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FEBRUARY 5, 2007 VOL. 20. NO 17

An Open Grave

**Nnaemeka**

Recriminations continue to trail the murder, in cold blood, of an American-returnee, Sylvester Nnaemeka Obiekea, as his remains is committed to mother earth
By Eugenia Okpara, Owerri
As the remains of late Nnaemeka Sylvester Obiekea was laid to rest on Saturday, January 20, 2007 in his country home, Oguta, his death in the hands of three Nigerian soldiers has remained a terrible reminder of the collapse of sanity, order and proper conduct among those employed to protect the citizenry.
The officiating priest at Nnaemeka’s burial, Rev. Fr. Mark Njoku, a lecturer at the Major Seminary, Ulakwo, Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo State while lamenting the untimely death of the youngster was branded an armed robber by his killers, observed that Nigeria has become a nation where security agents prey on the very people who employ and pay them, where the Hobbesan philosophy, Homo lupus homoni, meaning “man is wolf to man” holds sway.
His words: “The cold-blooded murder and untimely death of Nnaemeka Sylvester Obiekea is on one hand yet another sad and terrible reminder of the mad house which our Nigerian society has turned into. Nnaemeka’s death, we know, is one out of so many senseless killings that happen in our society on a daily basis. The painful irony of it all is that a very large percentage of these killings are perpetrated by men and women in uniform. People who are supposed to be professional protectors have turned into professional killers”.
The fiery Catholic priest warned that the murder of the young man which he said ought to form a watershed in the nation’s landscape must not be treated in the usual Nigerian attitude of “it does not matter” and “it is just one more case.”
Njoku: "Nnaemeka’s death is another clarion call to a society that is becoming more and more deaf to the voice of reason, getting more and more insensitive to its human vocation, a society that is steadily loosing her human soul. Nnaemeka’s death must be a watershed in this landscape. We cannot afford to revert to the normal Nigerian attitude of ‘it does not matter’ ‘this is just one more case. "He cannot be forgotten that way. His ghost and memory will continue to haunt us until justice is done”.
Regretting that the young man died in the hands of thugs and hooligans wearing military uniform, Njoku reminded Nigerians that it challenges all and sundry concerning the level of faith which late Nnaemeka professed till his death on December 24, 2006.
Rev. Fr. Njoku told the grieving family that although the demise of their son “is an open wound that will take a lot of time and a huge dose of faith to heal” nonetheless he said, they should take solace in the fact that Nnaemeka professed a strong faith that is rare in his generation.
“To you the Obiekea family, one can imagine your pain and anguish at the cold-blooded murder of your son. It must be a traumatic experience, an open wound that will take a lot of time and a huge dose of faith to heal. This is the same faith that Nnaemeka professed. His regular attendance to Mass on weekdays and Sundays is rare in his generation”, he said.
In his tribute, the elder brother of the deceased, Ogbuagu Kenneth Obiekea on behalf of the family, reiterated that their brother was never an armed robber and has never been an armed robber in his short stay on earth.
“We know and have accepted the painful truth that our brother has been wasted and is gone forever, but what we will not accept from anybody is branding him an armed robber, or a member of a gang of armed robbers. The Obiekea family of Oguta, Imo State is one of the most respectable families in terms of integrity. We vouch for our son. He was never an armed robber. He was never armed at any material time”, he fumed.
The older Obiekea further stated that “the family will only be consoled on the death of our son and brother if justice is not only seen to be done but also actually done”, adding that the press release by the Army Public Relations Officer (APRO), Major K. O. Ogunsanya, for the Commander of the 34 Artillery Brigade, Obinze, Owerri, Brigadier General Amnon Kalayi Kwaskebe, which branded Nnaemeka an armed robber is nothing but a deliberate ploy to dangerously and illicitly inflict mortal injury on the soul of the deceased.
Obviously irked by the untimely demise of his younger brother and determined and to ensure that hoodlums did not hijack the peaceful convoy to Oguta, Ogbuagu Obiekea had to trek for the greater part of the journey, from Aladinma mortuary where the remains of his younger brother was kept, before the long convoy went out of the municipality.
Angry reactions and wailing trailed the death of Nnaemeka as his corpse was driven from the Holy Cross Catholic Church, Aladinma where he worshipped anytime he was in Nigeria enroute Oguta where his remains were interred.
A middle-aged man who identified himself simply as Chief Okereke warned security agents to desist from wanton and indiscriminate killing of promising Igbo youths whom most often they brand as armed robbers.
Okereke wondered when Igbo youths have become armed robbers that they are continually being killed like avian flu-infested chickens, pointing out that Igbos did not turn to armed robbers immediately after the civil war when they were deliberately denied proper and meaningful integration into the economic lifeline of the nation.