Posted by By UBONG UKPONG, Abuja on
Less than three years ago, in December 2003, Joseph Annayo, popularly called Annason was kidnapped from his bakery in Jikwoyi, a suburb of Abuja, by unknown gunmen, who brutally murdered him along the Kurudu - Karshi road.
Less than three years ago, in December 2003, Joseph Annayo, popularly called Annason was kidnapped from his bakery in Jikwoyi, a suburb of Abuja, by unknown gunmen, who brutally murdered him along the Kurudu - Karshi road.
An amiable baker, full of vision, had begun to expand his business and extended his tentacles to include sale of assorted drinks. No doubt, this giant stride may have attracted envy of either competitors or those who would not want a fellow man to progress in life. As such, the aggrieved would not let him live, hoping that his demise would slow down the business, if not collapse it.
While they might have hoped to see their desires fulfilled, after she concluded her husband's burial rites, the widow of Annayo waxed stronger in the enterprise, to sustain the legacy left behind by her husband. Perhaps, displeased by her efforts, the men of underworld have seemingly vowed to dispatch her to where her late spouse is_the great beyond.
Mrs Annayo narrated her nasty experience and the pains she had passed through since she returned from burying her late husband.
Said she: "Soon after I returned from my husband's burial, I saw a note on my door post without name and address. They said in the note that they are my husband's killers. They told me that I am just enjoying the money without thinking how the money came, that it is their sweat and they need a fair share of the business which they did with my husband and he cheated them. They told me that that was why they killed him and that if I saw the pains my husband passed through the day they were killing him, I would not be sitting down here enjoying the money alone. They said if I do not cooperate and give them all what they need from me, they will also kill me and wipe off my entire family".
She told Daily Sun that she became afraid seeing the weight of terror unleashed on her by the note. So, she said, she decided to confide in a lady [names withheld] who at the time was a cleaner in the bakery, who in turn eventually introduced her to her pastor. She regretted ever meeting the prophet in her life. Said she: "On meeting the Pastor, he told me that he had earlier seen a vision on my husband's assassination before he was killed and had told the cleaner to tell me to intensify prayers, but she did not tell me. He then advised me to be careful and prayerful, to avoid a repeat of what happened to my husband".
Subsequently, she said on November 27, 2005 she received a distress call from the prophet, notifying her of a vision of an impending danger for that day. On returning from his place, same day, she said, "I met another note dropped for me with a telephone number that I could call them to hear what they want from me. So I ran back to pastor and he said we should call them, and encouraged me to comply with whatever the people would demand from me, to save my life".
Mrs Annayo told Daily Sun that in the telephone conversation between her and the unknown persons, at the instance of the prophet, they negotiated and agreed to pay N3million to them from the initial N10 million which they demanded. Afterwards, she said, she went sourcing for the amount from the bank using her land titles as collateral. The amount, according to her, was realized and handed over to the cleaner's husband also a close associate of the prophet and former Chief Mason to her husband. The man also claimed to know Awkuzu in Anambra State, where the unknown men said over the money should be delivered. The prophet volunteered to accompany him.
After some days, she said, sadly, "they returned and told me that they have settled those people. I was happy and went to book for thanksgiving during mass, to thank God for setting me free from these people. Before I could go for the thanksgiving, the cleaner's kinsmen came complaining that the man who went to deliver the money had been kidnapped for some days now and that they have found his car damaged and abandoned along Kurudu - Karshi road after Jikwoyi, with a note from the kidnappers that they kidnapped him for being my saviour and that they needed N1.5 million naira to release him, else they would kill him". They again mounted pressure on her to pay the money.
Seeing the pressure, the widow of Annayo said she arranged and paid the amount. Immediately after the payment, she told Daily Sun that the allegedly kidnapped man resurfaced with bandage on his head, which made her to sense foul play and quickly alerted the Police, who ordered his immediate arrest.
When contacted, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) Karu, Abuja, Mustapha Dandaura (CSP) confirmed the report and the arrest of IK Obidike{the cleaner's husband} and an accomplice, Edwin, and Mrs Rebecca Obidike{the alleged cleaner}, who was later released on bail. But Prophet Nwali, he said, had since been at large on learning of the arrest of his associates.
Daily Sun gathered that four cars: a white Mitsubishi Mini-Jeep and a black Cherokee jeep belonging to Prophet Nwali, a Voxwagen golf car belonging to Obidike and a golden colour Mitsubishi gallant belonging to Edwin have been confiscated by the Police. Also, the premises of the Mount Zion Prophetic Ministries International in Jikwoyi have been sealed by the Police.
However, Mrs Annayo is afraid that the Police's effort to bring the culprits to book and give her justice had always been fruitless since the death of her husband in 2003, but the DPO of Karu told Daily Sun that the arrest of these suspects who are currently in police net would help the police effort in ending her nightmare.