By Onome Oghenetega
A 37-year-old Akarovwiese Peculiar Kanabar is still leaving in fear eight years after she fled the shores of Nigeria for safety following the gruesome murder of her father by unknown Niger Delta militants back in 2009.
Akarovwiese, fondly known as Ese, said she is afraid of what will become of her when she returns to her birth country (Nigeria) This fear is borne out of constant thoughts and reminders of messages of threats issued to her family before and after her father was killed. The mere fact that the hoodlums are stilling holding on to their threats notwitstanding the years gone by is a really a cause of concern for Ese which has put her in a state of helplessness.
Ese’s father was reportedly hacked to death during the heat of Niger Delta militancy, when he vowed to expose those he believed were behind the hostage taking and destruction of oil and gas facility in the Warri Area of Delta State.
The then 60-year-old community leader from Warri, Delta State, Nigeria was killed while traveling to neighbouring military base in the city to ensure that those destroying the economic lives of the once booming region were arrested by security agencies.
Warri ( until sometime in 2009 with the introduction of militants’ hostile activitie in the region particularly n the Delta area) used to be the economic hub of the region both for indigenes and expatriates living and working with the various oil multinationals.
But since then, the region now wears ugly look that is compounded by environmental degradation, fast-growing unemployment and criminal activities by youths who were once involved in militancy in the region.
Ese’s father killers are still holding on to their threat of wanting to eliminate any member of her family who dares challenge them or exposes their atrocities along the riverine areas of Warri where their militancy business thrives.
Speaking with this reporter from her hideout in the US, Ese recounted how she fled her once peaceful home in Warri after her father’s death saying that she could lose her life the day she steps her foot in the country owing to the powerful connection of these miscreants who are carefully monitoring her.
According to her, “My father died while the clash on some militants was ongoing. The Niger Delta Militants had hacked him to death because he was out spoken in defense of his people and community as a community leader.
“Life used to be good before now. It is so unbearable and we are left helpless. Men, women, grown up boys and girls were exposed to crimes and other vices. After my father was killed with threat to kill his children I decided to leave Warri for Lagos.
“While in Lagos, I ended up in a Church in Lagos. The continous threat to life resulted in the church members assisting me to get visa to the United States. Each time, I remember home, the gruesome manner my father was killed stares at me.”
Scared Ese, who is now seeking for asylum in the US following the threats, says her stay there would help her fight injustice as well as develop her immediate community.
