We killed Shekau in Nigeria – Cameroon

ABUJA—Nigeria and Cameroon were, yesterday, locked in an argument over who killed Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau and where he was killed.
In a rare public show by the Cameroonian army (Armee Camerounaise), photos of Shekau were made public alongside a statement claiming he was killed during a cross-border raid deep inside Nigeria by its military.
A Cameroon military source, according to Cameroon Concord, said on Sunday night that Shekau was killed following an aerial bombardment of his hideout inside Nigeria.

Purported photo released by Armee Camerounaise (Cameroon Army) of the Shekau it claimed died from Cameroonian fire, from the portal of Cameroon Concord.

On the other hand, the Nigerian Army is also laying claim to the same feat but without photographic evidence yet. The Nigerian Army said its soldiers might have killed Shekau in Konduga, a town some kilometres away from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
According to a report posted on its twitter handle, DHQ said yesterday that, “there was no raid whatsoever in any part of Nigeria’s territory in pursuit of terrorists as claimed in some reports allegedly quoting Cameroon military authorities.

“All operations on-going in the environs of Konduga and all associated border locations within the country are completely being undertaken by Nigerian troops.”
Reportedly, the Cameroon armed forces since Sunday have been in serious combat against thousands of Boko Haram fighters trying to enter Cameroon via Fotokol from Gamboru Ngala in Nigeria.
This came amid confusion over Shekau’s identity as military experts are trying to ascertain whether the dead ‘Shekau’ was Isa Damsaka or Bashir Mohammed, who are both top commanders believed to be posing as Shekau.

Meanwhile, efforts to exchange some of the abducted Chibok school girls with Boko Haram prisoners have flopped again.
The Nigerian military claimed that its troops might have killed Shekau on September 17 during a desperate attempt by the sect to capture Konduga as part of their plot to eventually march on and capture Maiduguri.

“It is getting more certain that the terrorist commander who has been mimicking Shekau in those videos is the one killed in Konduga on September 17, 2014, the military revealed.
The military, however, cautioned that “the process of confirming the dead body we have is the same as that character who has been posing as Shekau is ongoing. He is definitely a prominent terrorist commander. I don’t want to say anything about this yet, please.”

The military source insisted that the resemblance between Shekau and the corpse in their custody is too striking to be a coincidence. They cited his facial marks, beard and teeth in addition to the recovery by  Nigerian troops of some of the armoured vehicles and Hilux SUVs that had featured in previous videos of the prime suspect. The source assured that the Defence Headquarters will soon address the nation after full investigation of their latest discovery.
The counter-claims by both countries have raised some posers: Who actually killed Shekau and where was he killed and how authentic are the claims?

Confusion over Shekau’s identity
Indeed, confusion reigns supreme over Shekau’s identity. Strident efforts by the Nigerian military high command to establish the true identity of the top Boko Haram leader who was shot dead last week, continued in earnest yesterday, even as the video of the slain man was obtained exclusively by Vanguard.
The military, it was learnt, had been cautious in making a formal announcement that Shekau had been killed as a similar declaration last year, was instantly countered by the sect, following the emergence of another ‘Shekau’ in several video posts on the Internet.
Vanguard gathered from top security sources that although a bearded man, who resembled Shekau in several material details, was shot dead in Konduga last week, the military was not sure whether the slain man was Isa Damsaka or Bashir Mohammed, who the security agencies claim had been mimicking the real Abubakar Shekau, said to have been killed since June 2013.
The apparent fear over the death of Shekau, in the battle for Konduga, it was also learnt, has caused some disquiet in the Boko Haram camp, especially as the video of the dead commander surfaced on the internet yesterday.

In the six-second video, the critically wounded ‘Shekau’ was seen lying on the ground writhing in pains as men in military uniform and civilians surround him with some voices saying, “Waste that man! Waste that man!”
However, the Australian negotiator, Dr. Stephen Davis, who claims to have worked closely with Abubakar Shekau, said yesterday that he was convinced that the real Shekau was killed since June 2013 by the Nigerian security agencies.

Shekau killed June 2013 — Davis
Davis, in a mail to Vanguard, said that Abubakar Shekau was killed around June 19, 2013 while they were close to concluding a peace deal on the Boko Haram insurgency.
Davis said:  “I continue to hold to the position that Shekau was killed on or about June 19, 2013 when we were close to concluding a peace deal. Videos immediately prior to that time were produced using a “fake” Shekau. The fake Skekau is Isa Damsaka. It was confirmed to me by Boko Haram that he was killed in the recent military engagement at Konduga.

“Most members of Boko Haram have never seen Shekau. They believe what they have been told that Shekau is their leader. The real Shekau is dead. The Shekau the world has been seeing in videos is a “fake” and Boko Haram fighters have been fooled. They have followed blindly.
“The message of Boko Haram purifying Islam is also fake. When the Boko Haram leaders broke the news of Shekau’s death in June last year, they said he had diverted from the Holy Qu’ran through the kidnappings, rapes and beheadings. The fake Shekau continued these atrocities under the patronage of the sponsors and escalated their terrorist activities. Shekau is dead but they will try to find another to perpetuate the lie.

“This is the time for Boko Haram commanders to come forward and release the captive girls. There are Chibok girls and many other girls who have been kidnapped. Let commanders come forward and release a large number of girls as a first step towards a peace dialogue.

