Esther Elilo Ukwayi, we reported, was shot at point-blank range on that fateful Sunday evening, in July last year, at the gate of her father’s house by one of two unidentified men, riding a motorcycle. Her shooting and eventual death formed the basis of a few arrests effected by the Police in the area. While investigations have not been thorough, a few residents of who spoke with www.calitown.com are of the opinion that unsolved murders like Ukwayi’s can only make criminal minded persons bold. One resident was emphatic in his submission that, “we cannot continue to live like this; I mean two persons just came from nowhere and snuffed life out of a promising young girl and up till this moment nobody is asking questions? The Police here has indeed done very little to demonstrate any level of preparedness to bring the culprits to book…it is saddening”.
There is a chorus in Obudu that even crimes like the recent violent robbery attack on a bank in the area took place because there has been very little success recorded on the part of security agencies in tackling crime there. “We are quite docile as a people and it looks like that docility too has rubbed off on security agencies in Obudu. You can even see how those who commit these heinous crimes leave here without any effort to accost them. We continue to live in fear because you never can tell what heinous crime will be committed next, and where”, another resident on condition of anonymity said.
It was also discovered that “the transfer of the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, who was in on the case, may have stalled investigations when you consider that our system barely creates room for transitions that can accommodate any continuity in a process, whether it be a criminal, civil or political”, as a commentator in the area put it. Attempts to speak with the Police in the area yielded no fruits at the time of going to press. For now it appears the Ukwayis will continue to live with the grieve of losing a daughter and the painful realisation that her killers may never be found.
