I’m sad mourning husband, baby same year —Wife of security guard beaten to death by naval ratings
http://www.hrlnews.com/2019/08/im-sad-mourning-husband-baby-same-year.html
Mary Peter is grappling with the bitter
part of life, more than her fragile posture could bear. She cried her
heart out in February this year when she lost her second child five
months after birth. No one was around to soothe her except Bitrus who
she described as a loving husband.
But just as the wound began to heal,
Bitrus, ‘the healer,’ went on a journey of no return. The 29-year-old
security guard on Gabriel Okoyi Street, Ikate-Lekki, Spring Bay Estate,
Lagos State, was tortured to death by two naval ratings and his
colleagues for allegedly stealing a piece of jewelry belonging to one
Seun, a tenant at a house he (Bitrus) manned.
Seun had invited the naval men and two
other security guards to probe and beat the Bauchi State indigene, who
eventually led his tormentors to a man he sold the necklace to and
N100,000 was recovered from the buyer.
Afterwards, they descended heavily on
him and the buyer during which the former passed out and was rushed to
the Lagos Island General Hospital where he died some hours after.
In one of the photographs capturing the
torture, Bitrus rolled on the floor as one of the officers raised his
leg to kick him. In another picture, the buyer was forced into a mud
inside drainage.
But as dehumanising as the punishment
meted out to them was, Mary had wished her husband lived to bear pains
like the the buyer. “I was in the market that morning when he was being
tortured,” said Mary, sharing the experience with City Round earlier in the week.
“I came back and met my husband on the
ground. He could not talk or do anything. I left my child in the shop
and people helped in taking him to hospital. The following day, July 21,
around 2 am, he gave up.”
Mary suddenly assumed widowhood.
Loneliness, thoughts of her dead baby boy and how to take care of her
ailing daughter, Precious, have crowded her mind.
She recalled, “My husband and I did not
talk before he died. He and his daughter did not talk. He was unable to
tell us what actually happened. He just left us. One of our two children
died early this year when he was five months old. As a widow, I can’t
take care of our only surviving child. Nobody to help me pay her school
fees and she always falls sick. She is a sickle cell sufferer.
“In a year, we could spend up to
N100,000. Her dad is dead now; who will help me to care of her? Losing a
husband and child the same year is not easy.”
Indeed, the pain is better imagined
especially for a woman like Mary whose six years in marriage revolved
round love and care. Despite living in poverty, the family’s status was
never a source of concern. Against all odds, joy and love kept them
going.
“On Friday (July 19), we talked about
love,” she contnued. “I took food home from the market that Friday and
we ate it together. He didn’t want to eat it. I told him that whatever
we have, if we eat together, God will bless our family. And God has
always been there for us. We ate it, laughed and slept.
“I really miss my husband. He used to
help me. If I was in the market and he was at home, he would help me
fetch water and tidy up our room. At times, he was the one that took the
responsibility of washing our clothes. Whenever he was free, he would
come to my shop to help me sell.
“I really love my husband. Since we got
married, I never heard complaints about him much less accusing him of
stealing. I want the government to be responsible for the treatment of
my daughter and provide for her upkeep.
“Since my husband died, nobody knows how
I feed her and how she feels. She fell sick two weeks after her father
died. I cried. How would I cope with this kind of life at this young
age? I want the police to ensure justice is served in this matter.”
The daughter, Precious, a six-year-old
Nursery 2 pupil, would also miss her dad. She was used to parental
affection. She could not believe the love would be cut short when she
needed it most. “I miss him a lot,” she said of her late father. “He
would bathe me and took me to church on Sunday. He would bathe me and
take me to school every day. When I am going to school, he would give me
N50. I want to see my daddy again.”
The police had arrested the two security
guards while the Nigerian Navy had ordered the arrest of the two naval
ratings. Seun is still at large.
The Command Information Officer, Western Naval Command, Lagos, Commodore, Tom Otuji, told City Round on Friday that the naval men had been taken into custody for investigation.
He said their details and the position of the Force would be made known upon the conclusion of investigation.
“Navy doesn’t cover up issue. I can assure you that the outcome of investigation will be disclosed,” he added.