Posted by By Chioma Okezie-Okeh on
If he had known that the light he saw in the distance as a child at the inception of his journey in life was a mere apparition, a stimulation of ill fate, he would have averted the tragedy that crushed his dreams, the dream of visiting the city with the hope of changing the fortune of his family upon return.
If he had known that the light he saw in the distance as a child at the inception of his journey in life was a mere apparition, a stimulation of ill fate, he would have averted the tragedy that crushed his dreams, the dream of visiting the city with the hope of changing the fortune of his family upon return.
One might wonder why he did not see the gray cloud at the beginning. It would have shown him a friendly route to the realization of his dream.
Although the dreams of Ikechukwu Idoko must have perished with his death allegedly in the hands of his master, there seems to be a gleamer of light in the tracks of juctice for that poor soul that was wasted at the morning of his life.
The confessions of the doctor Ikechukwu's body was taken to his hospital has made the matter easier for the investigating police. On the day the youngman died, the story by his master was that Ikechukwu jumped off the second floor of their apartment into death. The tale later changed that he slept and slipped off the balcony unto his death.
But the picture is getting clearer as the cdoctor has faulted the claims by Ikechukwu's master and murder accused who told the police that the youngman was taken to hospital alive for medical attention and later died there.
The doctor ha admitted that the body of the apprenctice trader was brought into his hospital stone dead.
The latest outcome of the invstigation is like the fruits of the change in position of Ikechukwu's kins who told the Lagos State police that they had no confidence in their ability to do a thorough work into the murder and therefore asked for a transfer of the matter to the Zone II police formation for fresh investigation late last month.
Hope of the family
Born into the family of Idoko in Ezike Oba, Nsukka, Ikechukwu was welcomed with the difficulty of surviving as his mother who happens to be the third wife of his late father had little or nothing to contribute to his upkeep. Upon the death of his father in 1997, it became impossible for Ikechukwu who has just finished primary education to further his educational quest. He joined his mother in the petty business to assist get their daily upkeep.
At that early age he assumed the position of the father of the house even as he repeatedly told his mother that she should not worry as he was surely going to be the light of the family. Even when uncles sought to sponsor him for his secondary education he refused but beckoned on them to face his sisters as he would go to school much later. At that, he decided to embark on a journey to the city. That journey which was filled with expectation brought back his corpse, nine years later.
Flashback
The story which was published by the media reported the events as it unfolds. Saturday Sun gathered that on July 12, a day after the incident, the family was called that Ikechukwu is critically ill at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) When they got there, they met Ikechukwu's lifeless body. Shocked, they called the police who arrested his master in possession of death certificate bearing from a hospital at Sabo instead of instead of LUTH where he claimed he eventually died. That raised a lot of dust which the police finally got to the root of it.
At the police as days went by Sunday with the hope to convince the police of his innocence kept on giving different versions of what happened that day. The first was that he woke from a deep sleep and jumped the storey building on his own. Secondly, Sunday admitted that he was actually beating him before he decided to jump off. Recently, the gist is that he took meat from the pot and was being disciplined. Who would believe thet a pot of soup that he had guarded for seven years could cause his death.
Sunday was also said to have got a death certificate claiming that it was from the LUTH. That became a controversial issue as the police dug into it and finally the doctor, Saturday Sun learnt confessed that Ikechukwu died before he came to the hospital at Sabo. So the ball is now in the court of Sunday to explain to the family, if Ikechuwu died before he was thrown down the balcony or that he actually commited sucide. Mr Sunday who is still in detention, Saturday Sun learnt has really been shaken considering that was not what he bargained for.
He promised to be back
Ikechukwu's mother who has not been consoled asked God why her life was not exchanged for that of his son. Weeping profusely, she narrated that " the last time I saw Ikechukwu, he told me that he would soon be back as he promised. He was waiting for his uncle Simon to come and secure his freedom. He is the light of my home. I waited all these years for this dream of his to come to pass. Just like his name, he would always say by the grace of God Mama everything would be fine. My soul bleeds for justice. Let God fight for me, I have lost my hero, " she sobbed.