbajabiamila when the incident occurred. However, the aide declined to comment on Nene’s allegations and promised to link our correspondent to someone who could speak officially. But as of the time of this report, no further information has been provided.
Source: The Whistler
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