“I have no doubt the sponsors will try to prevent any commander releasing the girls as part of a peace deal. The pressure must therefore be put on the sponsors so the commanders can come forward.
“Shekau was killed on or about June 19, 2013 as we were concluding a peace deal. I have spoken at length to several senior people who were present. The Shekau impersonator recently killed was Isa Damsaka. Boko Haram leaders have been using him for quite some time to make their propaganda videos. The script is written for him by another commander which he then reads as he delivers his message on-camera.”

How  Shekau was killed
Details of how Abubakar Shekau, the impostor and leader of the Boko Haram terrorist group was killed in a shoot-out with Nigerian troops in Konduga on Wednesday, September 17 emerged, yesterday, with military sources disclosing that he met his waterloo in an ambush reminiscent of the type the sect had been using to hack down Nigerian troops.

Vanguard gathered that during the first attack on Konduga, where hundreds of insurgents were taken unawares and killed after over seven hours of fighting with several of their colleagues, arms and ammunition captured, the military commanders strategically urged his captured members to send a message to Shekau that they (insurgents) have killed the troops.
Before the captured insurgents were urged to make the contact and deliver the message, the military commanders had promised them that their co-operation would play a role in the level of punishment to be meted to them after the battle, hence they felt reassured.

Also, the captured insurgents had disclosed that Shekau usually moved in a convoy of cars painted in military colours while he sits in a MOWAG Armoured tank with Boko Haram inscription on its front.
When Shekau was contacted, his captured men spoke to him in Arabic, assuring him that they had taken over Konduga, thereby giving him the positive signal to proceed from Sambisa Forest. To convince him further, some of his men that were captured were asked to sing the victory song in Kanuri language they normally sing at the background.

Having convinced himself that the messenger was his chief courier in such situation and the message was authentic, he and his followers made for Konduga, heavily armed with anti-aircraft weapons, general purpose machine guns, several AK-47 rifles and other IEDS’.
However, on entering Konduga town, he and his followers were encircled by strategically placed and heavily armed Nigerian soldiers. Immediately he contacted the messenger and discovered that something was amiss, he ordered his followers to start shooting in all directions.

This spurred the Army Commanders to give the directive to open fire. When he discovered that the fire power of the Nigerian Army who used both infantry and artillery weaponry was overwhelming, he jumped out of the MOWAG and made to escape.
But Nigerian soldiers spotted him and opened fire on him, inflicting serious injuries on  his legs. It was learnt that he also received bullet wounds in other parts of his body as he was said to have bled to death.
Military sources had on Sunday night disclosed that Nigerian troops scored a strategic victory in the current battle against terrorists operating in the North-East on September 17.

Swap of Chibok girls with Boko Haram prisoners flops again
Meanwhile, it has also emerged that efforts of the security agencies to free the 219 Chibok girls from their Boko Haram captors has failed again.
Vanguard learnt from top security agents that the deal to free the girls, who have spent 162 days with their abductors, had broken down almost irretrievably as a result of the inexplicable decision by the Boko Haram side to ask for impossible conditions.
One of the conditions put down by Boko Haram at the last minute was that the Federal Government must account for and produce 18 of its top commanders said to have been captured and detained in several detention facilities across the country.

Although the government was willing to free some of the Boko Haram detainees in exchange for the girls, a top government source, who was privy to the discussions, said that many of the Boko Haram commanders could not be traced.
The top government official said: “Boko Haram commanders suddenly demanded an equal man-to-man exchange instead of the agreed total girls for 16 Boko Haram prisoners. Also, of the 16 prisoners, not all of them could be traced by the government side.
“The exchange of the Chibok girls with the Boko Haram prisoners was to take place at an agreed location in Yola, the Adamawa State capital. But the true position of things as of today is that the talks have broken down.”
Answering a question, the government official said that Nigeria opted to bring in the International Committee of the Red Cross as a facilitator because of its neutrality and competence in facilitating such exchange of prisoners in many parts of the world.
Source: Vanguard

Police arrest woman for supplying arms to robbers

Operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS Ikeja Lagos, have arrested a woman said to be wife of a dare devil armed robber. She was arrested for selling guns to armed robbers.
The 34-year-old suspect identified as Sarah Emmanuel, an indigene of Ogun State used to hawk wares before she went into illegal arms supply.

According to reports, the mother of two was apprehended after some SARS operatives apprehended some armed robbery suspects, who revealed during interrogation that they bought their guns from her.
It was gathered that the suspect and her friend, one Modinat, who is currently at large used to buy locally made guns from a border town between Benin Republic and Nigeria and re-sell same to armed robbers.

Suspects account
’’I live in Sango Otta, I have two children; the first is 10years old while the other is six. I am a trained hair dresser.

“I was arrested because my friend Modinat escaped. We have been friends for six years. “She asked me to accompany her to Idiroko where she told me of her plan to purchase a gun for one Ismaila, her armed robber lover from whom she collected N25, 000. I only accompanied her to Ifonyin once. “I am widow and my husband a border town between Nigeria and Benin Republic where we bought the gun for N15, 000.

