 |
| Llyod's parents |
 |
| Llyod |
Mrs. Jane Toku, the mother of Lloyd, one
of the four undergraduates of the University of Port Harcourt that were
lynched at Aluu community in Rivers State, says her son’s death will
always haunt her.
She also expressed shock that the crowd could watch how her son and his
friends were gruesomely murdered. Jane spoke with Punch correspondent
amid tears on Monday in Port Harcourt.
Jane said, “When we got there, one of
them was still breathing. He was gasping for breath, but the crowd…they
were all there watching while my baby (Lloyd) was butchered. Come to my
area and ask questions about my child; the child I trained.
“Penultimate Sunday, we went to church,
Salvation Ministry; that is where he worshipped. We all went together
for the second service. He stayed back for the remaining service. When
he came back, he started preparing to go to school. I can still see him
as I talk to you.
“He brought out a book; ‘How Faith
Works’ by David Ibiyomie and he said ‘Mummy, read this book and you will
know what faith is all about. By the time I come back on Friday, you
will tell me what faith is all about.’
“Ever since, I have been moving around
with that book, so that I could read and not get him angry when he comes
back from school and ask me about what I learnt from the book.
“Thursday was his daddy’s birthday. He
(Lloyd) called him and wished him happy birthday. When his daddy asked
him if he would be coming home to celebrate the birthday with the
family, he (Lloyd) promised to be back on Friday after lectures.
“But on Friday morning, we got the call
that my son was being beaten. How can I erase the fact that my son was
lynched from my mind? He studied very hard and got admission into the
university.”
Meanwhile, the community was like a
ghost town on Monday as the inhabitants of the area left their homes to
avoid being arrested by security agents.
Shops, restaurants and mini supermarkets
were also shut by their owners who felt students of the university were
planning a reprisal on the community.
Four students were on Friday morning
lynched by suspected members of the community for allegedly stealing
laptops and mobile phones.
Students living off campus in the
community were not left out in the rush to leave the community to avoid
the wrath of security agents, who had been patrolling the area.
The police had since the killing of the
four students arrested 13 suspects from Omuokiri village in Aluu,
including the village head.
Immediate past President of UNIPORT
Student’s Union, Mr. Rhino Owhorkire, told our correspondent that
students had shelved the idea of any reprisal.
Owhorkire vowed not to rest until those behind the killings were brought to book.
Lloyd’s parents appealed to government
not to allow those involved in the gruesome murder of their child and
his friends go scot-free.
Lloyd Toku was a 200 level undergraduate of Civil Engineering at the university before he was killed.
Speaking with PUNCH Metro on Monday, Lloyd’s father, Mr. Mike Toku, insisted that his son was neither a thief nor a cult member.
Toku, who is the Assistant Director, Presentation, Radio Rivers and a father of three male children, narrated how he got a distress call that his son was being beaten up by a mob.
He said, “On Friday morning at about
7am, we got a distress call that our son was being beaten alongside two
of his friends. So, we quickly rushed down. Initially, it was very
difficult for us to locate the place, but by the grace of God, we were
able to locate the place.
“By the time we got there, we saw a
mammoth crowd with a few Joint Task Force members there. So, we pulled
through the crowd and when I tried to move closer, the JTF operatives
told me to move back. Later on, one of my cousins supported me and we
moved on again and explained to them (JTF operatives).
“I move close to the four corpses on the
ground and I discovered that one of them was my son. We were also able
to identify the other three as his friends. We took the corpses to UPTH
to ascertain whether they were still alive. A doctor came out, examined
them and said they were all dead. My son has
never stolen before,” Toku explained amid tears.
He called on government not to allow those behind the gruesome murder of his son and his friends to go unpunished.
“All I want is for justice to be done.
That’s all. Whoever carried out that dastardly act should be brought to
book. That is all I want. I have not got assurance from anybody that
justice will be done. I am yet to get that (assurance). Nobody has
talked to us yet.
Also, Toku’s wife, Mrs. Jane Toku, stated that the crowd was watching while his son was being butchered to death.
Culled from Punch
No comments:
Post a Comment