Police rescue suspected thieves from cold room

It was a lucky escape for eight suspected thieves who were locked up in the cold room in a fishing company at Mile 2 area of Lagos, as they were rescued by the police.
The suspects were almost frozen to death before the police arrived the scene and rescued them.

A police source told Daily Sun that on Monday, September 22 at about 2 am, the police got a distress call that some armed robbers were operating in CIC Fishing Company.
The police raced to the scene but the suspected armed robbers had already loaded two trucks with cartons of fish leaving them for the drivers.

Daily Sun gathered that one of the drivers of the trucks was arrested. However, while assessing the havoc committed by the armed robbers, a policeman heard a faint bang in the cold room.
Suspecting danger, the policeman reported to his colleagues who unanimously agreed to force the cold room open.
It was gathered that when the door was opened, the police saw six persons who were about freezing to death.

A member of the police team who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “The men were tired and had given hope of survival. We rescued and removed the ice on their bodies and took them to hospital for treatment.”
Lagos State police spokesman, Mr. Frank Mba, who paraded the suspects at his office in Ikeja, said the suspects were members of a gang that went to rob the company of 360 cartons of fish.
He said the police were at a loss on the disagreement between them and other members of the gang who locked them up to freeze to death in the cold room.

He gave the names of the suspects as Taofik, Rasheed, Rafiu, Saheed, Wasiu and Femi.
Mba said they would have been dead if not for the quick response of the police who stormed the scene after a distress call.
Speaking with one of the suspects, Taofik Salawu, he told Daily Sun that they were invited by some group of people to assist them in loading fish in two trucks.
He said: “We did not know they were armed robbers. They know us as load carriers and promised us N7,000 each.”

On why they were locked up in the cold room. He said: “I don’t know their reason but I am suspecting they did not want to pay us our agreed fee.”
Salawu, who thanked the police for rescuing them said all of them had given up hope of survival as they had knocked and called for help but help could not come. “I was freezing to death when the police forced the door open.”

Help me ! Disfigured teenage student cries out

•Joshua Egbuchulam

For Joshua Egbuchulam, a 15-year-old JSS2 student of Osusu Secondary School, Aba in Abia State, life is not the same again. The young Egbuchulam was living a normal life until January this year when a sharp object hit his upper nose and disfigures his face.
Thus he is sad as he is dying gradually from the problem which has turned him into a shadow of his former self.

Consequently, he no longer goes to school or comes out to play with his peers as they usually make jest of him by calling him “Pig Mouth.”
Indeed, this development is weighing the little lad down, mentally, and physically, making him to resort to weeping all day, particularly as he thinks about how fate has turned his once handsome face into a monster.

Sobbing, the young Egbuchulem told his story to Daily Sun:
I am Joseph Egbuchulam from Ikeduru in Owerri, Imo State. I am 15 years old and in JSS 2 when this incident occurred. A sharp object accidentally hit me on my upper nose region and it resulted into serious bleeding.
My parents took me to UNTH, Enugu, where we were told that it was the soft tissue, collecting mixed density in the anterior aspect of the nasal bridge, extending to the nasal cavity, and the collection is non-enhancing. Another soft tissue mass is seen in the posterior nasopharyngeal mucosal space. The nasopharyngeal air way is moderately compromised.

After their finding, I was told that an operation will be carried out with 10 fresh frozen plasmas. And that the operation cannot be done without the fresh frozen plasma and that if done without it that I might die as a result of bleeding.
I was later referred to a specialist hospital in India, where the operation will be carried out at the cost of $7,000, an equivalent of N1,106,000.
My mother has sold all she has because of my ill health and it is against this background that I come to solicit for assistance through The Sun, to call on the good people of Nigeria and beyond to help me out of this situation.

