PAINFULLY SAD:
Nigerian Born United States Army Reserve, Chuks Okebata Kidnapped, Killed in Home-town…Deceased Family fingers Wife, Amanda Prime Suspect as she claims Innocence
* “My Husband Married me at age 19 for 13 years. He was Careless by Spraying American Dollars in Nigerian Night Clubs where millions of people are Hungry”-Distraught wife
* Wife says late Husband shot one of the Kidnappers dead which retaliatory compelled the gang to shoot him
BY GEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU/FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT, UNITED STATES
HE WAS a jolly good fellow. He was lively, always happy, had no dull moments. Chuks Okebata, a Nigerian born United States Army Reserve was an embodiment of LIFE which he lived to the fullest, until that January 13, 2017 at 7:20pm in his Nigerian village home-town Umuduruorie Umuomumu Mbieri in Mbaitoli LGA, Imo State where he had just completed the building of an expensive mansion as a bond that will make him to be frequenting his mother land from his American base. Okebata spent most part of his life working and defending the United States of America as Army Reserve where he lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Mask-wearing, gun-wielding kidnappers had allegedly cut few of the barb-wire by Okebata’s tall fence, jumped the high wall, broke through the ceilings and entered his house. They made straight into his bedroom while the US Army Reserve shot one of the kidnappers dead instantly being a licensed Army officer. Sending danger, the masked Nigerian kidnappers fired several shots at Okebata without allowing him a breathing space for some minutes until he passed out.
Immediately those Nigerian criminals confirmed Okebata was already dead, they all rushed out and escaped in one of their vehicles that was on stand-by, leaving this ever-happy guy in the pool of his own blood. He was alone in his home-town, while his wife and two children were still in United States.
Observers of this shocking event strongly believe there is an ‘inside-conspiracy’ on this heinous crime,particularly how the masked kidnappers had fore-knowledge of itinerary of Okebata,to the extent that they knew he would be in his master-room when they bust into the deceased one peaceful home. Moreso, the kidnappers never requested or demanded for money until they snuff life out of the American Army Reserve.
Some family members of Okebata are alleging Amanda, the wife to be behind the masked kidnappers’ attack on the late husband due to several open-confrontations, argument and irreconcilable differences that exist between the deceased and wife during his lifetime.
On Facebook, a social media platform, Lilian Ndiukwu, sister to deceased emotionally reflects on her brother, Okebata’s painful exit (unedited): “These photos are just heartbreaking, looking at his kids and the house he just completed. If only he had stayed back in the United States. He came back to Nigeria after he finished building his mansion in the village, only to be abducted and shot on the 12th of January.
“What a wicked world…. who has done this to My BIG BRO? A USA veteran who just came back this Xmas after building his beautiful house(mansion)in the village not knowing that the enemies has an evil plan against him. They abducted and shot him dead yesterday night. I Can’t believe this, can someone wake me up from this nightmare? Who did this to u Bro??ﾟﾘﾭ?ﾟﾘﾭ? ?
“I could remember the last time we spoke on phone that when u come bk, we will visit the LESS PRIVILEGE ant knowing dt this will be the last call we made. Can’t stop crying for you BRO CHUKS . An iroko has fallen. Those that killed you will never know peace and their generation will never go unpunished.”
Meanwhile, Amanda is claiming innocence, obviously traumatized by the death. Below are own story unedited: “My own side of the story. I once came to you about my husband and his incessant abuse and cheating. Yes I am the wife of the man who was assassinated, and I am just distraught. I do not even know where to start but it is only right I tell my own side of the story. I am innocent, God is my witness that I did not kill my husband or the evil that my husband’s family is portraying me to be, yes my sister in-law posted that video to make me look evil but the part she did not tell anybody was that I was calling the police to save me because he always beat me up and I was told to call the police whenever he started and that was exactly what I was doing, from the video you would see that I did not fight him or answered him. Should I have allowed him to kill me?
“We have been married for 13 years since I was 19, it has been beating upon beating, I have gone through surgeries because of beating he gave me. How can I kill my husband, we live together, till the day he left for Nigeria, I packed his things , how could I kill him. Who do I know to order a hit on the father of my children? I have no interest in his properties as suggested after all we built every thing together. God knows I am innocent. He went to Nigeria and was going to club spraying dollars and showing off, revealing his locations . They want to pin my husband’s death on me, my husband was not assassinated. He was kidnapped, because he is a military man he is always with a gun and when he shot to death one of the kidnappers,they shot him. Why is my family leaving out information about what happened and pinning it on me?
“I never threatened him to kill him, I am a working woman with a paying job and have no reason to kill him because of properties . All I just want is peace to mourn and raise my children. You can confirm my story from those people in my home town. My husband was careless in a country with high rate of crime and was kidnapped, if he had not shot one of the robbers all we would have been talking about is paying ransom not death. Amanda why would I kill the father of my kids, why would I choose his death over a divorce if things were that bad. I have two boys, who will help me raise them? I am completely innocent of all the allegations. I have endured all this years through his beating and cheating and I did not leave or kill him, why would I do it now? All I ask is that I am left to mourn in peace and the killers found and prosecuted.
Biko, help me. I’m an innocent victim here. I love my husband and I’m still in tears
I’m mourning him and people are accusing them wrongly. My children are crying daily.
The family is now desperately waiting for Nigerian police to apprehend these masked kidnappers and a bounty of 2.5million Naira reward as being rolled out to seek Justice for the assassinated bread winner of Okebata clan.
