Fides Media Living the Faith
Nigerians received with great shock, the news of the demise of Anambra State born Mrs Obianuju Ndubuisi- Chukwu who was found dead in her room at Emperor Palace Hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she was attending a meeting of the African Insurance Organization as a Nigerian representative. According to initial police report, she was strangulated by unknown persons.
Until her death on June 13, the 53 year old mother of two was Deputy Director General of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), who was billed to become the Chief Executive of her organization in a few months from now. Her death is indeed a national loss.
It has been four weeks since then and one expects the South African Police to have brought to book by now, the people responsible for her death.
Murder is a heinous crime and certainly should not be handled with kid gloves. The South African Police should work hand in hand with the management of the Emperor Palace Hotel so as to fish out the people responsible for her death, especially when the Hotel Management said they could avail the police their CCTV facility which should make the job of the police easier.
The Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, has demanded that the South African police authorities should handle their investigation with the seriousness it deserves and has in fact written the Secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria, Mr Boss Mustapha, to do everything in his capacity to see that the South African Police unravel the murder of Mrs Ndubuisi-Chukwu.
Sadly, Nigeria does not have a Minister of Foreign Affairs which might be the reason why the police have not applied the force needed to unravel the mysterious death of the slain woman who was killed while in active service for her nation.
However, it is not just the Secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria should see to justice being sought for the late Mrs Ndubuisi-Chukwu. Every Nigerian owes it to her to demand justice, especially given the growing number of Nigerians killed in that country without the South African authorities doing much to apprehend the killers.
Very recently, Nigerians have been using the social media positively to bring an end to certain forms of persecution and Ill treatment of her citizenry. It is time to resort to it again; if, for no other reason, but to propel the Nigerian Government into action. That action is to pressurize the South African Government to delve into the matter.
It was the media hype by Nigerians the world over that led to President Muhammadu Buhari bowing to pressure that made him suspend the proposed RUGA project. The six Madonna University students and one lecturer who were detained in custody for 166 days, arguably unjustly, by the University authorities for exercising their right to freedom of speech, were eventually released recently after the media hype all over the internet.
Soon after that, Senator Elisha Abbo, who publicly assaulted a young woman came under attack on the social media; forcing him to apologize, not just the young lady, but to Nigerians the world over.
It is time once more for all Nigerians to be the voice of the deceased, Mrs Ndubuisi-Chukwu, and her family. Nigerians should make their voices echo globally, so that justice should be done in this case. If the CCTV footage shows her killers, the South African Police have no reason not to trace whoever was responsible for her death.