‘’It was after Ismaila’s arrest by operatives of SARS that he confessed that he bought the guns from Modinat and I.
‘’When the officers went to arrest her she escaped and I was arrested her she escaped and I was arrested instead. I only accompanied her to Ifonyin once.

‘’I am a widow and my husband, who was an armed robber was killed by police, we were married for ten years but I didn’t know he was an armed robber before he was killed.

‘’My husband was actually killed two years ago during a robbery operation at Ilasa. Before I was arrested I was involved in street trading. ‘’If the police release me I will assist them to arrest my friend Modinat.”
Source: Vanguard

THE DEVIL DID IT -Herbalist

■ Herbalist, who buries ex-Customs officer, her daughter alive, pleads for mercy
■ Says devil did it
■ Victims’ family insists on justice

“The God whom I serve will prove to you that I am innocent. Ange¬la brought the car to my house to assist her to sell it. She left the house with her daughter to bring the documents and never returned. If you like, drag me from one police station to the oth¬er, the truth will surely set me free. I repeat, I am innocent.” That was the plea of inno¬cence on the first day of the interrogation of a 65-year-old herbalist, Alhaji Olatunji Azeez, who after spending six days in police detention, confessed that he buried alive a retired Customs officer and her 10-year-old daughter in one of the rooms in his house.
Saturday Sun correspondent incidentally witnessed the short drama that played out as soon as Alhaji Olatunji, who was well dressed and had a good command of English, stepped into the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) office at the Lagos police command, Ikeja on the day of his arrest, June 19. Out of pity, she solicited that the man be set free to avoid pun¬ishing an innocent man. Not deterred by the wave of emotions displayed by Olatunji, the former Lagos Police Commissioner now AIG Umaru Manko ordered that the suspect should be detained and further interrogated.

Six days after his stay in the custody of SARS, Olatunji, the supposed innocent man took police detectives to his personal house in Ire Akari Crescent, Ajuwon Akute, Ogun State where the decomposing bodies of Mrs. Angela Kerry, a 64-year-old retired Customs officer and her daughter, 10-year-old daughter, Obi¬aguluman, were found in a well dug in a room inside the suspect’s house.
He confessed to have singlehandedly planned and executed the crime in the hope that his secret will be covered for life. Al¬though he claimed that he committed the crime in self-defence, the late Angela’s family insists that their sister was killed over a business deal. They alleged that Alhaji Olatunji, a herbal doc¬tor, has other accomplices who are still at large.
 

His arrest
The victims got missing on May 10 after which the family spent three weeks searching for them before eventually reporting to the po¬lice on June 13. In the course of initial inves¬tigations, the family realised that Angela’s car, a Honda Accord, had a tracking device. The company was contacted and the car tracked down to a car stand in Abule Egba with the aid of the police at Oko Oba police station, Agege where the incident was first reported. The car dealer told the police that it was the herbalist that brought the car to his stand to assist him to sell it. Arrested, the herbalist chose his words very well. He told detectives that the late An¬gela and her daughter brought the car to his of¬fice requesting that he should help her to sell it off. He insisted that he does not know the whereabouts of Angela and her daughter.
Not satisfied with the outcome of the inves¬tigation, the matter was transferred to SARS for further investigation. Still confident that his story will exonerate him, Alhaji Olatunji main¬tained his earlier position.
 

Cracked
For five days, despite all kinds of rigorous interrogations he was subjected to, Olatunji maintained that he was innocent. Not deterred by his tears and call on the almighty God to de¬liver him from what he described as injustice, Head of the SARS team, Abba Kyari insisted that the suspect’s confession was not coherent, hence the need for further interrogation.
On the sixth day, he cracked. Olatunji ad¬mitted that he knew where the missing Angela and her daughter were and was ready to take the police to them in Ijebu Ode. He lied again that he locked them up in a room and ran back to Lagos. Excited to end it all, detectives were detailed to travel the next day and rescue the victims dead or alive. The next day, Olatunji was reluctant to join the team of policemen shouting that he was wanted to see SP Kyari before they depart. It was then that he made up his mind to tell the truth and nothing but the truth.
He allegedly confessed that he buried both mother and daughter in a room in his com¬pound. Determined to get to the root of the matter, a team of policemen were dispatched to his house at Agege.
 

Pre-meditated murder
On getting to his house, Alhaji Olatunji re¬quested that they should move over to the boys’ quarters. In one of the rooms, he pointed to a spot on the floor and asked them to dig. “We felt he was still lying and had planned to waste our time or plan a possible escape. He kept in¬sisting, it was then through a closer conserva¬tion that we realised that a portion of the floor was recently plastered. We started digging and after seven feet down, we did not see anything. Everyone was angry because one would won¬der how the old man managed to dig a grave deeper than six feet alone. He told us that it was a deep well. Professional diggers who assisted him to dig the well were called in.”
At about eight feet down, a travelling bag, documents, phones and clothes were recov¬ered. The contents of the bag belonged to the late Angela. Few metres down, the decaying body of little Obiaguluman was found. He still insisted that they should continue digging as the body of the late Angela was still under¬ground. She was later found decaying mixed with water and sand.
Investigation revealed that Olatunji hired the services of professional well diggers. He asked them to dig a well in his room, and also insisted that the sand be kept closer to the well. He thereafter spread a mat and white cloth on the well to cover the trap.
 