Anyone who wants to help me to live can reach me on these GSM numbers: 08064162432 or 07056499575 or alternatively pay into DMC First Bank Acct No: 10130103229101or Intercontinental Bank Acct No: 0011110000717437.
Joseph, indeed, deserves pity and help as his mother, Madam Lynda, is a petty trader, and had as a result of the son’s predicament sold off her articles of trade to see that the health of her son improved, but to no avail.
Joseph’s father, Mr Isaac Egbuchulem, used to be an Okada rider, but has been thrown out of job since Okada operation was banned in Abia State.

His uncle, Mr Dominic, who spoke to Daily Sun, said that when the incident occurred, it resulted into swollen nose, which the family started treating as a minor injury.
“But the more they were treating him, the more it was getting worse. It was after they had spent their life savings without success that they went to UNTH, Enugu where scanning was carried out and it was discovered that one of the nose veins was broken into two. As a result, the blood that is supposed to pass through that vein is now dropping into another place. This has developed into internal bleeding, which collects at a point and flows out whenever it is filled up. And this blood comes out of his nose in a congealed form. It is always very painful for him as he cries almost all the time.
It is this collection of blood that has formed this lump on every part of his face, which makes his mates to call him ‘pig mouth’.

The experts said that the plasma that is supposed to be used for the operation is not even available in this country.
The problem has gulped his petty trader mother’s business capital such that feeding has become a Herculean task for the family.
It is about eight months since this thing started and the boy can no longer go to school.
Until January this year, he was a charming young boy, whose hand is sought for friendship by his associates and fellow students.
But today, his condition has made him an outcast, one who can no longer stay in the company of his school mates and play mates for fear of being ridiculed or made jest of.
Joseph is the third child in a family of five children, three boys and two girls. An upcoming footballer, who, if he lives, is believed, would make Nigeria and the entire human race proud in the game of football.

I see blood! There’s an evil man in the state PDP exco -Prophet

•Pastor Udeh

As the political parties geer up to conduct their primaries in readiness for the February
gubernatorial election in Anambra State, the General Overseer of Mount Zion Faith Global Liberation Ministries Incorporated (a.k.a By Fire By Fire), Pastor Abraham Chris Udeh, has foreseen bloodbath in the state.

The Man of God also gave prophetic diagnoses of the political problem that has bedeviled the state, saying it was the handiwork of a marine spirit.
In the diagnoses, Pastor Udeh has traced the name “Anambra” to Omambra River in one of the communities in the state, claiming that the evils in the state were caused by the marine spirit in the river.
The cleric maintained that for there to be absolute peace and tranquility devoid of incessant armed robbery and kidnapping, Anambra should change its name which will be preceded by fasting and prayer.

And for the governorship of Anambra State, he said that Andy Uba should be given the chance to govern the state as Uba, he said, has been spiritually ordained to steer the ship of Anambra State to the Promised Land.
Udeh prophesied that blood will flow in Anambra come 2010 if nothing is done spiritually to tackle the marine spirit and other agents of evil plots. Excerpts from the interview:

Andy Uba to the rescue
Dr Andy Uba should be allowed to be the governor of Anambra State. His reign will attract serious development to the state. If it is not Andy Uba, to me, all other ones except Dr Chris Nwabueze Ngige are coming to fight for their pockets. The reason is that Andy Uba is self-contented and he is so rich that he will concentrate on real development of Anambra State.
Let him be allowed to govern the state. I’m saying this with emphasis and as a man of God I have seen him spiritually as a man who will take Anambra to the next level. I believe he will deliver. What has been revealed to me is that if Andy Uba steps in he will not want to enrich himself at the expense of state development. I’m speaking as a prophet of God.

Ruling PDP and Anambra State
Even the leadership crisis in PDP will not stop him because his reign is a divine call. Remember that since 1999, the Federal Government has been controlled by the PDP and this means any other state that is being governed or controlled by any other party outside the PDP is in opposition and it will be difficult for such a state to have full share of the national cake. That is another cogent reason. Anambra State has suffered enough deprivation because of being governed by a non-PDP governor.

Look at what happened when Dr Chris Ngige was the governor of Anambra State, he recorded laudable achievements despite the oppositions’ tackle here and there. That was because he belonged to the PDP then and he had fair share of the national cake which enabled him to construct many roads and other infrastructure in the state.

