Chioma is the wife of an employee of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Duruoha Joel, who went missing in September and was later found dead after allegedly being killed by a gang of armed robbers in the Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State. She narrates her ordeals to IKENNA OBIANERI

Tell us more about yourself.

I am 28 years old. I am from Umuchu in the Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State. I am an applicant and an apprentice. I am married to Joel Duruoha, but unfortunately, he is late now. Before the sad incident of the death of my husband, we were living together at Ifite Awka in Anambra State.

How old was your late husband?

He was 43 years old. I was shocked to hear the sad news of my husband’s death and right now, I have still not recovered from the shock and I don’t think I will be able to recover from it. I wish I can wake up from this nightmare one day.

Can you recall the day he went missing?

I can’t remember the particular day, but it was late in September. On that fateful day, he left the house for work and he did not come back home. A few days before I got the sad news of his death, I informed his colleagues and the office (INEC) that he did not return home since he left for work and he was subsequently declared missing. After some days, around midnight on that fateful day, somebody called me on the phone and informed me that she saw the picture of my husband on social media and that his corpse was found on a road. I told her to send me the picture for me to be sure, and when she did, it was truly my husband’s picture. I just could not describe the way I felt at that moment. That night was the most terrible moment of my life; I started making calls here and there, running up and down.

Was that the first moment you heard about the news?

Yes, it was the first moment.

Who was the woman who informed you?

She is an old friend. It had been a long time since we communicated, but on that particular night, she said immediately after she saw the post and the picture of my husband flying on social media, she quickly recognised that it was him and decided to call me to verify.

When he was initially announced missing, what was happening to you in that period?

Yes, when he was announced missing, every one of us, including his colleagues, started looking for him. His phone line was switched off; no one was able to communicate with him until the news of his death got to me that night. That was a few days after he was declared missing.

How many days after?

I cannot remember how many days precisely because a lot was running through my mind and I was not in the right frame of mind; the trauma was too much.

What was the last moment you had together?

That morning before he left for work, as he normally did, he hugged and kissed me and told me to try and be back home on time to prepare his favourite meal that he was going to be very busy at work that day; it was during the continuous voter registration and he was always really busy at work during those periods.

How was his corpse discovered?

It was found by the roadside in Isuaniocha community in the Awka North Local Government Area. The police found it. According to what they said, a woman who was going to her farm that morning saw the corpse by the roadside and started screaming; the people in the area alerted the police in the community, who took the corpse to the mortuary. It was at the mortuary that one of the attendants recognised him and told them that he was an INEC employee. So, the police immediately contacted the INEC office in Awka and the people there contacted my brother-in-law. Nobody was happy about it. We were all very sad at that moment. It was very unfortunate.

Last Friday, the police arrested and paraded his alleged killers and you were also present when the suspects narrated how he was killed. How did you feel seeing them confessing to the crime?

I could not believe that such young people would take the life of a human being just because they wanted to snatch his vehicle. It was a rude shock to me to see the faces of those boys, who are in their 20s. They could have just snatched the vehicle and kept him alive for his family. It is so terrible and pathetic. They said they hired him to use his shuttle bus to take them to Urum from Ifite, but that their intention was to steal his bus, and that later along the Urum/Isuaniocha Road, they strangled him, dumped his corpse in a nearby bush and took the bus. Thereafter, they drove the vehicle to Enugu. where they wanted to sell it. But detectives from the state Criminal and Investigative Department were able to arrest the suspects in Enugu and the bus was recovered.

Was the stolen vehicle your husband’s?

He bought it in February this year to ease his movement to and from work and for other movements.

Did he also use it for commercial purposes?

It was not actually for commercial transportation but basically for ease of movement.

Has the vehicle been recovered?

The police found the vehicle in Enugu but they said the engine was damaged.

How do you want his suspected killers to be dealt with or can you muster the courage to forgive them?

It is hard to forgive such. Let them face the full wrath of the law for having the mind to gruesomely take away the life of a fellow human being. This will also serve as a deterrent to others.