By Evelyn Usman

It came like a friendly call, but ended up as the last call for Asomugha Ndubuisi, 25, a technician with a Suleja based private company. The ugly incident which took place on Tuesday, September 30, 2014, climaxed with Ndubuisi being dumped in the morgue.

Time was 7pm. His phone rang. Without the slightest inkling that it was a call signaling his death, Ndubuisi, a Senior Secondary School Certificate holder, picked the phone and the unknown caller informed him about a job that needed his immediate attention.

THE TRAP

He quickly rushed his food, picked a shirt and dashed out of the house. Destination was Minna garage, in Suleija Emirate, Niger state. On arrival, he reportedly met three hefty men. But before he could make u-turn, he was reportedly grabbed by the men who thundered , “ so, you are the person that stole your boss’s equipment’?

•Late Ndubuisi

Without waiting for an answer or explanation, one of them was said to have landed his fist across Ndubuisi’s face. This was followed repeatedly with punches, which left defenceless Ndubuisi shouting for help and crying out in excruciating pain. Despite passionate pleas that he knew nothing about the missing equipment, the beating continued unabated. Soon his voice became faint, while help was no where to be found.

As you read this piece, the remains of Ndubuisi is lying in the morgue. Autopsy report stated that he died from internal bleeding owing to the severe beating from his assailants who were alleged to be members of the Emirate Council security popularly known as ‘Yabanga Boys’.

THE MASTERMINDER

Surprisingly, Ndubuisi’s boss at the White Dove Ventures Nigeria Limited (names withheld), was alleged to have masterminded his killing. The office, located at Area Command Quarters opposite Zenith bank, on the outskirts of Suleija, was reportedly burgled two weeks ago, precisely on September 27, 2014.

His boss had reportedly summoned four of his staff including Ndubuisi two days after the incident and demanded to know who among them masterminded the burglary during which an equipment worth N100,000 was reportedly stolen. But they denied culpability.

YABANGA BOYS ENGAGED

Rather than let go, their boss allegedly paid the dreaded Yabanga Boys an unspecified amount to force the truth out of one of his employees whom he suspected had committed the crime. That employee turned out to be Ndubuisi.

FAMILY REACTS

Efforts to speak with the bereaved father of Ndubuisi proved abortive as family members said he was too devastated to speak because the death of his heir apparent has plunged him into pain and sorrow.

However his daughter Sonia, gave a heart- rending account of how her younger brother was sent to an untimely grave. According to her, “ My brother was battered like a common criminal by members of Yabanga . They claimed he stole his master’s equipment. They started beating him from 8pm till about 11pm. When he recognized a passerby, he screamed and begged her to help him but the woman could do nothing to save him. Rather, she ran home to inform her son who was my brother’s friend. It was her son that contacted my family.

PLEAS REJECTED

Acting Police IG Sulaiman Abba

“My father and my youngest brother rushed to the scene at about 12 midnight, where they found Ndubuisi in the pool of his blood. He was beyond recognition and was gasping for breath. He begged my father to give him some water that he was thirsty. He kept saying he was weak and was dying. My father pleaded with Yabanga boys to release his son to him in order to take him to the hospital for treatment while investigation into the allegation continued but they refused and instead chased him away. They asked him to come back in the morning and promised not to beat Ndubuisi again. My father left dejected at about 1am.

“As he was preparing to return to the scene around 6.30am, he got a call to report at ‘A’ Police division. When he got there, he discovered that my brother’s boss and two members of the ‘Yabanga Boys’ were behind the counter. The policemen told my youngest brother to follow them to the mortuary where he was asked to identify Ndubuisi’s lifeless body”.

At this juncture, Sonia burst into tears. It took a while before she continued, “ My brother did not steal the equipment. If he did , he would have owned up when the beating became severe. We learnt that immediately my father left the group’s place that night, Ndubuisi started vomiting blood and was rushed to the hospital, from where he was certified dead. Why would his boss pay the Vigilante group to kill my brother? Is it because he concluded that we are poor and can not challenge him?

We want justice

“All my family is crying for is justice! It is a pity that my brother will not come back . But the least we need is for the culprits to be brought to book. I am using this medium to call on well meaning Nigerians, the new Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba, as well as the Niger State Government to come to our aid and ensure that justice is done”, she stated amidst tears.

Police sources intimated Crime Alert that the deceased boss and two members of Yabanga whose identities were given as Abdulai and Casmia were last Thursday, transferred to the State Criminal Investigations Department , Minna for further interrogation. Further more, traders around Suleija closed their shops for the better part of the day, as they mourned late Ndubuisi whom they described as an ‘easy going and amiable fellow’.

Trader react

One of the traders, Tosicho Mokeme told Crime Alert that: “ Ndubuisi was a down- to- earth person. Since I knew him, he shuttled between his work, church and home. He was a very generous boy. If, for instance, he had N1000 and saw anyone in need, he would prefer to go hungry than to see the person dejected. Since I knew him, he had never been angry, no matter the provocation. He preferred to be hurt than seeing anyone hurt. This was a trait everyone liked in him.”

Sources said the ‘Yabanga boys’ are highly dreaded in Suleija and its environs and the mere mention of the name sends fear down the spine of residents of the area. Although the group reportedly started well in the area by assisting the Police in curbing crime but as time went on, some members were allegedly used by the rich and some politicians to intimidate and oppress their rivals. It was gathered that the group has a secret cell where they torture their victims without taking them to the appropriate security agencies for prosecution. Unfortunately, according to sources, no one has been bold enough to report to the concerned authorities, apparently for fear of being killed by its members.

When the Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, Biodun Ganbari , a Deputy Superintendent of Police was contacted, he stated that investigation was still ongoing.