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Wife of slain Edo firm’s employee cries out for justice

•My husband wished me happy new month on December 1 before his murder

While many families were preparing for the end of year activities 2020, little did the wife and family of Mr. Mathew Akioyamen know that they were going to celebrate the yuletide with sorrow, tears, and anguish following the gruesome murder of their husband, father brother Mr. Akioyamen, who the family claimed was an employee of and supervisor at an Edo firm. His wife, Mrs. Osaiyobomwen Akioyamen, spoke to OJIEVA EHIOSUN in Benin. Excerpts…

Could you briefly introduce yourself…

My name is Mrs. Osaiyobomwen Akioyamen, the wife of Mr. Mathew Akioyamen. I’m still in shock over the sudden death of my husband He was my husband, he was everything to me and the father of my three children; we have been married for quite some years now. He was a graduate and I’m a graduate too. He was a supervisor with an Edo firm located in Ovia South West of Edo State.

Before they called you that your husband had been killed, when was the last time you saw him and what was his last word to you?

We lived together in Benin City, but when he got the job with Edo firm sometime in 2015, because of the distance and the cost of transportation from Benin City to the place on daily basis, he decided to relocate there and he was giving an accommodation in the company’s estate. He came home some weekends to see his family. To make his job easier for him as a supervisor, he was given a motorbike. So, on December 1, 2020, he called me and we prayed together on the telephone. He asked after his children particularly the new born girl. I told him that everybody was fine, at the end he said to me Happy new month to you my darling. I also replied in my usual manner and we ended the call. Before this sudden incident, he told me that he was coming back to open a shop for me and also bring Christmas things and money for me to buy everything we needed to celebrate the yuletide. But I was shocked to receive a telephone call that my husband was dead. They are alleging that he was killed with several machete cuts.

When you saw him last, did he tell you that he had a problem with anyone within or outside his office?

No, the only thing I know is that he relieved someone and took over. He told me that in the discharge of his official work that he discovered some documents in a file he wasn’t comfortable with and decided to inform the management and that he also snapped the documents with his phones and forwarded to the authorities. That was the only thing he told me.

How many of your husband’s friends do you know?

My husband didn’t keep friends; if my husband was here now, you would hardly know because he was such an organised person. He would mind his business; was not a troublesome person; he decided to do that kind of job because of the economic situation in the country.

What do you want the government to do for you?

My husband is the breadwinner of the family; I have no one to run to, the killers of my husband have finished me and my three kids. This little girl with me now is just three months old. How do they want me to cope, I’m begging the Inspector General of Police, the Edo State Government, human rights activists across the country and public spirited individuals to come to our rescue.

What is the company saying about it now?

We have a lawyer that is already handling the matter. What I need is justice, we deserve justice, my children are asking me questions when will their father come back home. If you see the way my husband was gruesomely butchered you can’t recognise him. He went to work on the fateful day of December 2, 2020, and never came back. Those that have kept me and my children in this hardship will never know peace in their generations and blood shall never depart from their families.

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