By Abel Leonard, Lafia
Hajia Asheku Umaru, daughter of the late Zakari Umaru Kigbu, has said that her father was the sole target of the assassins, who broke into their home and shot her father.
She told Daily Sun sobbing: “They fired straight to his chest, right before the eyes of the members of his family, who gazed helplessly as he breathed his last.”
A few days after the tragedy that struck on May 28, 2022, in Lafia, Nasarawa State, the cold hands of death are still in the home of the 60-year-old father of six, who hailed from Eggon. Everywhere in the home paled out in sorrow and grief. Family members were speaking loud about their shock, emptiness, pain and loss.
Asheku, the fifth child of the deceased was inconsolable. Her eyes were red with dried tears, as she recounted her last moments with her father: “On that fateful day, I was in the sitting room inside the house with my father, mother and siblings, watching television.
“Not long afterwards, everyone retired to their respective rooms, leaving me with one of my brothers behind. I stayed back because I needed to transfer some heavy documents to my computer.”
Then suddenly, there was a bang on the far door. Their unexpected voices were more than strange. Who could that be at this odd hour? She queried in her thought.
It did not take long for her to know the answer to her query. Then, she realised there was a big trouble. That was because soon afterwards, they heard the first gunshot that tore the innocent veil of the silent night:
“When they came that night, they were shouting, screaming that we must open the door, because the days of my father were over. They seemed propelled a certain unknown anger, a motivation that was unseen but was there in their eyes. They said they must kill him before leaving the house that night. And they ended up killing him.
“One of my brothers ran to lock the kitchen door leading to the backyard, when their push persisted. On noticing their footsteps, we decided to dislodge ourselves because we were confused.
“Some of us ran to our father’s room while others ran to our mother’s room to hide. Going forward was death as they had seized all the exit routes and door.
“As the seconds clicked, the assassins, who were fully armed, forced their way through the entrance door, broke it open and walked straight to our father’s room. As they walked to my father’s room, my father asked all of us to run to the storeroom and hide ourselves while they tried to break his door.
“While we were hiding inside the store-room, we decided to go into our mother’s toilet to hide while praying to God to help us out. We shook, we prayed in whispers and we cried in our hearts for help.
“Inside the toilet, inside our mother’s room, they heard us as we were whispering. They asked us all to come out or they will kill us. We became scared, yet refused to come out.
“When we refused to open the door, they communicated to some of their members who were stationed outside the compound. This set started shooting but we all bent down while they were shooting.
“In all of the happenings in the house, my late father was still making attempts to call the police and the military, but there was no
positive response. When he could not get help, he had no option but to come out of his room.
“That was the moment they shot at him. On hearing the sound of the gunshot, we all rushed out in panic. Behold, here he was lying on the ground dying slowly.
“In his last moment lying in his pool of blood, he looked at us while we were weeping, his eyes closing in on him. He tried to say something but could not say a word. He was speechless as he died.”
She explained that assassins who accessed the inner room were four:
“Neighbours told us later that there were other criminal gang members strategically stationed on several corners of the street on that night.
“We are not trouble makers. So we never expected such an attack, not from assassins, not from anybody.
“Yes, our father was very close to politicians because of the positions he had held in the state and his contributions to the growth of the society. But we do not know the reason for his killing.
“Our father never told us that he had issues with anyone. I don’t think he had issues with anyone because he was a man of peace, he was a devout Muslim.”
In an epitaph for his father, Asheku described him as a simple and easy-going fellow: “He always prayed for all of us to be successful in our chosen careers.
“He also prayed for extended family members and friends. He taught us how to forgive those who hurt us. My father was a good man.
“He encouraged us to be independent. His plan for us was for us to be financially stable in the future so as to contribute to those who do not have a living in the society.
“We have all been crying since that Saturday night. Our father was shot dead right in our very presence. The pain is unforgettable, it will last forever.”