The grief and sorrow of Innocent Meju, a Nigerian man based in Delta, are currently infinite and he feels irretrievably torn apart after identifying the lifeless body of his 33-year-old son by the roadside in Agbor Town.
He tells Victoria Edeme in this interview that until the circumstance surrounding his son’s death is unravelled by the police, his pain cannot be assuaged
You recently lost your son. How was the news of his death broken to you?
My name is Innocent Meju, from Ogwashi-Ukwu in the Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State. I live in Agbor with my family. The deceased, Smart, was my youngest child. He has a twin sister. As I speak, she’s yet to recover from the shock.
On the morning of Wednesday, July 17, 2024, my son left home while I was still in bed. Smart told his siblings that he was going to attend a graduation ceremony at a school along the Lagos-Asaba road in Agbor. He was an adult, so I couldn’t monitor his every move. At the time, he was 33 years old.
I stayed indoors that day because I was not feeling well. I’m ageing, so I rarely go out.
In the evening, around 7 pm, I called him to pick something up for me but his phone rang endlessly. He didn’t respond even after I tried multiple times.
I assumed he had returned home and decided to rest. I thought he would return my calls when he saw them.
Do you live together?
Yes, we live together in the same compound. It’s a building with four flats, and I occupy the two upstairs. He had his room on the other side of my flat.
Did he return your call later that day?
He didn’t. I waited until after 8 pm. His mother told me he was yet to return home, and I started wondering if night had caught up with him somewhere.
He never stayed outside the house beyond 7 pm. I have a rule in my compound, which also applies to the tenants—the gate should be locked by 7 pm for security reasons.
In most cases, I don’t even go downstairs to lock the gate because he usually does that. He would lock up and drop the key. So, when he didn’t return on time, everyone became concerned.
We left the gate open, hoping he would come back. But he didn’t, and I continued to call him until about 3 am. The phone kept ringing without being answered. I thought maybe, he decided to stay out since the gate might have been locked, and planned to return the next morning.
With that mindset, I managed to catch some sleep after 3 am, though I barely slept at all. In the morning, I started calling him again, but this time the phone was unreachable.
It was at this point that anxiety set in, and I started thinking about all the things that might have happened. I didn’t know what to think. With the help of his mother and others, we started making calls and alerting people.
When did you eventually get notified of his whereabouts?
20 minutes before noon on Thursday, I got a call that he had been found. The background of the call was noisy, and I struggled to hear what the person was saying. By the time I got a faint idea of what was being said, I immediately drove to the location and was told he was at the police station. I began to wonder what kind of problem might have warranted police involvement. My mind just kept wandering.
The only news I heard when I arrived at the police station was that he was dead—just like that. The news was so shocking and devastating that I couldn’t comport myself. I wanted to throw myself on the ground, but some people held me.
I cried like never before but that didn’t solve anything. It felt like a nightmare. I kept asking myself if it was a dream. I didn’t know what to do. That’s how I found out about my son’s death.
Were you told of how his corpse was found?
I heard that people in the area saw his corpse and alerted the police. It was only when his body was taken by officers to the police station that I was contacted. When I tried to drive home, I almost passed out, but the police and others volunteered to drive me home. It hasn’t been easy since then.
Since the police recovered the body, it automatically became a police case, and they have been handling the issue. As it stands, we’re not allowed to take the body for burial. My son’s body is still in the mortuary. Until the body is taken care of, the sadness in the family won’t lessen.
How far has the police investigation gone?
No one has contacted me. I’m still waiting for an update from the police; otherwise, there’s nothing I can do. On my part, I feel that I shouldn’t interfere with their work. They know what to do.
I’ve been indoors and don’t have the strength to go downstairs, let alone go out.
Based on your instincts as a father, do you think his death was deliberate or accidental?
That’s exactly what I don’t know. As human beings, we can only speculate, but only God knows the truth. My son had been going out and returning home without encountering any problem. No one stays in one place for 24 hours.
What was your son’s occupation?
He lived in Asaba, where he sold foam and mattresses. His pursuit of further education abroad made me recall him to Agbor. He was almost done with his admission process to Germany. All payments had been made.
Could you shed more light on his pursuit for education abroad?
For years, he had been planning to further his education abroad. He made progress but encountered setbacks along the way. He tried to gain admission in Canada, America, Germany, and Australia. He once secured admission to study in Germany and made all the necessary payments but COVID-19 came and the world went on lockdown.
When the restrictions were relaxed, we couldn’t proceed because the school had a serious backlog.
We decided to wait, but the school informed us that the more they delayed us, the more we would be set back. They refunded all the payments we made. It’s not like Nigeria—there were no issues getting a refund. With the money, we started pursuing admission to Canada. He was admitted last year, but while we were processing his visa application, the institution had an issue with the Canadian government. That foiled his plans, so he decided to apply to another school.
A week before his death, I paid for him to take an English proficiency test in preparation for his Canadian visa application. It was one of the requirements from the Canadian government.
Any time he goes out, there was usually nothing to worry about because he might visit computer centres to gather materials and do research in preparation for the exam.
That is the much I know about his movements. My son never rested—he was always pushed for excellence. It’s also not easy for me because, at 33, he was supposed to have started planning to settle down.
What was his educational qualification?
He was an Accounting graduate from Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State. He graduated about 10 years ago and was planning to pursue his master’s degree in Canada.
Do you know if your son reached the venue of the graduation ceremony he was supposed to attend?
I didn’t accompany him, so I wouldn’t know what happened on the way. The last thing I heard from him was that he was going to the ceremony. I haven’t heard anything from him since.
How has your family been coping since his demise?
The news broke everyone down, not just me. It affected everyone—those in my hometown and around here. A few days ago, a group came from my hometown to ask questions and console me. It’s a great shock to everyone. Everyone in the house is sad. I haven’t driven my cars because they’re no longer important to me. Where would I go when my son is lying in the morgue?
How would you describe your son?
It’s not even me who has been describing him—people coming around have been doing that. Someone who came to visit described him as a quiet person. He never had any issues with anyone, as far as I know. No one has ever come to my house to report him. He went about his business peacefully. When I was well-off, I gave him a car because I don’t support the idea of using a motorcycle to move around. If something is meant to happen, it doesn’t make an announcement beforehand. When things reach this level, you can’t know what really happened.
Did he have any health conditions that you were aware of?
As a normal human being, nobody can rule out the possibility of falling ill. Due to the nature of the water we have here, malaria and typhoid are rampant ailments. Apart from occasional cases of typhoid and malaria, he had no health conditions. He had no internal illness or deformity. Periodically, he may have had malaria and typhoid.
What kind of support has your family received?
None, except for condolence visits. We’re not asking for money because it can’t bring back what we lost. Even if someone offers financial assistance, I’m not prepared to take it because that’s not my concern. I’m not rich, but I manage what I have. That’s how I brought up my children. Now, all my labour and efforts have just been taken away like that.
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Source: The PUNCH