On the day of the incident, May 10, he lured the woman to the spot for prayers. It was then that she fell into the trap alongside her daugh¬ter. He started filling up the well with the sand that was already in the compound. After pouring several buckets, he realised that the girl was still on the surface. He picked heavy blocks and threw into the well till the girl who was struggling to step out of the well breathed her last. He continued till the well was filled up before he invited a bricklayer who sealed off the spot for him. He quickly cleaned up his house and moved the car to a dealer to assist him to sell.
He claimed that he singlehandedly execut¬ed the crime, exonerating all those fingered by Angela’s family and friends.
 

Case against accomplices
Police investigations revealed that Alhaji Olatunji was determined to silence Angela forever and as such prepared a trap to bury her alive. He only contracted the services of a bricklayer and professional well diggers. The professional well diggers claimed that they were surprised when he asked them to dig a well in a room. “He contracted us on May 3, 2014 to dig a well for him. We were surprised that he wanted to dig a well inside a room. He only told us that water from a well is more hy¬gienic than water from the borehole. It took us three days to complete the job and we were paid N30,000 as agreed,” Jide one of the pro¬fessional well diggers, said.
Also, the bricklayer, identified as Fatai, in his statement at the police, said that he was in¬vited by Alhaji on May 18, 2014 to seal off a hole in one of his rooms. “He told me that a part in his boys’ quarters was broken. He gave me a bag of cement to do the job which I finished in a space of two hours. He paid N2000 and even asked me to go with the remaining cement. He has been my customer for years and everyone knows him as a gentle trado medical dealer.”
 

The man, Azeez Olatunji
Going down memory lane, Alhaji Olatunji, aged 65, claims that he hails from Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State. With a good command of English, Olatunji said that he had to stop his education at secondary level be¬cause of financial constraint. “I attended Oke Ibadan Boys’ High school after the Biafra war ended. We were lucky because the war did not get to the west. My father was a military man and he later retired and went into trading be¬fore he died. After my secondary education, I travelled to Lagos from Ibadan in 1970. I start¬ed as a bakery man and later saw a vacancy at a Nigerian hotel at that time called Bristol hotel. Since I knew a bit about bakery, they employed me where I rose through the ranks and ended up as a manager of the hotel located at Martins street in 1982. I was forced to retire when the hotel management decided to close it up.
“Meanwhile, on a part-time basis, I was practising how to become a trado medical doc¬tor. It was more of general healing. I decided to go into full-time trado medicine known as Garden of Success, Natural Health Centre, I was very successful. Then I was at Maroko in Lekki that time, after they destroyed the place, we vacated the place and moved over to Abule Ado. My business grew and most of my cus¬tomers were women who were either looking for children, husbands and money. I also had men as my customers mostly those who were looking for favour and money. I was also as-sisting churches and mosques with holy water that can be used to increase their population. I was so successful and by the grace of God, my business boomed,” Olatunji narrated.
He said he travelled to Mecca in 1982, which explains why he is addressed as Alhaji. “I was a member of the Ogboni fraternity but I had to denounce them when I travelled to Mecca. I only retained some of the deities like the god of iron which is part of the source of my power.”
 

Meeting Angela
According to Olatunji, Angela was one of the numerous women that had faith in him and the potency of his medicine. “She was brought to my clinic by her friend who I assisted in the past. This was six years ago. She was very sick then. She had a spiritual attack also known as ofa in Yoruba. It is sent by evil people, in form of an evil arrow. Her body will turn black and will be itching her ceaselessly. People are very wicked.
 

“Then she had retired from the Customs service. I tried my best and God answered her prayer. She was very excited and decided to make me her spiritual father. She started pa¬tronizing me, even if it was common headache. I was also the one who gave her herbs that cured her fibroid completely.”
He claimed that it was her unquenchable de¬sire for a biological child that led to her death. “She was never married and does not have children but along the line, she adopted a girl. This did not satisfy her quest for a child.
“Four years after we met, she came to me saying she has been unable to bear children. She said that other places she had been told that she can still have children. She was more than 60 years then. I told her that if she had come when she was 50 it would have been easy. I tried to convince her but she insisted that her instincts told her that I am the one that will make her pastors’ prophecy to come to pass.
 

Around May last year, she started a serious complaint, saying she has spent money on this. I told her that since she has adopted a child that she shouldn’t worry about it. Two months later she came and said her pastor said if she puts effort into it, she will have children. I asked why she is bent on doing that since she is not married. She said she has boyfriends. That she wants her boy¬friends to be responsible for the child. She said she had already spent N15 million on it.”
 

Shocked that Angela could spend up to N15million searching for a child, Alhaji Olatunji decided to exploit the golden op¬portunity. “I knew at that moment that she will spend anything to get her desire and if I do not benefit from this moment, another man will collect the same money from her. I then told her that it will cost her about N10 million to make her wish come through.The following week she came with N1.7 mil¬lion. She paid the money gradually. I started my job. She said she has faith in me. She told me she saw her menstruation. She was around 63 as she said. I told her to wait for the second one and try to meet her man af¬ter. She said some of her boyfriends were in London. So, she invited one of them. When he came she told me he has arrived. The man came and left and she wasn’t still preg¬nant. Around April this year, she came. She said she wanted to tell me something. She said she wanted to stop taking the medicine. That time, she had already paid N9 million. I encouraged her to continue for another two years since she has faith in me.”
 

