Alex Ogbu, an Abuja-based journalist, was allegedly shot dead by men of the Federal Capital Territory Police in 2020 while he was covering a protest by members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria. His widow, Francesca, tells SOLOMON ODENIYI that life has been difficult and vows never to back down in her quest for justice
It has been two years since the death of your husband, how has life been without him?
Life has been challenging and difficult because there is nobody that can fill the gap created by his death. I have been in and out of depression. At a point I was also confused. I just thank God. I haven’t worked for two years. To pay my daughter’s school fees, rent without help has not been easy. I sometimes get help from friends and families and if not for them things would have been much harder. All the promises made after the incident, have turned out to be empty promises.
What are your recollections of the day of his death?
When he was going to cover that protest, I told him to let me follow him but he said, “We can’t have two radical people from the same house at the protest; it will not work.” It was as if he knew something was going to happen. As he was about stepping out, he told his daughter, “Be a good girl at school today.”
Why did you suggest to follow him to his assignment on that day? Did you have any premonition?
Usually, I followed him to some of his assignments. If he was organising a press conference or handling other tasks, I usually acted as his secretary because I read administration and we tried to keep things as professional as possible.
He always had things on his mind. About that time, his aunt, who brought him up, just died; so they were planning towards her burial. He (Alex) was planning to travel but wanted to ensure he settled his home as he normally did. It was January and he was saying he didn’t know when salary would come. That particular day, he was trying to make sure he gave me some money to keep in case he needed to travel.
How did you receive the news of his death?
I received a call asking me to come to Utako Police Station. I had an elder sister in town, so my first thought was that maybe she went for the protest and she was arrested. So, I called her husband and told him to go to the station, that I was also on my way. But before I got to the police station, I received a call from a policeman who got my contact from my husband’s phone and he told me my husband was dead. I found that to be very unprofessional and unethical. It was the same manner he called my husband’s brother and other people and broke the news to them. The brother didn’t even believe he was a policeman.
What did you do when the policeman broke the news to you?
For me, I face reality easily and it is easy for me to deal with the truth. So, I called my sister and she confirmed to me that my husband was dead. I headed for the National Hospital but they didn’t allow me to see his corpse. I stayed there till about 1am.
At the mortuary, I had to bribe the attendant before I was allowed to enter. The following morning, my in-laws joined me; they said they were going to the police station. Later when I called them, they said the police were taking them to the scene of the incident. The police claimed that my husband fell and hit his head on something and died as a result.
After visiting the scene, the police told the family they were going to sign some documents. But I told them that nobody should sign any document until I got there. When I got to the police station they showed me pictures and told me the same story: “It’s quite unfortunate that the young man hit his head on the ground.” But I told them I believed that the truth would eventually come to the open and that anybody trying to cover up the case would not go unpunished either spiritually or physically because I believe in God.
I told them I wanted an autopsy done; they agreed I was entitled to it. So, I went to the mortuary. The man told me that the people who brought the corpse recorded that he was an accident victim. I told him that my husband was not an accident victim and that he was shot in the head.
The autopsy was done. My elder brother in Abuja was supposed to be there to witness it because he studied anatomy but he said he could not make it because he was in Akure at the time. I said I would stay there for the autopsy but a woman told me it wouldn’t be good for my sight. But I kept on following the corpse. I followed them to the mortuary but I stayed away at the point the autopsy was being conducted. At the end of it, I asked for the result but they said I didn’t have a right to ask for it; that I should go through my lawyer.
Did you get a lawyer?
The mortuary attendant told me not to worry, that the death certificate would state the cause of death. When the result came out, the cause of death was clearly stated. The State Criminal Investigation Department waded into the matter and said that they didn’t discover any bullet and that they had interrogated all the officers that went out that day.
I later went to meet the senator representing my husband’s constituency. He (the senator) presented the matter at the National Assembly but nothing came out of it. I later took the matter to court but nobody was appearing. All of a sudden, the judge handling the case was promoted.
I went to the #EndSARS panel; and they said I should go and withdraw the case from court. But my lawyer advised me against withdrawing the case, so, I just left the case in court.
How old was your husband when he died?
He clocked 50 in September 23, 2019.
What kind of a person was he?
He was fun to be with; a much disciplined man, he was someone I will describe as a people’s person. He hated injustice and he was very loyal, especially when it came to pursuing a thing. Some of his articles that are online, you will see how much he talked about social injustice and how he hoped for a better country. He was a father but it took him a while to have a child so you can understand the kind of love he had for his child.
My husband was so caring to the extent that he would collect his salary and give it to me. He started doing this before we got married. When I wanted to start a business, he gave me all he earned. When we got married he would just remove his transport fare and hand the rest of the money to me. He was also giving me monthly allowance for my upkeep.
They say good people don’t last long; and that’s just it. It’s not as if we never had times when we quarreled but I will say the good times were more than the bad times. My husband was a very neat person. He would collect my bag, clean my shoes and he took care of me and that was why things were easy for me.
How did you meet and when did you get married?
He was my friend before we got married. I met in 2010; we got married in 2015. We dated for five years.
We met at Mr Biggs, Jabi. At that time he was an editor with the former Africa Herald Express. He read Political Science but his love for journalism just kept him practising. He later went for a postgraduate degree in Journalism.
When we met at Jabi, he spoke to me, wrote his number on the back page of a paper, tossed it at me and said, “That’s my number.” He didn’t have a complementary card and I was wondering what kind of a local man he was. He was staying at Utako at the time and invited me to his house. I was making my hair, it was getting late and he kept calling me on phone, asking if I was really coming. I told him yes and explained that my hair was taking time to make. He joked that if it took so long to make my hair on an ordinary day, he wondered how long it would it take to make my hair for my wedding day. When he said that, I said to myself, “Who is marrying this guy?”
What made you change your mind about him later?
He didn’t even propose to me; that was the funniest thing. At a point, my family members said, “This man that keeps following you, we have to call a meeting, because he is more or less a family member now. It is better you people get married, no matter how little. You need to do something, because you can’t keep following each other like this.” So, I went to him and told, “They (my family) said we should marry; will you not give me a ring?” Then he replied, “Are you not selling rings? Pick one, I’ll pay for it.” And that was how we started. We went to the marriage registry and had traditional and white weddings afterwards.
How many children do you have for him?
We had a daughter after three miscarriages.
How is your daughter coping with the loss of her dad?
I have explained to my daughter what happened to her father. She must be able to face the reality and keep on moving.
Do you think she understood you?
Let me tell you; there was a day like that that I was greeting some policemen in uniform. My daughter asked me why I was greeting them and told me to instead ignore them.
Have you received any kind of help from anyone since your husband died?
No, other than from family and friends and the friends that I talk about are his colleagues, the comrades, because he was also an activist before he died.
What are your demands?
I want justice in any form. Even if they can’t identify the person who shot him, the Nigeria Police should admit what they’ve done and apologise. What matters to me is for them to just admit because it is clear that there was a bullet. The arguments in the court will eventually be whose bullet? They should just admit and then carry the burden they have created for me. I want compensation.
How confident are you that justice will eventually come your way?
Well, they are behaving like this is business as usual for them. But for me, this is not just about my husband. Nigerians are not safe in the hands of the so-called people armed to protect them. After my husband’s case, do you know how many other people have fallen victim? It is just sad and this is happening because people are not getting justice. I understand that they frustrate people, but I am determined to get justice for my husband.
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