A mild drama took place today at the premises of the Akwa Ibom State Judiciary, when a former councillor from Oruk Anam Local Government Area, Mr Friday Obonoh, currently on trial for kidnapping and murder was accosted by the family members of the village head of Ikot Ese in Oruk Anam Local Government Area who stormed the court premises demanding for their son and father, Chief Aniekan Thompson Obonoh.
It took the professional intervention of prison warders who brought the accused to court to prevent him for being manhandled by the family members. To pacify the family, one of the warders collected the photograph of the village the family members came with and pleaded with them to go home, promising that they will help present the matter to appropriate authorities.
They accused Obonoh of being in custody of their son, father and uncle for the past five years.
A daughter to the “wanted village head,” Emem Obonoh told newsmen that sometimes in 2013, the village head, who is the accused person’s uncle, fell sick and he (the accused) came to the village and carried him on the pretence that he was taking him to the hospital.
“Chief Aniekan Thompson Obonoh is Hon Friday Obonoh’s uncle. He had a slight malaria attack sometimes in 2013 and we were happy when Hon Friday Obonoh, his nephew, came to the village and offered to take him to the hospital for treatment. One of the children wanted to follow him but he, Hon Friday Obonoh objected with the argument that he (our father) was in safe hands.
“But since then till today, we have not heard anything about our husband and father. Our mother, of 75 years, has been having sleepless nights resulting in several medical complications that have eaten deep into the family’s lean finances. On many occasions, when we ask Hon Friday Obonoh of the health condition and or where about of our husband and father, he will always tell us that he is fine.
“Sir, we are so worried because as a village head, our husband and father is supposed to take care of his wife and children as well as conduct the affairs of the village and represent it at various fora but his absence has impacted negatively not only on the welfare of the family but the village and local government at large.
“Sometimes in 2014, we were told that Hon Friday Obonoh “killed our husband and father and used his body for ritual purposes,” a story that we still believe is a fairly-tale. All efforts from the family to persuade Hon Friday Obonoh to return our husband and father or his corpse for proper burial have proved abortive. He always threatened to use his resources and connections to deal with our mother and anybody in the family who dare ask him to return our husband and father to his home.”
“If it is true he has killed our husband, father and uncle, let him tell us where the corpse is so that we can go and take his remains for a proper burial. That’s what we want now,” the woman who was crying profusely at the court premises lamented.
Obonoh’s case at the High Court 4 presided over by Justice Archibong Archibong was adjourned to June 29, 2017 for plea.
