Mrs Cordelia Nwakor, the mother of a 26-year-old businessman who was allegedly killed by policemen in Onitsha, Anambra State, on October 13, 2023, tells IKENNA OBIANERI how the death of her only son has affected her and why she wants justice
Your son was reportedly shot dead by some police officers on October 13. What can you recall about the incident?
I am Cordelia Nwakor. I am a native of Owerre Ezukala, in the Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State, but I reside around Sokoto Road near the Main Market in Onitsha. I am a fruit seller at the Main Market, Onitsha. I am married with three children. I am a widow; I lost my husband some years back. It is true that my only son and second child, Chibueze Nwakor, was shot dead by policemen who came from the area command in Onitsha. The incident happened at about 6:30 pm on Friday, October 13, 2023.
The incident happened around Sokoto Road. The news of his sudden death at the hands of the police came to me as a rude shock that fateful evening. I never expected that his promising life with a bright future would be cut short in such a manner. I was at my place of business that fateful day when I and the people around the market started hearing shouts from people here and there. That was after a sound like a gunshot was heard around the market. Everywhere became rowdy, and some people started running helter-skelter from the direction where the incident happened. I attempted to go and check what was going on, but the atmosphere was too rowdy, and suddenly, somebody rushed to where I sold fruits and started shouting, “The police have shot somebody along Sokoto Road and that person looks like Chibueze, your son”.
What did you do when you heard that?
At first, I was devastated and prayed it wasn’t true, but when I summoned courage, I rushed to the scene of the incident, behold, what I saw was my son in a pool of his blood while people, neighbours and passersby were making frantic efforts to rush him to the hospital. At that point, he was still alive, but the first hospital he was rushed to rejected him, they said they wouldn’t commence treatment unless we got a police report, after several minutes of persuasion, we moved him to another hospital, but he died before we got to the second hospital. He lost a lot of blood because he was shot in one of his thighs.
Were you told why he was shot?
My son was killed for unjustifiable reasons and without any provocation. I learnt the policemen were asking him for directions to a place they were going, but he told them he did not know the place they were asking him and that they should make more enquiries, then suddenly, one of the policemen shot him in one of his thighs. My son did not quarrel, did not argue or insult them, just because he told them he did not know what they were asking him.
How did you know the police officers were from the area command in Onitsha?
We got to know later in the evening and the name of the officer who shot my son was identified as Jude. They came in an ash-coloured Hiace shuttle bus. It was not branded and there were three uniformed men on the bus. Immediately after they shot my son, they quickly zoomed off without showing any remorse for what they did.
Did your family report the matter to the police?
We have written a petition to the acting Inspector General of Police and also copied the Commissioner of Police in Anambra and other relevant bodies.
How did you identify the name of the officer that shot him?
We were able to identify the officer when we first lodged the complaint at the area command in Onitsha. We were told that the three policemen were being detained at the police headquarters in Awka, but when my daughter and some of our kinsmen visited the place, the same policemen who committed the act were seen cracking jokes and walking freely.
Have the police reached out to your family since the petition was submitted?
They have not reached out to us.
How old was your son?
He was 29 years old and was married with three children. His wife is even pregnant at the moment. I encouraged him to marry early because he was my only son.
Where did he live before his death?
He lived in Onitsha but he visited us regularly to check on us and attended to our needs. He visited us in the morning of that fateful day before he was killed in the evening. I left him and his siblings at home that day before going to the market where I sold items. However, he lived with us before he got married.
Did he tell you where he was going on the day he was killed?
I was in the market when he called me that he was going to the market to buy some pieces of meat after which he would come and see me at the shop. He was on the way to the market just a little distance from our street when he met the policemen who shot him because he was not able to help them with the direction they were looking for. It was later that I heard he was with his younger sister.
What was the last conversation you had with him?
When he visited us that fateful Friday, we spoke that morning, and during our conversation, he told me not to worry; he said he was optimistic about taking good care of me and his siblings, and assured us of a better life. I was so happy to hear that. My heart was filled with joy and I encouraged and prayed for him. I will miss him a lot. I have started feeling his absence already and I don’t know how long or if I can be consoled with anything. I have remained inconsolable. His death has devastated me so much. My son meant so much to us; his aura alone was strong, electrifying, and impactful.
What was his occupation?
After his education and when a job did not come, he went into the fruit business. He started the fruit business I do today for me. He used to travel to the northern part of the country to bring different kinds of fruit and other food items and supplied them to me and other sellers at the main market, after which they paid him. That was what he did. My son did legitimate business and was an easygoing person; everybody in the neighbourhood can testify to that. The police authorities are free to come and investigate his behaviour in the community.
His death has left us devastated. You can see my condition and the way I’m managing to respond to your questions. Since the incident, my life has not remained the same. As I talk to you now, I don’t know what fate holds for us. My daughters have been taking me in and out of hospitals as my blood pressure keeps rising.
My late son was the pillar and the breadwinner of the family since my husband died. He had been the one catering to our needs. Since he was killed, we have been thrown into mourning and I don’t know whether I will survive this.
How did members of your community react to his death?
The neighbourhood is mourning because everybody knew my son to be a very lovable and kind person. The pain of losing my only son is just weighing me down and I don’t know if I can survive this situation. The thought that I would not be seeing him anymore devastates me every minute of the day. My son cared for me and his siblings so much. He took care of us from the money he made in his fruit business. He played the role of a father to his siblings and he didn’t make them feel the absence of their father. He was a very likeable person.
He had great plans for me. Ever since the news of his death came to me, my life has been shattered. He promised to ensure that his siblings completed their education and he was doing just that. He paid our house rent and promised to build us a house before he met his untimely death.
All I know is that he was killed for no justifiable reason. He was not a suspect; he was not a criminal and he did not provoke the policemen. He only humbly told them that he did not know what they were asking him and they shot him. When has that become an offence? Justice is what we want. My son’s killers are walking freely; they need to tell us why they killed him. Also, at the moment, our hope is shattered, the breadwinner is gone. We don’t know how to cope with the situation at the moment, so solutions and justice are all we ask for. Who will take care of his sisters now? He was playing that role very effectively.
