Uniport Four – Lloyd Mike Buried Amidst Tears in Port Harcourt

Tears flowed freely as thousands of people from all walks of life Friday gathered to pay their last respect to Master Lloyd Toku Mike, one of the four students of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) who were murdered at Omuokiri Village, Aluu on Friday, October 5.

The remains of Lloyd was buried at the Port Harcourt Cemetery yesterday after a funeral service held at the No.6 Field, Niger Street, Old Port Harcourt Township.

It was a gathering of students from all the tertiary institutions in Rivers State, parents and siblings of the slain students and people who came to mourn victims of what they described as the most barbaric killings in the country.

At the service conducted by Salvation Ministries, Pastor Promise Jeremiah, while condemning the killings, urged people to put their houses in order by giving their lives to Christ like Lloyd did. He also advised parents of the victims to put their trust in God for the wounds to heal.

Lloyd’s father, Toku Mike, restated that he was saddened at the loss of his son, whom he described as the pride of the family.

“I feel sad, very, very sad. Very disappointed in what has happened. I never expected such a thing from a community where students live. I can’t even imagine it in my wildest dreams,” he said.
He recalled that the late Lloyd was a lovely child who could not kill a mouse, and said it was absurd that he would be branded a cultist or thief by a mob to kill him.

“My son was a lovely boy. He was very close to us. I remember on a daily basis he will tap me on the back and say ‘Daddy Take it easy, everything will be fine’. He would tell the mum, ‘very soon you will not be cleaning the house again. There will be people who would be helping you to do this’. He was such a lovely boy who could not even kill a mouse. For somebody to tell me that such a boy went to steal a laptop is absurd,” he said.

He said he was however consoled that even the Inspector General of Police had come out to say the four students were neither thieves nor cultist as earlier perceived by people.

He described Aluu as a hostile community and advised the authorities of UNIPORT to ensure that all students were accommodated in the campus.