Gospel according to Al¬haji Olatunji
Disappointed that his medicine had failed her, Alhaji Olatunji claimed that Angela de¬manded a refund. “She said she didn’t want to continue. She said she wanted her money back. I told her it’s not possible. She started threatening that she will come. She said she will be back with full force. I thought she was joking. We have never quarrelled. I was alarmed because I suspected that other trado medical doctors that she has been visiting could have bewitched her. She came again with her daughter to collect her money and threatened me. I was frightened by the way she was talking. I knew that as a Custom officer, she has a gun. I thought I should let her go to the police. She threatened she would report me. So, I let her go that day. Three days later, she came the same way with her daughter.
 

“That day, I had to go to my house and gave her N2.5 million. She said by the next day, she will come and she did. She asked for the balance and I told her that she should leave me alone that I have other cases. She warned she will come in two days’ time and that when she does, it would be hell. So, I thought about it and prepared for her. That’s when the evil thought that landed me here came.”
Lamenting, Olatunji said that he had not had any issue with the police before. “I wanted to report to the police but I knew that if I mentioned about the N6 million left I will be in trouble. I knew it was impos¬sible for me to use a knife or gun to kill a human being created by God. She arrived as promised ranting and threatening hell. I went behind and covered that well with a mat and white cloth. I prayed to God to calm her down so that she will obey me. I came back to the living room and pleaded again that I will surely give her the money the next day. God heard my prayer and she calmed down. I told her to join me and pray at the backyard. She loves praying, so it was very easy to persuade her.
 

“I asked her to kneel down on the white cloth… She drew the child, I asked her to leave the child behind. I moved the child back. Before I could stop her she had al¬ready moved the girl with her and they knelt on the mat. Then I heard her shout ‘yeeee’as she fell into the deep well. She was scream¬ing, and I had to move quickly and started packing sand into the well. It was getting late as at that time. I was able to pour in 50 buckets and was tired and terrified. I rushed to the mosque to pray and ask God for for¬giveness. When I returned, I discovered that the girl was already on the surface of the sand. There was no way she could climb out because the well was still very deep. I had to silence her or she will tell the world what I did. I threw in heavy blocks till she became silent. I kept pouring sand till the well was filled up. The following day I called some labourers to seal off the place. I had to go to Jankara to see if I can sell the car,” Alhaji Olatunji narrated.
He lamented that what he saw at the SARS detention for those six days made him to open up. “In the cell, I met all kinds of hardened criminals who were already re¬pentant. They shared their testimonies with me, and advised that the only way God can ensure that I will live again is if I confess to the crime. I realised that my days will be longer here if they were not found. I would have been released at Oko Oba police sta¬tion, if not that the family insisted that the case should be transferred to SARS. I felt that since there was no witness to the crime, I will be treated as an innocent man.”
 

Plea for mercy
He blamed evil spirits sent by his ene¬mies as the ones responsible for his ordeal. “I want the family to forgive me. If you see my heart, you will understand. I couldn’t even sleep in the house. This kind of thing has never happened to me before. If you ask anybody around there who I am, they will tell you. My job is to heal. It’s the devil. I didn’t do it with my normal mind.
 

“She saw me as her spiritual father. I also assisted her to sell her house at Omole which we did at the cost of N74 million. She later bought a house at Agege at the price of N8million and also spent about N9 million. Initially, it was bought in my name because she never trusted her family members; she said she wanted to travel to America with her daughter. 

The lady, Angela
Her immediate elder brother, Dr Mike Idida Kerry told Saturday Sun that the late Angela was very close to him till her current lifestyle drove her away from the family. “She is my younger sister and was born in 1948. She is currently 66 years. We are from Abonina in Rivers State. We grew up in the North, then my mother was working at the Local Authority Hospital, Gusau. This was where they were born. After the war, we came down to Enugu till we finally returned to Rivers State.
“It was after the war that she enrolled into Customs and rose to the rank of Chief Superintendent of Customs. She retired in 2004, having served the nation for 35 years. She had several relationships that almost re¬sulted in a marriage but never did. She had several miscarriages till I was told that she adopted a child.

“As soon as we buried our mother 13 years ago, she started staying away from her siblings. I was not comfortable with her lifestyle and that caused a friction between us. In fact, I have not seen her in person again till I was called that she was missing. She started visiting different herbalists in the name of getting protection and eleva¬tion while at Customs. It appears that those who are in uniformed organisations result in fetish acts in search of protection and elevation. She was even struck with an ill¬ness and was brought home to Rivers State where she was finally cured,” Dr Kerry who is based in Rivers State, narrated.

They silenced her over a business deal, family in¬sists
Dr Kerry said that he finds it hard to be¬lieve that his sister did all the things that the herbalist said. “It is his word against hers and my sister is not here to defend herself. However, I gathered that Alhaji Olatunji, one Lizzy and one other Babatunde were involved in an oil block deal that did not turn out well. Part of the deal was that they will build a house for her at Banana Island. It was all fraud, they ended up killing her. The Angela that I knew was not desperate about having children. The only thing that happened was that the herbal doctors that she had faith in hypnotized her and she for¬got her family.”

