Festac banks robbery: Husband and father laments loss

In from Ahmed Boulor . . .

Victims of Tuesday’s bank robbery which threw residents of Festac Town have continued to count their losses over the siege which lasted for over two hours.

The robbers have come and gone, with the police hot on their trail, but one person who will live with the scares of that day for ever is 42 year-old Mr Peter Ndirika whose wife and two month old daughter died from stray bullets fired by the robbers.

Speaking on his loss, Ndirika said yesterday that his late wife and daughter will make heaven.

Revealing how he got wind of the bad news, Odirika who is an evangelist in the Lord’s Chosen Church, said he left home on the fateful day with a goodbye wave from his wife and unknown to him that was her final farewell.

Odirika further informed that when he returned home, he reportedly met his apartment located on Road 8 in disarray, with blood stains all over the wall of his flat.

“When I got back home in the evening, I saw blood everywhere and people in the house. My wife’s relative, a lady, was cleaning the blood and at the same time exclaiming, ‘My sister! My sister!.’ When I asked what happened to her sister, my wife, she kept quiet. Those around simply told me to go to the hospital at First Gate. When I got there, I saw my wife lying lifeless.

“The next question I asked was ‘where is my daughter’? I was also told she had been taken to Navy hospital at Satellite town. Immediately, I moved my wife’s corpse to the Lord’s Chosen Hospital, from where she was transferred to Alimosho General Hospital where she worked as a nurse. It was at the hospital that she was confirmed dead. As if her death was not enough shock, I received a phone call from my wife’s younger brother who told me that my baby was dead also.”

Describing his late wife as his best friend, Ndirika said she was also known for her service to humanity. He said: “My wife worked for humanity. She was always out to make people happy, especially the less privileged. She was a loving companion. But we don’t have to blame anyone, even God who allowed it to happen because I believe there’s nothing that will happen in this world without God’s permission.

“Rather, we should all learn from what has happened. I know that my late wife and little daughter are in heaven. And to all of us that are still living today, we will meet her someday because death is inevitable.

“What matters most is where you are going to spend your eternity at the end of this life and I am confident that she will make heaven. So, the opportunity that we have to live everyday is a privilege to move closer to God.”

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