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• We’re shocked such peace-loving girl was murdered for no reason – Residents
From Abubakar Yakubu, Abuja
Salma Yunusa, a 19- year-old Senior Secondary One student residing at Byazhin in Kubwa area of the Federal Capital Territory was described by residents of the place as a very peaceful person.
Her peaceful nature must have been the reason she wanted to become a lawyer, but her dreams were cut short in the morning of March 12, when she was stabbed to death by a single mother of two, Immaculate Chukwudi, while she was trying to broker peace between her elder sister and Chukwudi.
Salma’s elder sister, Bilikisu Yunusa, said she stayed with her and never showed any sign that she might be leaving this world very soon. According to her, they both cooked and ate together that fateful morning before death snatched her away.
“In fact Salma was her usual self when I returned home in the evening to the compound we shared with one Pastor and Immaculate Chukwudi on March 11,” Bilikisu said.
The elder sister said on her return, she met Pastor removing his wet clothes from the ropes tied in the compound and sought to know why he was doing that.
“Pastor told me it was Immaculate who asked him to remove the clothes and I commended him for the peaceful action he took. The next thing was that Immaculate rushed out of her room and started raining insults on me and brought out a knife at about 10 pm, boasting that she would kill me,” Bilikisu narrated.
She said Pastor had to wade into the issue and appealed to Immaculate not to harm her and to return to her room.
According to her, the following morning at about 4am, Salma and she ate their meals to observe the Ramadan fast and at around 5: 30 am, she came out to fetch water from one of the buckets she had put under the rain during the night to perform ablution.
“During the night, I checked the rain water and it was clean and when I looked at the buckets the next morning, the water was very dirty and I wondered aloud what must have happened to the water.
“Immaculate rushed out of her room and told me that she put dirt in my water and if I talked, that she would kill me. It was then Salma came outside to where I was and appealed to me to forget the matter, that she would fetch another bucket of water for us to perform ablution for the Subri prayers,” she said.
Bilikisu narrated further that her younger sister then threw the water away and was in the process of going to fetch another bucket when Immaculate rushed towards her with a bucket of water, which she emptied on her sister.
“My sister, who was drenched, was cleaning the water from her face, when Immaculate brought out a knife and drove it into the heart region of my sister’s body,” Bilikisu said.
She said she immediately rushed her sister Salma to Kubwa General Hospital where the medical officials there confirmed her dead.
“They told me at the hospital that my sister was dead and I immediately rushed to report the incident at the police station, where some policemen followed me from the station to arrest Immaculate from her apartment,” she said.
Bilikisu said the corpse of Salma was taken to their home town at Ajagwumu in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State, where it was buried according to Islamic rites on March 13.
A resident of Byazhin in Kubwa, Abdulazzez Ibrahim, described Salma as a very devoted Muslim, who would never hurt a fly. He wondered why Immaculate attacked her in that lefhal way.
“This woman should either be on drugs or have a mental problem,” he said.
Another resident, Ikechukwu Eze, described Salma as a very serious minded person who was either going to school or attending catering lessons in the area. “She knew what she wanted out of life at her age and went all out to try to achieve it because she was always busy,” he said
Chioma Emeka, a resident, also described Salma as a very peaceful person. “I wonder what must have led Immaculate to kill this very quiet and peaceful girl,” she stated.
Maryam Abdullahi, a petty trader in the area, said she had never seen Salma angry or quarrelling with anyone.
“You would always see her minding her business and I am very surprised that anybody can harbour an intention to hurt her, much more kill her,” she said. Maryam appealed to the police to make sure that Immaculate faces justice and is made to pay for the crime she committed.
Some members of the Muslim community in the area also attested to Salma’s devotedness in prayers. One of them, Alhaji Afeez Mahmud described her as someone who really feared Allah. “It is very unfortunate that she met her death in this manner. But as Muslims, we believe that everything was destined to happen by Allah as He alone gives and takes live,” the cleric said
Aminu Garba, another member said he noticed that Salma was always committed to her religion and was frequent in the mosque. “I cannot imagine why someone would kill such a person, who was peaceful,” he stated.
He prayed for Allah to forgive her shortcomings and grant her paradise, adding that her killer must be made to face the full wrath of the law.
At the Kubwa Police Station, a police officer who is not authorised to speak to the press told our reporter that the case was immediately transferred to the FCT Police Command for in-depth investigation.
Another policeman at the command’s Criminal Investigation Department said the suspect was still undergoing investigation and was cooperating with the police.
“Charges will be prepared for her and she will be taken to court to face them,” the officer said.
The command’s spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, while commenting on the incident, disclosed that the matter was still being investigated and the suspect would soon be charged to court.