On the allegation that her family wanted her dead to inherit her wealth, Dr Kerry said: “If the family wanted her dead, why did they not kill her soon after she left the Customs in 2004. They knew that if she was close to her family, it will not be easy to ex¬tort money from her. She is my blood sister and was close to me. When I heard that she was missing, I thought she had travelled out without anyone’s knowledge, I never knew she was buried alive all this while.

“If he was sincere, why did he buy a property for her in his name? The so-called house is a wretched place located by the canal. It will be sold and the money shared among her niece and nephews. I do not know why Alhaji Olatunji has decided to accept the blame alone. I guess that they took an oath not to disclose one another be¬cause I am very sure that there was a con¬spiracy.
“I am a lecturer; I got my Ph.D in 1986. I taught in the same college of education with President Goodluck Jonathan. I do not need her property because I have a far better life than she did. I am an associate professor at the Rivers State University of Science and Technology.
“Our main concern is how to bury her in the shortest possible time as the cost of keeping her in a morgue has doubled. They liquidated her resources before killing her and the little girl.”
Also, when informed that Olatunji wants the family to forgive him; Dr Kerry advised that he should ask God for forgiveness.

“God has also said that he who lives by the sword will die by the sword. I have no issue with him; he has to face the wrath of the law guiding the society.”
Collaborating her uncle’s claim, Ange¬la’s niece (names withheld) insists that one Lizzy, Babatunde Bristol hired Alhaji Ola¬tunji to hypnotize their late sister. She also alleged that there was an oil deal which her aunty invested heavily in.
“I pray that the police would further in¬vestigate the matter and invite the others who are still at large”, she added.
Source: Sun

Our Ebola Story: How a foreign doctor saved our lives – Survivors

Like the Biblical passage, “from the valley of the shadow of death,” came out five out of the nine victims that recovered fully from the deadly Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, that has continued to ravage some countries in the West Africa sub region.

Following, several days of severe battle with the deadly Ebola Virus Disease, at Isolation centre in Yaba, the five survivors on Thursday evening met with Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State as well as some members of the state’s Executive Council led by Commmissioner for Health, Dr Jide dris, Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Health, Dr. Yewande Adeshina to recount their narrow escape from the jaw of Ebola death.

Ebola Survivors: Gov. Babatunde Fashola of Lagos(4th left) with survivors of the Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, during a visit to the Governor in Lagos, yesterday. From Right: Dr. Adaora Igonoh, Dennis Akagha, Fashola, Dr. Ibeawuchi Morris, Dr. Fadipe Akinniyi and Dr. Enemuo Kelechi

The atmosphere was serene as newsmen and government functionaries at about 5 pm on Thursday, started walking into the conference room of Governor’s Office, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, venue of the unveiling of five survivors.

Although, there are nine survivors altogether, four declined to honour the invitation by the state government for the public presentation. Governor Fashola had earlier promised during a media chat to present the survivors in public to share the experiences.
The survivors include; Dennis Akagha, fiance of late Justina, Nurse at First Consultant Hospital, Dr Fadipe Akinniyi, Dr. Ibeawurhi Morris, Dr. Adaowa Igowoh and Kelechi Enemuo, wife of late Dr Iyke Samuel Enemuo, who died of Ebola disease in Port Harcourt.

Three of the survivors, who are staff of First Consultants Medical Centre, Obalende, Lagos Island, contracted the disease from the first index case, late Patrick Sawyer, an American Liberian who brought imported the disease into Nigeria on July 20th, 2014 when he arrived from Liberia.
Before the survivors walked into the venue, journalists and few government officials were scared of  physical contact with the survivors. They would have their interview from a distance, one said.
One of the commissioners, (name-withheld) avoided passing through the side where the survivors were seated.

In an emotion laden speech before the anxious crowd at Governor’s office, Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, Dr. Igowoh, a young and articulate lady, who should be in her early 30s, was the first to take the bold step forward to recount her ordeal, which she described as traumatic.

Dr, Igowoh, clad in flowery top and a jean trousier narrated thus:

Adaora Igowoh

“Today is a glorious day; it’s a day of Joy. I want to say that we are here today because of God. We survived. We are privileged to see this day, to be here with everybody, its an honour. Thank you so much Governor Fashola.  We can’t thank you enough for everything. We, at First Consultants Medical Centre, took a risk.  We risked our lives because we wanted to ensure the safety of Lagosians, Nigerians and humanity because we are a global village. From a small village it can spread to the world and we knew the implications, but we said we would risk our lives and we would not let the index case leave the hospital.

“We remember the people that we lost, the wonderful people who risked their lives. We would never forget them, we can’t. Our lives have been changed, every one of us who went through this ordeal, we know that we are better for it. Everything happens for a reason and we must find out the purpose and the reason why we went through this.

“We want to say thank you very much to the Lagos State Government, and the Ministry of Health as well as the Federal Ministry of Health. The Centre for Disease Control. I was a full witness to the efforts to contain the virus. In fact there was a time I asked for Chicken and Chips, I was at the Isolation Centre, and it was brought, I was surprised. I asked because I wanted to see if they would honour my request and they brought Chicken and Chips to me, I was amazed.


