My Brother Was Poisoned, Killed —Deceased Sister

Deborah Paul, a native of Mmiya Ntak, in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, Southsouth Nigeria, has appealed to the Nigeria Police to fish-out the alleged killers of her elder brother, Paul Uko Paul.

Uko Paul, who was a Maiduguri-based building contractor until the Boko Haram onslaught in the state compelled them to relocate to Port Harcourt, was allegedly poisoned by unsuspecting people which resulted in his sudden death.

The incident, P.M.NEWS gathered, occurred at a get-together organised by the deceased’s club in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Southsouth Nigeria, in March 2012.

The deceased sister told P.M.NEWS that her brother, in his early thirties, was hale and hearty when he left for the party, but was rushed home hours later by an unidentified persons in a cab, with heavy and thick blood gushing out of his mouth and nostril.

“They dumped him and left immediately before we could interrogate them,” she stated.

It was gathered that before he could rushed to a hospital, he died on the way, without explaining what happened at the event. Deborah stated that a physical examination of his body showed that there was neither bruises nor cuts to indicate that he was involved in a fight or an auto crash.

When P.M.NEWS contacted the deceased widow on phone, she could hardly speak as she was still in shock over the incident.

She wonders who might have masterminded the extermination of her husband.

“When he left home that fateful day, he only promised to get some items we needed at home for the weekend. I never knew that would be the last time we would communicate as couple,” she lamented.

ID, as the wife is known, regretted that her husband failed to heed her advice not to go to the party.

“If only he had listened to me, probably his death would have been averted. I dissuaded him from going but he insisted, stressing that it was an important get-together in honour of one of their members.

“I am now a widow –with nobody to take care of our only male child. I fear for our son’s future as my husband practically stopped me from working immediately after our wedding,” she stated.

Paul, P.M.NEWS gathered, lost his mother in July 2011 in a mysterious circumstance; a situation he had vowed to investigate with the last drop of his blood.

Mr. Paul Paul, the deceased father, said it is God that will judge and vindicate the family.

He said: “I do not want any autopsy to be carried out on him. This will only complicate matters and waste our time. My first son has been killed by someone he trusted so much. What is the need in wasting our scarce resources in the investigation and pursuance of the case?”

Findings further showed that the matter was not even reported at the police station.

The family is now in total confusion as siblings of the deceased have demonstrated their willingness to pursue the matter to a logical conclusion. But their father is against the idea.

—Ufforth Shalom