Let Andy Uba be tried. Alternatively, Ngige should come back to continue where he stopped. But the fear is that Ngige under the Action Congress platform may not make it, he may not win election under that party. It is very hard for AC to win in Anambra State because of PDP political machinery. We still need a PDP governor in Anambra because it will not favour the state to be governed by someone who belongs to the minority party otherwise we will continue to be marginalized and reduced to robot.

Crisis in Anambra PDP
I don’t see it as anything that can stop PDP from winning. I see it as something that can be sorted out in a round table discussion. It is going to be settled. You know I’m a spiritual man. There is an evil man that is working against that cohesion of PDP in Anambra and when that man is removed there will be peace in the party. The person is a member of the state executive of the party, but I will not mention his name. I see a man in the spirit at the centre of the party crisis.

Blood to flow in 2010
When there is crisis there is every tendency for blood to flow. At this juncture where there are giants scrambling for a particular position, there must be clash and conflict, riot and open confrontation. There are people who regard the election as a matter of life and death. The state should engage in prayers. I’m praying against the looming crisis and bloodshed. There is need for fasting and prayer in the state.

Marine spirit controls Anambra
As I see it, until we tackle the river control of the state, the marine spirit caused crisis in the state will not finally come to a stop. The secret is that Anambra is named after a river, the Omambra River. The state is under the influence of marine spirit and that marine control needs to be dealt with. A lot of sacrifices are made at the river and the marine spirits there have a strong hold of the spate of kidnapping, armed robbery and other vices in some parts of the country, but Anambra’s case is always worse than other places because of the spiritual attack. The problem comes from Omambra River in the state. I see the spirit holding Anambra to ransom. If possible let the name Anambra be changed to something else.

The samething applies to Nigeria being named after Niger, that is, River Niger. We are the giant of Africa, but this marine spirit from the River Niger also makes the country to remain a dwarf, many Nigerians live in poverty in the midst of plenty, disagreement here and there, corruption everywhere, bloodshed everywhere, evil plots and execution all over the place. If Nigeria’s name can be changed as well, that will reduce the firm grip of this marine kingdom.

Some people are saying that the present government in Anambra State is not working. But let me tell you any governor that takes the mantle of leadership in this state must be attacked by this marine spirit. Let the whole world gather I will repeat what I’m saying now because I’m quite sure of what I’m saying as a prophet and servant of God.

And to make things worse, 90 per cent of the people who are leading as governors are occult people. Do they want me to talk? How can you fight the devil whereas you belong to the devil? You can’t. So, if we can get prayerful Christians, not people who practice denominations, to engage in total cleansing of the state that will be the solution to the problems of Anambra State.

DILEMMA

…Obuh laments poor state of Golden Eaglets in FIFA U-17 World Cup

Chief Coach of Nigeria’s Under-17 team, the Golden Eaglets, John Obuh is regretting that the job he recently grabbed with excitement is gradually slipping to doom.
The coach has been swimming in the turbulent waters since crisis crippled his preparation of the Golden Eaglets for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup billed to take place in Nigeria next month.

The former Kwara United Football Club of Ilorin coach, told journalists in Abuja that the situation he found himself with the Eaglets is one no coach would pray to have. He pointed out that changing players almost on weekly basis for one reason or the other is not healthy for any coach, not even the best in the world. He said it would take a miracle for the team to perform well in the global cadets’ event when it eventually kicks off.

"Inasmuch as I support the MRI age test, I am of the view that the timing of the test was not right. How can you disqualify about 16 players with three months to a major tournament and still expect to get their replacements to blend and play at an expected level? It is not fair and I must confess that it has not been easy," Coach Obuh began.

"To tell you the truth, I have never in all my years of coaching, face the kind of test and hardship I am going through at the moment, trying to build a team that will at least form the bedrock of Nigerian soccer revolution. I am overworked, but I am not complaining because I am committed to ensure that majority of the players, who will emerge from the tournament, will go on to play for Super Eagles in the near future.