Dr. Akinniyi, also should be in his 30s briefly narrated:

Fadipe Akinniyi

“I am most happy to be here today because as matter of fact, when everyone was running helter-skelter, I told myself I only opened the door and by the virtue of that, nothing should happen to me. I never knew I was deceiving myself until the day I recorded my temperature and there was a kind of spike. And I asked myself what is going on?

“I used anti malaria drugs but nothing changed, rather it was getting worse.  Eventually, I went to a private hospital to treat myself because I did not want to admit it was Ebola. I felt they would be able to proffer solutions to all my problems but it wasn’t to be so. Rather, it was becoming terrible and I started stooling and vomiting. I summoned the courage and called the doctors at the monitoring units that my temperature has been persistently high.

“They told me not to worry that they would come pick me up. In another four hours, they came with ambulances and before I knew it, I found myself at Yaba Isolation centre. It all happened like a dream because I have read a lot about Ebola even while in school. We had a lot of things on haemorrhagic virus. How it wreck direct havoc on human beings, bleeding and all that. You continue to bleed until you are dead.

“I was very devastated but I kept the faith. I remember Dr Adesina telling me when we got there that I would leave this place. That no matter what happens, I would leave this place. She said as it is, people survive the virus, that I should not mind that I would survive the disease.
“So, I kept my faith and with the help of God. I am very grateful to Dr. David who was the initial doctor who attended to us before our doctors who were on strike finally emerged. Dr David really tried. He really tried. He committed himself totally to us and if I should have a time to meet him again, I think I will tell him he is a very brave man, leaving his comfort zone to come and treat us here in Nigeria. Knowing that with these people, after a couple of time, you could actually contract the disease. It is not easy.

“I thank God because with time, things got better. The vomiting stopped, the fever subsided and eventually, I was declared Ebola negative. I was very happy to reunite with my family and everything changed back to normal”

Dennis (Lost his two moth old pregnant fiancee, Justina, who was a nurse at the First Consultant Hospital)
Dennis, intermittently, was laughing because he could not still believe he actually lost his dear one to Ebola and he also survived it. Dennis narrated thus:  I really want to appreciate and commend everything you (Lagos state government) have done. My case was different, I wasn’t among the doctors.
My fiancee, Justina Echelonu Obioma happened to be one of the nurses that cared for the index case. She had contact with the index case. When she came back home, she told me. We didn’t know what was happening because she was having symptoms. She was two months pregnant. She was feeling feverish. In fact that was her first day on the job, it was her first day and her first patient was Patrick Sawyer. She just resumed that day, I encouraged her to go to work, but she was reluctant because of her situation, I had to convince her to go and tell them in the Hospital about her condition so that they can give her more time.
That was just the first day. When she came back, the following day she went to work again, then the next two days, she was off. We were just at home when the case was announced,  the case of Sawyer and she told me that she cared for him at the Hospital and I asked her if she was sure about what she said.

Dennis Akagha

I asked her what kind of contact she had with him and she said she used protective gloves. Hearing that, I felt rest assured. In fact she came to the house and was thanking God that she used gloves. She was just praying and then the fever persisted and didn’t go down, but because of the assurance that she gave me, I felt maybe, the fever was pregnancy induced, but it didn’t stop. Fever in the morning and night and the highest temperature she got was 41.

“She called her gynaecologist because she was being conscious of what she could take. On the 14th day after her contact she went down, she started bleeding and vomiting and I think if we had taken her out of the house earlier, maybe she could have made it. Even when I went to the house, she threw up, she requested for pap, I made it for her, she threw up on me, there, I understood what I was up against, but I felt well, I was already 100 percent exposed, so I continued to clean her up and made sure she was okay.

“There was no way I could run away from her. I had to get a taxi for her and made sure the taxi man didn’t have any contact with her. Sometime the Taxi man will attempt to help her into the car, I refused because I did not want any further contact with her. The response at the Infectious Disease Hospital was okay, at that point I was so careful. I was believing for her, I trusted God for her, at a point, I think she gave up on herself, but at the point when I was taking care of her, my own symptoms started coming up. I just felt I could not afford to come down with illness, because there would be nobody to take care of her or myself.

“Even when I went to the hospital to see her, I would return home with fever, my temperature rose from 35. 2 to 37.2, I was shocked. I was so dehydrated, I called my step mum who is a nurse, and she encouraged me to continue to take enough water, so I started taking lots of water until when she gave up. Two days after she died, the Lagos State Ministry of Health began to monitor me, called me regularly, to trace my contacts and to know my temperature and state of health.

“When the thing went out of hand, they said they would come and pick me, I agreed, but the next day, it became normal. They came back again to pick me, but I told them I was fine, I was confident of myself, I had faith in myself and knew that Ebola was not a death sentence. I finally found myself as a suspected case and after being a suspected case for a while, I was praying continuously and I guess my prayer worked for me.
My being alive today,  even though I lost someone, God knows why and has a reason for everything. I just want to bless God. Dr. David  did a lot of work on Justina. At a point, Justina believed she would be fine, before she gave up she gave me confidence that she would pull through, but she had also told a friend she was going to die. At that point she gave up on herself.

