Murder of Three Brothers in cold blood:Helen Ukpabio Cries For Justice, Buries Mum, Sister Same Day

 

-         As Community Groans in Harvest of Tears

It was a harvest of what an observer described as “endless tears” as the people of  Mbente village in Nkari Clan of Ini local government area of Akwa Ibom witnessed the burial of the mother and younger sister of Lady Apostle (Mrs) Helen Ukpabio, the founder of Liberty Gospel Church on Saturday January 26, 2013.

Fondly called Mama by her children, Late Madame Atim Essesien Akpabio, aged 72 years, was said to have slumped on Sunday November 25, 2012 and gave up the ghost at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital the next day. 

 

Her demise has been carefully linked to the tortuous psychological stress she must have gone through since she witnessed  the killing of her three children by an SSS officer in company of some Police men alleged to have been detailed to do so by a highly placed son of Ini local government area who had once contested election to be governor and senator respectively.

Helen Ukpabio’s mother was said to have been “worn out by stress and constant worry as she grew weaker by the day. She constantly spoke of her dead sons and severally replayed the murder scene in her head. She kept asking about what had  happened to the murderers of her sons; she asked when they will eventually be arrested; she asked why her sons were killed”, and perhaps having no answers to such questions, she got stuck and died. Mama’s beautiful daughter, Elizabeth Akpabio died on hearing of her brothers’ death.

As two coffins were spread on two big tables before the sea of faces that gathered at Mbente village from far and near, Professor Aniekan Ekere in his homily on the topic, “Living life with eternity in view” and quoting the scriptures copiously from Heb. 9:27 he said it was appointed once for man to die and that spiritual death was dangerous as one would be breathing, walking, talking, eating, doing business but had died because he had since been disconnected from God.

The Priest said that death reduces every person to the same level, class and experience adding that if people like Sani Abacha and Steve Jobes could die, it means the rich  could also die.

He said that those in power today will be there no more tomorrow and will not be relevant just as economic power can change and affect the rich tomorrow.

Concluding, the man of God quoted Numbers 23:10 and  Romans 5:17 to buttress his claims.  He said, “if you don’t like a thing being done to you, don’t do it to another person. If you sow death, violence, fraud, sword, blood, that is what you will reap.  If you don’t want people to shoot your three brothers do not shoot other people’s brothers”.

In a chat with members of the press who were at the venue of the burial Lady Apostle Helen Ukpabio said they have spent so much money and have written so many letters with respect to the death of her brothers but everything seems difficult to get to the root of the matter but added that she would not relent till justice is done.  Hear her,  “we have tried to live with it, we tried to use the police initially but they were unwilling. We went to the Inspector General of Police (I.G.P),  the I.G.P. was mad [annoyed]and said that the case must be investigated and he sent in police. When he sent in police, it was discovered that Akwa Ibom Police had given statement and they were like giving the suspects VIP treatment by going to their houses. This other police arrested Benjamin who quickly confessed to the murder and said that Noel Nduka shot the boys. When Noel Nduka was contacted, he said well, I was not the only one in the team.... Noel Nduka said he will not disclose who hired him and he can only release other information if authorized to do so by the hirers, that is what I read in his own write up[statement]  to the police”. 

Helen further alleged that Bassey Inuaeyen and Senator Aloysius Etuk were behind those who killed her three brothers and wondered why they were not arrested and prosecuted.  She said one Benjamin was arrested who quickly confessed to the murder and said that Noel Nduka shot the boys. Apostle Helen hinted that when it appeared as if conducting investigation by the Police was a herculean task, she engaged the services of private investigators who still discovered the same persons they suspected to be killers of her brothers. She alleged that the killers were still seeking to kill one other brother and a cousin of hers, if she did not put pressure to unveil the cloak behind them.

She alleged that people in Mbente village were intimidated by Bassey Inaueyen that government was coming to kill anyone who attends her  mother’s burial. “This is the lie that Bassey Inuaeyen uses to smear the name of government and it is very bad”, she said.

She said such intimidation should be a matter of concern for government to completely do something to exonerate its name as such could cause Mbente people to lose confidence in Akpabio led-government.

She appealed to the Akwa Ibom State Governor to consider five souls gone in a family  and assist her for investigations to be done so that the killers of her brothers could be made to face the law.

 She challenged those who brand her and her brothers as kidnappers to mention any of such cases she or her brothers have ever been linked to. “If I aid kidnappers, let them mention one that they have ever been linked, and wondered how she could be branded a “dubious person” by people in her own state. “If I have ever aided robbers, where are they, I thought I am a holiness preacher. But I don’t know that in my own state and with my own people, I am seen as a very dubious person”, she intoned.

She concluded that her mother died because justice was not done to the killers of her children.  “So, this is why my mother died, not only because her children died but because justice has been denied us and the woman had no reason to live”, Lady Helen Ukpabio said.

Apostle(Prof.) Isaiah Issong, before offering prayers to bless the family members of the dead, with his hornlike trumpet, drove the audience to much sympathy and groaning when he blew the trumpet into air calling on God to rise against those who killed the brothers of Helen Ukpabio, which led to the death of the mother and younger sister of the founder of Liberty Gospel church.  In what sounded like a curse, Apostle Issong appealed in somber to the God of heaven to cause fire, water, air, sand, thunder, death, violence and even urine[in their body] to be constantly at war with the killers of Helen’s brothers, and those who hired them as well.

Others who spoke at the venue of the burial were Barr. Festus Keyamo, a human rights lawyer and other eminent priests of Liberty Gospel Church.

Speaking to journalists after at the burial ground Barr. Keyamo said, “We have written several petitions when this matter happened. We have written several petitions to the authorities that are involved; the Inspector General of Police, the State Security Service, the House Committee on Public Petition and Police Affairs. We have also written several petitions also to the Senate Committee on Public Petition and Police Affairs as well as all the organs of government that should be concerned with this gruesome incident”.

Mr Festus Keyamo added, “They are fueling speculation that there might be an attempt at a grand cover-up by some persons high up there, privy to what is happening, so what we want to do now is to put pressure on these authorities by raising the tempo of publicity. In this our struggle, without you guys here, there is no way you can achieve anything.

You cannot fight a dictator in darkness, he will kill you. The only way to fight a dictator is to expose him. That is why we want to bring maximum publicity so that those mentioned are thoroughly quizzed and brought to justice. This case is anything that can agitate the minds of reasonable Nigerians. The gruesome murder is so complete and so profound  that these people should be brought to justice”.

The high point of the burial was the presentation of the “Madame Atim’s long Journey home” in place of biography stating the events which led to her demise and that of her daughter, read by one of the grand-children, blessing of the family and interment of the remains of the dead in a family grave yard where nine graves were already prepared.

Some of those who graced the event are Pa Chief Essesien Akpabio (Chief Mourner), Archbishop Elijah Mboho, Archbishop Emmanuel Mekomou, Prof. Aniekan Ekere, Rev. Sylvanus Tommy, Bishop Mike Laju, Chief Otu Robert, Rev. Usani Usani, Pastor Wisdom Favour, Pastor Frank Iniodu, Bishop Joseph Bassey, Barr Festus Keyamo, members of Liberty Gospel Church and other churches, members of the press, members of Mbente community and others too numerous to count.

Meanwhile, media report held that when contacted on phone Bassey Inuaeyen denied the allegations made by Lady Apostle Helen Ukpabio, adding that Helen wanted to be political leader of Ini and that she had had problems with the brothers before they were killed.  He is said to have added that there was something hidden between Helen and her brothers which she did not disclose to the public.  The SSS officer and Aloysius Etok could not be reached as at the time of filing this report.