"It is not completely a hopeless situation, but I don’t think I can assure Nigerians that I can win the World Cup with the team I have for the championship.
"We are still building a team when other countries are perfecting their strategies for the World Cup. However, we shall give it our best and allow God’s will to be done," he continued.
"I cannot resign because my job is a national assignment and I believe that posterity will not forgive me if I abandon the young talents we have discovered in the course of rebuilding the Golden Eaglets, who had passed through two senior coaches before me. I see the future of Nigerian football in the crop of players we have in camp because they are truly Under-17.

"I may not win the upcoming World Cup with the team, but mark my words, the boys we have in camp will grow to form the core of Super Eagles by 2014 and they will remain on the scene for quite a long time. True rebranding of Nigerian football has begun and I am happy I am part of it," stated the coach, who made his mark with Niger Tornadoes and Kwara United football clubs.
On his recent playing tour of the Gambia, Coach Obuh said it was a good one, though he did not get the kind of opposition he had expected from the tour, "but it was a good exposure for the players," he said.

Obuh stated that Nigeria is blessed with talented youngsters, who could fly the country’s flag at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup next month, but regretted that he had little or no time to fish them out and develop them to his taste.
"I am encouraged with the progress and talents of the players in camp. That has made me not to resign my appointment despite the unhealthy atmosphere in camp. I am a patriot and I believe in this country, I will struggle to the end," he vowed.

The coach, however, expressed confidence that the country would put up a credible performance at the upcoming Under-17 World Cup despite the recent age scandal.
"The MRI age test recently conducted in the team is good and a welcomed idea, I appreciate it just like every other right-thinking citizen of this country. But now, we have to get together and work harder to achieve our collective goal. We are still very positive about achieving success at the Under-17 World Cup.

"I am optimistic that if the boys put up the same fighting spirit they showed in some of our friendly games, especially the one against the Flying Eagles (the national Under-20 team) recently, I am sure the age test episode will not affect our overall performance in the world tournament," he added.
"The team have yet to get to the peak level, we just past the halfway mark and hopefully, before the World Cup gets underway, we would be close to our full potentialities."

In the meantime, the Golden Eaglets are set to embark on a European tour, which will see them engaging top countries like England and Austria in warm-up games.
"We are scheduled to play friendly matches against Uruguay, England, Austria and the Gambia. We expect to leave the country at the weekend," the coach revealed.
Nigeria are drawn in Group A of the Under-17 World Cup, alongside Argentina, Germany and Honduras.

Cyber crime: Bane to ICT Development in Nigeria

For Nigeria to use Information Communications Technology(ICT) as a tool to access knowledge and boost productivity, it must rise to fight cyber crime and ensure food security for its citizenry.

Berating the poor attempt by the country in the war against internet fraud, the Chairperson of the African Business Roundtable, Bamanga Turkur, said that many African countries especially Nigeria must rise to the challenge to reduce the menace.

Turkur made the assertion at the three-day African Telecom Development summit 2009 (ATD) in Abuja .
The summit which seeks to highlight ICT development in Africa by forging partnership between the government and the private sector flagged off on Thursday with its theme: Telecom in the Service of Humanity and with special focus on cyber security, food security, citizen security.
However, the minister and Deputy Chairman of National Planning Commission (NPC), Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, on the occasion confirmed that the development of ICT would give the country hope in the possibility of change in all spheres of development.

He went further to compare Nigeria’s ICT development with that of China, which he said started at a slow pace but is now one the best in the world.

“We often use the development of the ICT in Nigeria to highlight the possibility of change in Nigeria. One area that has given hope is the development of the telecom sector in Nigeria. In another 10 years, critics that had written off Nigeria will swallow their words. Just as China was written off 20 years ago, he stressed.

Usman advised the Federal Government on the need to create an enabling environment by creating good regulations and encouraging private sector participation.