Morris Ibeawuchi, in his 30s narrated thus:
“I was the person that received Patrick Sawyer the day he was rushed to First Consultant Medical Centre.  It was like a joke. I did not know what came upon me that day. Unlike me, I was so reluctant to attend to him. But I was compelled by my colleagues to attend to him. When I got there, I was just talking to him. It was very unlike me. Being a doctor, you must examine your patient. After due examination, I asked him some questions. But Patrick Sawyer lied to me, even the ECOWAS Protocol Officer, who saw me there, kept quiet.
I asked him why he was in First Consultant. He lied to me that he was in a conference and felt so weak. As a result, people now rushed him to First Consultant not knowing that he collapsed at the airport. On that very day, the ECOWAS Protocol Officer was there and did not say anything. After sometime, I took his blood sample and sent it to the lab. I also informed Dr. Adadevoh (now of blessed memory).

Morris Ibeawuchi,

I informed her. She told me to get back to her as soon as the result was out. When the result came out, everything was normal. But that night, the lever function test was not available. I told Dr. Adadevoh about Malaria  result, and she was so confused and shivering because the man came in with a temperature of 39.7.

She said I should just admit him. We treated him. We commenced with the malaria treatment. The next morning, Dr. Adadevoh came around and we all went there. At that time, the liver function test was already out and the result was so terrible. That made us to be so concerned. After we went around, Dr. Adadevoh went for her daily clinic. It was at that point that one of the ECOWAS officers now came in and brought us information that Patrick Sawyer collapsed at the airport.

“After that, she asked whether I got the information. That was how the whole thing started. From there, we instituted barrier nursing technique. She tried as much as possible to get through to the Lagos State Ministry of Health. Again, I was asked to take Sawyer’s sample. Since I had already had contact, I was the person that always took his samples. Before I went there, It took me hours. But I summoned courage to do my duties. So, I went there.

“When Sawyer was trying to explain, I asked him to hold his peace and should not tell me anything. After that, I took samples and dropped them at the blood unit. The next day, Dr. Adadevoh was so busy. She was just going from one place to the other, working hand in hand with the Lagos State Ministry of Health. She called me later in the evening and told me to be careful.

“She said she just got a call that the result of the test showed the feature of Ebola Virus Disease. She warned me to be careful and that Sawyer should be treated as the case of Ebola, not even the suspected case of Ebola. We placed him under surveillance. But Sawyer died. On the 12th day, it was very terrible. My temperature is always 36. But that same fateful day, I checked my temperature and it was 37.7. I felt the whole world was against me. I was down with fever and became so weak. I lost my appetite.

“At that moment, I needed some people to talk to. I left my house, and in that house, I have my brother, his wife and the two kids. When I developed the symptoms, I was so bothered about my family members. I had to put a call to Lagos State Ministry of Health. The ministry asked to make contact with my family and so on. At that time, I was still thinking it was malaria.

“I took anti-malaria drugs and nothing changed. The rate at which my temperature rose was scaring. At the first check, my temperature was 37.7. It rose to 38. The highest I measured was 41. The health ministry came and decontaminated the whole house. When I was at the Isolation centre, the Lagos Ministry of Health attended to me. I was stooling and vomiting. I even became weaker. There was a night I thought my existence on this earth had ended.

“I was stooling and vomiting. At that point, Dr. David was the only doctor attending to us. He tried a lot to secure life. He had to re-hydrate me. After that, they left me to my fate. That was around 9:00 p.m. How I made it that night was miraculous to me. I know the hand of God was upon my life. Dr. David came the next morning. As he was leaving the night before, I was gasping and found it difficult to breathe. At the time Dr. David came, I was already down.

Enemuo Kelechi

“He was dumbfounded. After about few minutes, he told me that my condition was so bad that he did not know that I was going to make it. He thought he would meet my lifeless body at the isolation centre. But I am alive today to the glory of God. After some days, he took my samples for investigation. It was positive. He took another sample, and it was positive. He took third sample, it was negative. At that point again, the fever that had subsided began. I said God: is it Ebola again? He then told me that it might be malaria.
“He placed me on anti-malaria drugs. After sometime, the whole thing subsided. That is how I survived the virus. I thank God for being alive today

Enemuo
Enemuo,  was so shy and apparently too weak to speak and simply said: “ I want to say thank you to everyone and to say to my husband’ rest in peace.”
Her husband was late Dr Iyk Enemou who died after treating an Ebola patient in a hotel in Port Hacourt. Koye, the patient survived it.

Fashola
However, Fashola, who called for one minute silence for those who lost their lives to EVD, commended the courage of the survivors by coming out to the public to share their experiences, damning possible stigmatization.

He stated: “We sympathize with you for the trauma that you went though. Perhaps it was avoidable. But I am sure that hard lessons have been learnt. Beyond that, I must congratulate you the survivals of the EDV. I felicitate with you and members of your family and friends. But most importantly, I thank you so much for coming forward because you showed so much courage. And you have helped us to take the next step forward. And you have helped us to put an end to the spread of the EVD.

“I am sure that from today, people, specially, those that are victims wherever they maybe, will be encouraged to come forward, and seek help. And that people who stigmatize can change their approach. Sick people need help, care, love and affection.  “And it is the dedication at which we do our works that decide if we survive or not. Dr. David should be an example for all of us about how to care for ourselves. He must be the kind of doctor you all must like to emulate.”

Source: Vanguard