Esther, an undergraduate of Caritas University, Enugu, is said to have been shot late Sunday evening, while her cousin attempted to ward off advances made on her by two unidentified men, riding a motorcycle. Her shooting and eventual death has thrown Obudu into mourning while fear has also gripped the town as safety concerns in the area heighten. Painfully, Esther is said to have “come home for treatment from Enugu where she is presently doing her industrial attachment and the persons who shot her did not take anything from her or her cousin, not even the phones and i-pad they were carrying, making us believe that there is more to it than meet the eye, but it is someone’s daughter’s death and we must not aggravate their pain by bringing up too many insinuations”, one source volunteered.
One other source is heaping the blame for this killing at the feet of the council chairman, Emma Ugbe, claiming “he has done little in tackling the security situation in Obudu. I believe that unfortunate situations like this show clearly that what should be done is left undone and when those behind this kind of heinous act are not apprehended, it creates room for other criminally minded persons to strike too. Tell Emma Ugbe to sit up and secure our lives, it is not optional or something you can subject to any argument”.
Goddy Ukwayi, a lecturer and Head of the Physical Education Department, Federal College of Education, Obudu, who is the father of the deceased, is said to be in trauma over the killing. Police sources in Obudu told www.calitown.com that they have commenced “serious investigations into the matter and should be able to get to the root of the matter soon”. That assurance may not be enough to allay the fears of people in the area who are becoming increasingly worried that with the return of FCE, Obudu students to school, things may go from bad to worse as “certain elements who pass for students are actually not students and this is where the problem is” as a source concluded.
At the time of going to press, tributes were still pouring into the deceased Facebook page where she last posted this message on Tuesday, July 20, 2014…”It is all about Peace and Love”.