In the same vein, while lauding the Nigerian government for pioneering the Internet revolution in Africa, Secretary- General of International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Dr. Hamadoun Toure, said: “The operators have been equipped to carry out their various services. More than 30 million people in sub Saharan Africa have access to the internet and Nigeria added 11 million more users between 2000- 2008”

Also present at the summit were the Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili , who was represented by Mr. Tony Ozodinaobi, Vice President of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Ernest Ndukwe.

Petroleum Minister says oil subsidy will go ... Operator says, it will cause inflation

Minister of Petroleum Resources, Rilwanu Lukman, who recently put the level of subsidy for petroleum products at about N630 billion, stating that it represents 50 per cent of the capital budget of the Federal Government has said that the subsidy will be removed.

But managing director of Petrogas West Africa Limited, Mr. Joseph Ebigbo decried the attempt to remove of subsidy on oil saying that it will trigger inflationary reactions in the economy. He noted that government subsidy hitherto, made petroleum products affordable in the absence of insufficient domestic production. He insistes that its removal will have adverse effect on the standard of living in Nigeria.

In an exclusive interview with Daily Sun, Ebigbo who is a major player in the downstream oil sector in Nigeria called for non-removal of subsidy and non-deregulation of the sector because of its obvious implications.
Only recently, the Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi spoke at the 33rd Annual Conference and Exhibition of the Nigeria Council of the Society of Petroleum Engineers in Abuja. He said that the oil and gas sector is crucial to Nigeria for revenue generation, investment and country wide growth and development. Nigeria according to him produced 2.2 million barrels per day of crude oil in 2003. But at present, production is about 1mbd, owing to the disruption of oil operations in the Niger Delta area. Sanusi also noted that the unrest in the Niger Delta, violent protests, vandalization of oil exploration facilities, unsustainability of the performance of local players and under utilization of existing infrastructure as challenges facing the industry.

Commenting on the Niger Delta struggle and the amnesty offer by the government, Ebigbo said that the militants have the right to seek for recognition being the egg that lays the golden egg. He noted that there may be some bad eggs among them who try to pervert the good course. These people according to Edigbo are parading themselves as just apostles were they are not.

"Those who fought for better future for the children and those who are coming after them, did their beat while the struggle lasted but now that government has offered amnesty between 6th of August to 4th of October they should embrace peace. It is a way of interegrating the militants back into the society and the underlying issues of the struggle brought to the national table" he stated.

He further said that the president of the Federal republic Nigerian Umaru Musa Yar'adua has done well by extending olive branch to the militants. Also the establishment of the Niger Delta Development Commission and Niger Delta ministry is a positive development toward ending the crisis in the area.

His words "These excellent mores by the president is many cost the government a lot of money but that is not compared with the loses recorded so far and the ones that may have come if not nipped in the bud" it is good to rehabilitate and take the arms away from them. Let come to the mainstream participation in the economy of the country".

By CHIMA TITUS NWOKOJI

Slaughtered for his faith

Emmanuel Ndah, a native of Kogi State, has every cause to thank God. He narrowly escaped death in the hands of his abductors who captured him and another man of God in Maiduguri during the Boko Haram crisis.
Ndah’s escape was, indeed, very narrow because his companion, Rev George Orji, did not come out alive from that evil enclave.

Ndah lives to reveal the horrendous activities of the Boko Haram sect and the inhuman treatment they meted to both Christians and Muslims alike.
An elder with Goodnews of Christ Church International in Maiduguri, Ndah, is married, has a child and has lived in Maiduguri for 15 years. He was the one driving the late Rev. George Orji of Goodnews Church before they were both abducted by members of the infamous Boko Haram sect. They had unwittingly driven themselves to the evil enclave of the Boko Haram members. There, they were arrested, tortured and asked to denounce Christ and their Christian faith. But they refused. Somehow, Ndah managed to escape from the Boko Haram camp, but Pastor Orji wasn’t that lucky. He was stabbed in the back and left to bleed to death. Here, Ndah recounts how Pastor Orji met his untimely end.

