Who killed Joy Uduma just before her final-year exam?

When Joy Uduma, Faith Ayeke and Happiness Ibhahe, all final year students of the department of Accounting at the Federal College of Education (Technical), Yaba, Lagos, went to the branch of Access Bank at Saint Finbarrs road, Akoka, on Tuesday afternoon, the trio would never have anticipated that one of them would not make it to the bank again for any other transaction.

Three years as undergraduates created a bond among them. They read together, stayed in the same vicinity and shared things among one another but death interrupted that companionship on October 14, 2014.

After the students left the bank, Faith and Happiness proceeded to nearby Bariga market to purchase dinner ingredients, while Joy rushed home to pick up some items.

But she never returned to her residence at 30 Oroku street, off Apapa road, Oyingbo. As at the time of filing this report, circumstances that led to her death were still sketchy.

“We had it in mind that the food would have been ready before she returned so we waited for her,” Faith told TheCable.

“We didn’t see her throughout that night and we were a bit worried because she never told us that she would not return. Around 5am on Wednesday, someone called Happiness and introduced himself as a policeman. He requested for the phone number of Joy’s parents and said she was in the police custody.”

Knowing Joy to be an easygoing person, Faith doubted the policeman but when he continued pressing for the number, she asked him what landed the deceased into trouble but rather than clarify issues the officer asked her to come to Iponri Police station, still in Lagos.

In a worried state, Faith and Happiness went to the station with two other male colleagues very early that morning. They were told that joy was molested and had been taken to the hospital where she was responding to treatment.

Joy’s friends were a bit worried that such fate befell her but they were quite happy with the information that she was responding to treatment. However, locating the hospital was another trouble.

“We were told to come back between 5pm and 6pm because the officer in charge of the situation had gone home after duty,” Happiness said, adding that they returned to the station later that evening.

“They said joy had been discharged from the hospital and that her aunty had taken her home. So our minds were at rest because we felt she was fine. So we asked for her aunty’s number so that we wouldn’t just go back to the hostel without seeing her.”

Again the story changed, as they were told to come back around 10am on Thursday.

Happiness said immediately she sensed that something was wrong but they had no choice but to agree return to the station again.

“Before we got to the hostel, the policeman called to say going through stress for a dead person was not worth it and that he didn’t want to tell us because he was trying to avoid us creating a scene in the station. He said she was shot,” Faith said, trying not to betray emotions.

“They said they hid it from us all along because they had not seen her relatives. That they first had to tell her relatives before letting us know.

“Immediately I became destabilised. I was just wondering how it happened.”

Amarachi, Joy’s aunt, who would not want her surname mentioned, is still in shock over the incident. She said there was more to the incident than the police had revealed. She disclosed that the deceased was an orphan.

“Joy is very humble and obedient. She wasn’t a trouble maker at all. That is why we find it difficult to believe the police,” she said.

“The police claimed that some hoodlums shot her because she was struggling with them when they wanted to snatch her bag.

“That can never happen; Joy was not like that. She was a praise leader at the Redeemed Christian Church of God where we attended in Oyingbo here. She used her voice to praise God. She would not struggle with anybody. Not her.”

Recalling an incident involving Joy, Faith corroborated Amarachi’s account on Joy’s calm nature.

“Joy is an easygoing person. I remember a particular time when a Year One student embarrassed her publicly. The junior student said she would slap her but Joy did not react; she just left the place quietly,” Faith said.

“She’s not a troublemaker. Sometimes, if we are arguing, she just keeps quiet for you. She does not talk too much.

“I believe it’s not just the gun that killed joy, there’s something to her death, that’s what I just believe. The whole story on her death is like a cover-up. I strongly believe that it’s not the gun that killed Joy.”

Attempts to reach the police officer in charge of the case did not yield any result, as his phone number was unreachable all through.

However, the police insist that she was murdered by hoodlums, adding that the matter is being investigated.

“Her corpse was found at a roadside in Oyingbo. She was killed by yet unidentified hoodlums,” Kenneth Nwosu, the Lagos state police public relations officer, told TheCable.

“We are yet to know the cause or the causes of her death but once we have relevant details, we will definitely make it public.”

Nwosu said no arrest had been made but assured that the police would not rest on its oars to unravel the killers.

While Happines was bemoaning fate and imagining several ways through which the incident could have been prevented, Victoria Kujore, also a student of the institution, urged government to beef up security.

“We were delayed at the bank. If we were attended to on time, we would have left early enough and maybe Joy would have left around 5 and this incident might have been avoided,” Happiness said.

On her part, Victoria said: “Everything still boils down to insecurity in Nigeria. Every day, we hear that the government is doing something to boost security but we don’t see any improvement.

“People are dying daily and the rate of crime is so high. We really want government to take security serious.”

Her colleagues commenced their final-year examination on Monday October 20, 2014, but the wish of the 24-year-old indigene of Abia state to perhaps pursue a bright future after school, went down with the interment of her remains at the Atan cemetery in Yaba, on Saturday October 18, 2014.

Joy’s family is not alone in the quest to ensure that her killers her found

“It’s very painful that a final year student could die just like that. We are in serious agony,” Ogunnowo Olusola, the students union president of the institution told TheCable.

“As far as the SUG is concerned, we will follow up this matter to the end.

“We don’t want to resort to violence. If we had done that, this is not the story that we would be telling today because more people would have gone for it. We don’t want to take law into our hands; we are also carrying out our own investigation.

“We will petition the commissioner of police, minister of defence, human rights foundations and other notable offices. Our lawyer is also on ground. We will ensure that her killers are found and justice is served.”

Whether or not her case will end like several others where the killers are not found, only time will tell.