The
pain of losing a child must be one of the worst things any parent could ever
face. It is hard to imagine the emotional pains the parents of the slain
students of University of Port Harcourt must be facing at this time. We extend
our condolences to the families and pray that God grants them the fortitude to
bear the irreplaceable loss.
The barbaric way the boys were murdered, though painful, is one that
must be protested and some of the parents of the slain victims have made their
voices heard, calling for justice.
In a telephone interview with the BBC in London, the fathers of
two of the victims, Lloyd Michael and Chiadika Biringa spoke about their
sons, how they heard about their death and how they feel towards the people who
murdered their sons.
When Lloyd”s father was asked if he ever thought something like this
could happen, his response was: “Never in my life. I never ever
thought this sort of thing could happen in my country in the 21st century.
Never. This is barbaric.”
When asked if he spoke to any of the people in the crowd who helped to
kill his son, he said “Yes I did, I spoke to one or two persons… but nobody was able to
give me a clue”
Despite all that has happened, he said “I
still believe that what has happened to my son and his friends will never ever
happen again if the right steps are taken.”
Chiadika Biringa’s father spoke about the anger he felt about the murder
of his 20 year-old son “I’ve
never seen such level of callousness been meted on an innocent soul, a child.
It brings about anger and that anger is now with me until justice is done on
this matter.”
He added that he would like the murderers to be caught and for justice
to prevail.
Similarly, Chinwe Biringa, mother of the murdered Chiadika Biringa,
who was a 200Level student of Theatre Arts at UNIPORT wrote a heart touching
petition to the Senate President. The petition dated 9 October, 2012 with the
title – Petition: Gruesome murder of my son at Aluu, University of Port
Harcourt host community – was signed “Heartbroken mother”
The petition
Part of the letter which was addressed to the senate president reads:
“my name is Mrs. Chinwe Biringa. I am the mother of Mr. Chiadika Biringa, a
second year student of Theatre Arts at the University of Port Harcourt
(UNIPORT). My husband is a very senior staff officer at the Nigeria National
Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.
“My son turned 20 years old this week and we gave him pocket money to
celebrate it with his friends. On Friday morning, we were called by my second
son, also a UNIPORT student that all was not well and he was hearing bad
rumours that villagers at ALUU, the host community of UNIPORT had murdered four
students. I immediately rushed to the scene only to see my son’s dead body
being taken away naked to a mortuary in UNIPORT Teaching Hospital. I could not
believe my eyes and collapsed.
“What did my son do? What did the other three young men who died with
him do? First, we heard that the four students were alleged to have stolen a
Blackberry phone and a laptop computer. This could not be further from the
truth. My son has had a Blackberry phone and in fact a laptop computer since he
was in primary school. No way could my son steal such a common thing as a cell
phone which every village woman now owns.
“We have been subjected to several gory videos and pictures on the
internet. This shows that someone filmed the whole barbarism from beginning to
end. My son and his friends were savagely beaten and burnt to death while
villagers at ALUU watched. All this has been caught on film!
“The video shows that all this was filmed in broad day light which
suggests that they were killed after 7.30 am. Further investigation has
revealed that they left their friend’s house at ALUU at about 7 am to go and
prepare for lectures.
“To waylay them and beat them with planks until they died like chicken
is the most savage thing one can witness in Nigeria of 2012. First they were
stripped naked, marched around like frogs and then beaten to death. What
savagery and bestiality.
“My husband and I want only two things, namely: (a) To clear the name of
Chiadika, (b) justice
“Your Excellency, every responsible parent knows what I, my husband, and
the entire family are passing through over this beastly murder.
“Again, and for emphasis, the film shows everything in clear view and
all the perpetrators must answer for their crimes.
“We want Justice. Those who murdered my son must face the wrath of the
law.
“Heartbroken mother.’’
The parents are calling for justice and it
would be a shame on the Nigerian Government and security agencies if they are
denied this justice. We join them in calling on all relevant agencies. Yes, we
want Justice for Aluu 4.
No comments:
Post a Comment