Tension
The whole trouble, Ndah recalled, started on Sunday, July 26. “That Sunday morning, there was tension in some Northern states as the Boko Haram violence spread. We couldn’t attend church service since the place was tense.”
According to Ndah, who lived close to the sect’s headquarters, he started seeing strange people in the area the following day. “My house is just about half a kilometre to the place the group used as their headquarters,” he said. “This happened around evening. When we saw them, we panicked because they hid their faces. It was just their two eyeballs that we could see. We tried to inform our people that this was what was happening around us.”

According to him, in the past when such a thing happened, he would make frantic phone calls to the Commissioner of Police and the response was usually immediate. But in this case, he made no calls. “The excuse given by the people around was that the strange group wanted to hold a programme before their Sallah began,” he said. “We were also told that they were angry because government refused to give them permission to hold the programme.”

Boko Haram
“Actually, I didn’t even know this title, Boko Haram, until the day I escaped,” he said. “But I used to know their leader, Mohammed Yusuf. Morikaz is what they call the avenue where they held their meetings. That is their headquarters.”

Terrible Tuesday
On that fateful Tuesday, Pastor Orji and Ndah went to town after breakfast and returned after they had discovered that everywhere was calm. Later in the day, they had to go to town again because Pastor Orji needed to get some things for his children.
“I was the one driving,” Ndah recalled. “When we reached the State Low Cost Housing area, we entered and there was no problem. On getting inside the area, we found out that there were some strange people there. You know when you are driving, you can have a better view of your environment. I told him that I was very suspicious and that the fanatics might be around. I suggested that we should go back.”

According to him, the pastor didn’t argue. But as he reversed, Pastor Orji reportedly suggested that they should check on one of their members. That, sadly, was their undoing.
Ndah continued: “I didn’t even turn; I just reversed the car. There was one of our church members living close by. The pastor said we should drive to her place since the surroundings were no longer safe. We came down from the car and moved to the woman’s place. He asked me to lock the car but I said ‘no’ since we might need to run back. On reaching the woman’s house, we found out that the door was locked. We knocked again; no response. So, we decided to go back to the car.”

Their arrest
As they headed back to the car, Ndah said they saw two men approaching them. “We were very close to them and I moved forward ahead of the pastor. They asked where we were coming from. They said, are you CID or policemen? I said no, I am a businessman. Then, they asked Pastor Orji and he said he was a pastor. Immediately he said so, their countenance changed.”
“While this was going on, I tried to see what one of the men was holding because his hand was behind him. I realised that he was holding a short knife. The other one had a long knife inside his long robe. Left for me alone, I would have said, let’s try and overpower them since they are two and we are two. But I know my pastor, he would not fight. I also thought if I should struggle with the first one, the second one would get me. So, I held my peace and we were arrested.

“None of them knew how to drive the car. They asked me to enter and drive. I entered the car and I could have escaped. But how could I when the pastor was still outside the car with them? I couldn’t leave him behind. So, I told them to allow him to come in. One said they should walk, but I insisted they should go with the car with the intention that once the pastor entered, I would drive off.”
Ndah said that the two other men boarded the vehicle with the pastor. He said that while one man put a knife to his neck, the other did the same thing to the pastor. “If you make any move, we will cut off your neck,” their abductors reportedly said.

“Then, I had one option because I was the one holding the steering wheel. I could run the car and crash it on the wall and kill them there. I spoke to pastor but he said I shouldn’t do that. ‘Let’s go. If we are to die let’s die for Christ. Don’t just kill all of us like that.’ I agreed and so we moved on.”
On their way, they met more sect members. “Again, they came to us. There was one holding a gun. He boarded the car, while others continued holding our necks. At this time, we were no longer scared. I asked the pastor again, what do we do? Should I do anything I could with the car? He said ‘no, let’s go’. When I was still planing on what to do, we saw another group again. T his time around, I knew there was no longer a way out. I tried to manouvre the car. Even before I could do that, they stopped me, pushed me to the side and another person boarded to drive.”

