Goodness Eke, younger sister of the late Chimuanya, tells UCHE OKERE how her brother battled for survival after he was shot by suspected terrorists who invaded Eziobodo community in Owerri, Imo State
What is your relationship with the deceased?
Chimuanya was my elder brother. Our parents gave birth to six children. He is the second child and son. He was born on February 14, 1993; he was 33 years old, but he married early and had five children. Our father is late.
It was learnt that your brother didn’t die on the spot when he was shot by terrorists and was rushed to a hospital for treatment. What happened at the hospital?
My elder brother told us at the hospital that he ran into them while on his bike to buy drugs for his child.
According to him, he saw over 50 people when he ran into them. He told me that God just spared his life and helped him escape from them.
He said they were carrying special guns and wore army uniforms, and that some wore black on black. I kept encouraging him to stay alive for us.
What other information did he give you?
Chimuanya said the gunmen were close to the bushy and lonely path, so that whenever they shot someone, and the person stopped, they would come out and drag that person into the bush away from where people could see them.
Before my brother died, he said he saw someone being dragged into the bush, but he sped away to safeguard himself. When he was shot, it took over an hour before help came.
I think this was because people parked and were waiting to be sure it was safe to move. Chimuanya said the vigilante was begging the police to help carry him to the hospital, but they said it was not their job.
When they finally got to St Augustine Hospital, the nurses said the doctor was not around and advised that they should take him to FMC (now Federal Teaching Hospital, Owerri).
Then the vigilante guy went to look for a keke (commercial tricycle) to take him there. On reaching FMC, that vigilante guy deposited money for them to start treatment.
How did you get the information that your brother had been shot?
We got a call from my mum that Chimuanya was shot and that we should rush down to FMC. My other elder brother, elder sister, and I immediately rushed to the FMC emergency ward.
On reaching there, everything they asked us to pay, we did it for the injections and drips. We spent over N200,000 on many things like emergency scan, emergency X-ray; everything was for an emergency. Even my other brother, Chidiebere, donated blood that night.
Around 3 am, we went to the place where they were to do the scan, but the person in charge wasn’t around, and we were told to return by 6 am. We went back there by 6 am, but the person there said the person to do it would be the person on morning duty by 7 am.
We went back, and they kept postponing the time to do it. I told Chimuanya that I wanted to go and freshen up, eat, and return, but he refused. I even told him my sister would soon be there and that he should just allow me to go and prepare my child for school that Thursday morning, but he refused and was saying I should not leave him.
So, I had to stay back because I didn’t want anything that might aggravate him. But he was talking well. In fact, my sister went back to the scan area, and they told her they were not ready for Chimuanya.
She was now angry and was shouting at them. Then the nurse told us to go and buy one injection like that, and my sister went to buy it. The nurse then came. I don’t know the injection that the nurse administered to my brother.
After that injection, my brother passed away. So, they started pressing his chest, but he didn’t come back to life. I don’t know the type of drug or injection she gave my brother.
I don’t know why the nurse asked everybody to go out before she could administer the injection to my brother. That was what happened.
What happened after he was pronounced dead?
The forest guards said the police would come and check that night, but they didn’t. They came in the morning, just after he passed away. They took pictures, and they collected the tally for his corpse.
I don’t know what they are doing with the tally because we want to bury him so his family can move on.
Though they said we should bring the medical report, we are on it. My elder brother has gone to the village to notify our people and our maternal relations as required in Igboland.
So, what’s the situation now? Is the Ihiagwa/Eziobodo community doing or saying anything?
We are so sad. In fact, I don’t know. I’m just praying for God to console us because it’s very unbearable for us. It has not been easy even for his wife. I just pray that God will console us because I don’t understand the entire situation.
He had plenty of dreams that he didn’t accomplish. He stopped at O-Level at Azara Egbelu High School, Emekuku. After secondary school, he served one man in Egbu.
The man was doing a plumbing job, but later left for the USA. After that, he started his life and began to learn the clothing business.