Murdered NNPC staff: Widows pray for husbands’ killers

When the duo of late Bashir Danjuma and Malabu Abubakar Ahmad, staff of the National Petroleum Development  company (NPDC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC)   set  out  for  Abraka,  to  attend a lecture  at  the  Delta State  University where they were  final-year post-graduate students of Petroleum Economics, little did they know that […]

When the duo of late Bashir Danjuma and Malabu Abubakar Ahmad, staff of the National Petroleum Development  company (NPDC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC)   set  out  for  Abraka,  to  attend a lecture  at  the  Delta State  University where they were  final-year post-graduate students of Petroleum Economics, little did they know that they would never make it to the university nor return home to their loved ones. They set out on that fateful morning in Malabu’s gold-coloured Toyota Camry after both had bid their wives and children goodbye.

When  they  did  not  return  home  that  day,  their  wives  made  distress  calls  to  their office but no one heard of or knew their whereabouts. Safiya Malabu told Weekly Trust that since her husband left home that fateful day, she didn’t hear from him. “Until his corpse was brought to me.”

After a  few  days  of  waiting  without  a clue  as  to  their  whereabouts,  their union,  Petroleum   and  Natural  Gas  Senior  Staff  Association  (PENGASSAN)],   suspecting  that  they  might  have  been  kidnapped,  staged  a  protest  at   Government  House,  Benin.  At  the  government  house,  the  protesters   made  it  clear  that  they  were  not  happy  at  the  security  situation  in  the  state.  The  Deputy  Governor,  Dr   Pius  Odubu ,  assured  them  that  efforts  will  be  made to  locate  their colleagues. Their dead bodies  were    found  on  Saturday, March 20th, in  a  bush  in  Mosogar,  near  Jesse  town,  in  Delta  state.

When Weekly Trust visited NPDC’s office, the Executive Director, Chevron Joint Venture,   Mr O.  Olawore  and  the  Public  Relations  Manager  refused  to speak  on  the  matter  but  referred  us  to  the  General  Manager  Public  Affairs  of  NNPC  in  Abuja, Livi  Ajuonuma. The  Vice  Chairman  of  Edo  PENGASSAN,    Shehu  Usman  Sallau,  told  Weekly  Trust  that  their  colleagues  were  discovered  by  men  of  the  State  Security  Service  (SSS)  in  a  bush  near  Jesse  in  Delta  State.  He  said   the  SSS  staff  who  was  aware   that  the  workers  were  declared  missing called  a  friend  of  his  simply known as  Saidu,  telling  him  that  there  are  two  dead  bodies  in  a  bush  and  the  police were trying  to  give  them  a mass  burial. He  was  told  to  find  out  if  the  bodies  were  that  of  the  missing  oil  workers.  Saidu was said to have quickly contacted NPDC, giving them the information.

According to Shehu Sallau, the bodies were discovered in the bush.  He  said  autopsy  revealed  that   the  deceased  were  killed  on  the  day  they  disappeared  as  they  had  reached an  advanced  stage  of  decomposition.  He said it was not clear if it was a case  of  kidnapping, assassination or ritual killing. He added that the autopsy also  indicated  that  the  deceased  were  shot  at  close  range  behind the  head.  He  said  the  killers  were  very  smart  as  they  removed  the  bullets  so  that  nobody  will  know  the  type  of  gun  or  bullets  used.

On  how  the  deceased   were   identified,    the  PENGASSAN  Vice  chairman  said    Danjuma  was  identified  by  the  shoes  that   were  by  his  dead  body  while  Malabu  was  identified   by  the  T-shirt  he  was  wearing.

Danjuma  Bashir,  a  Christian  from  Yobe  State,  was  buried  at  the  Christian Cemetery  on  Cemetery  Road  while  Malabu,  a  Muslim  from  Adamawa  State ,  was  buried  at  the Muslim  Cemetery at  Aduwawa  Area  of  Edo  State.

The  Edo  state  Police   Public  Relations  Officer,  ASP  Peter  Ogboi  said   although  the  incident  took  place  in  Delta  state,  he  is  aware  the Edo State  Police Command  is  investigating  the  murder. 

A  visit   to  the  residences  of  the  deceased   indicated  that  their families have  since  relocated  back  to  their   home  states. Both Safiya Malabu and Mrs. Nana Danjuma took the death of their breadwinners with philosophical calmness. Safiya said: “For the authorities concerned, I pray that they should ensure that the killers of my husband are brought to book. And for the killers, I pray for Almighty Allah to touch their hearts. That is my own prayer for them, they are also Human beings.”

For Nana Danjuma, who would have celebrated her sixth wedding anniversary with her hubby next month, the whole thing is an act of God. “My prayer for the perpetrators of this heinous crime is that God should have mercy on them and if they don’t repent, the wrath of God will follow them but I pray that God will have mercy on them.”

Weekly Trust learnt that when the news of the twin murders broke out, distraught neighbours, sympathizers and relatives of Malabu besieged the bereaved family. In an interview with Weekly Trust in Yola, a younger brother of Malabu said they were shocked when they could not trace their brother for about two days.

The Deputy National President of PENGASSAN, Comrade Mustapha Wali said their secretariat will not continue to tolerate such barbaric actions, calling on the federal government and the police to investigate. Weekly Trust also gathered  that  PENGASSAN  has  also  contacted  the  management  of  the  NNPC  with  a  view  to  offer  automatic  employment  to the  wives  of  the  deceased.

All attempts to speak with the public affairs boss of the NNPC, Ajuonuma, over the issue were not successful. Several phone calls by our correspondence were not aswered nor was the text message sent to him replied. Only time will tell if the police will be able to unravel this gruesome murder and bring the perpetrators to justice.