Boko Haram camp
That was how they were driven to the enemy’s camp. On getting there, they were immediately ordered to lie flat on ground.
Ndah spoke further: “They tied our legs and hands and made us lie on ground and face the sun. There was a little boy next to me. Then the pastor gave me the last message. He said where we were about going was heaven. He said: ‘If they gave you anything to drink, don’t drink. If they gave you anything to eat, don’t eat. If it is hunger, let’s die here in the sun. if it is thirst, let’s die here in the sun. if they asked you to change anything concerning your faith, don’t agree. Let’s die for Jesus.’ He repeated this three times. He then said, if he died and I live, I should take the message to his family. He said if I died and he lived, he would take the message to my family that this is the cause that he died for, that he died for the sake of Christ. And if all of us died in this situation, then to God be the glory.”

According to Ndah, he was soon separated from Pastor Orji. He explained how it happened. “When the soldiers were firing bullets towards us, the people asked us to move inside. Because I was still lying down, while Pastor and others managed to move inside. They then bent down and cut the rope on my leg and hands to enable me move. By then, I couldn’t go too close to where the pastor was again.
“Later on, we were asked to lie down to avoid being shot by the soldiers. That was how we managed at that time to be alive for a moment. People were still coming in and we were forced to look at the dead bodies around.

They paraded us before Yusuf, their leader, where he sat like a king. We were asked to denounce Christ. One of them hit me and I fell. Then Yusuf looked into my eyes and asked if I was ready to accept Islam. They did the same thing to pastor and others. But we refused. Those who had agreed to accept Islam were later asked to go over to one side. The compound is very big. There they were also teaching some people how to pray and recite the Koran. Inside there, we had more than 200 Christians and many of them recited the Koran in my presence.
“It was at that point that I lost control of my mind. I think I was in a coma. The agony of me knowing that my end was near was not easy for me. I later recovered and I continued watching the unfolding scenario.

“Many of those who prayed with them that evening were later freed. They prayed and left around 5.00pm. Then, those of us that refused to accept Islam were tortured. They brought another group of people to join us. Before then, some of the people who prayed were still slaughtered outside. Some of them were hit by bullets. Corpses were everywhere. They asked us not to look at them but to look at the wall. But truly, I saw it all. Some of the men were terrifying. They were people whose faces you wouldn’t want to look at for a second time. Even those that handled us, I didn’t like to look at their faces because they were so horrible you would be afraid of them even if they didn’t hurt you in any way.”

Escape
It was in the evening that God made a way of escape for Ndah. “ I could only determine the time based on the weather because they took our phones, money and everything that we had on us. That was the first thing they did immediately after our arrest. So, I think it was about 7.00 p.m and the shooting was still on. They kept asking us to lie down, so that the bullets would not get to us. Afterwards, when they realised that the firing was getting closer and more severe, they decided to confront the soldiers. They took their sophisticated weapons and moved out. Mohammed Yusuf then put on the microphone and called on his people to come forward that the enemies were advancing. It was then that people started running in. At that point, the members of the sect went and confronted the soldiers, chanting Allahu Akbar. As this was going on, those people they brought that evening started running out and that was how I found myself outside.

“Everybody, including members of the pastor’s group, ran and one wouldn’t know who was who. As we attempted to escape, some of their men armed with knives came out of the State Low Cost Housing Estate and were shouting. Some of us managed to escape and I know some didn’t. In fact, I wasn’t feeling fine before then and I don’t know how I ran. I didn’t know if my feet touched the ground. God gave me the strength. The first few houses we entered, they drove us out. Thank God for one boy, he asked us to come in and hide. He was the one that took me in.”

Stabbed in the back
Ndah who is still traumatized by his experience said Pastor Orji was tortured and stabbed at the back because he refused to give up on his Christian faith.
According to Ndah, Pastor Orji never denied his faith even as he was dying. As he lay dying, he uttered his final words. “Tell my people that I died well,” Orji reportedly said.

By THERESA ONWUGHALU