The deceased women, most of whom were members of the group, Women for Change Initiatives, and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), were returning to Yenagoa after a private visit to the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, at her Okrika country home, Rivers State.
Husband to one of the deceased, Mr. Matthew Otolo, a staff of the state owned broadcasting corporation Glory FM, was a sorry sight when Sunday Vanguard visited his Azikoro Road residence, in the Ekeki suburb of Yenagoa. On several occasions, he tried to compose himself while relieving his last moment with his beloved wife, Ayakpo, but his emotion took a better part of him as broke down in tears.
“Where do I start from? We agreed not to leave each until after 90 years,” he said, shaking his head and looking at the portrait of his wife, the mother of his six children. Matthew, said to have been stopped from committing suicide by sympathisers, told Sunday Vanguard that the call for the fateful trip to greet the wife of the President, Dame Patience Jonathan, came at about 6am on Wednesday.
He said,
“When she finished receiving the call, I asked her who was on the phone and she replied that it was one of the women leaders. She said they wanted them to visit the First Lady in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. My spirit rejected the call immediately and I told her my feeling.”
The bereaved husband described the deceased as a partner and mother, saying he allowed her go when she convinced him that she would return early.
“She left on Wednesday. We were calling one another at every opportunity. She told me that they had decided to wait and see off the First Lady to the airport for her trip to Abuja. I even sent her some clothes to change the one she wore when she left.”
According to him, he received the news of the tragic accident at about 6pm.
“I was in shock and collapsed .I called her number severally but no answer. I had the hope that she did not die. I can’t imagine what pain she and others went through in the fire. Can you imagine, there is no way for me to identify my wife? We agreed not to leave each other until we are 90years old. My pillar is gone, where do I start from. How do I stay alone in this big house,
At the Benjamins’ residence, Dame Jonathan, in the condolence register, described the deceased Ruby Benjamin as “a dependable friend who impacted positively on our vision and mission to uplift the standard of living of the Nigerian women.”
The deceased eldest son, Barrister Ambrose Ayebakuro, told Sunday Vanguard that he was still with his CV his mother asked him to prepare for employment.
Reliving his last moment with his mother, he said,
“We were having issues with some persons over land before she travelled. And I assured her that when she returned, we will find a way to settle the issues amicably. She kept calling about the issues but I kept assuring her. Later, I was not picking her call because I thought it was on the issues. And some other numbers started calling me.
“At about 6pm, I got a call and picked it. That was the day everything around me went black. I was told about the accident. I rushed to the road and we drove towards the scene hoping that she would be alive. Some eyewitnesses at the scene said some good Samaritans had taken away burnt bodies of the victims. I still had hope that she would be alive.
“But by Sunday morning it became clear that my mom was gone. And I took solace in the fact that she was close to God. And before she left, she asked me to prepare my curriculum vitae. When she called me on Thursday and Friday, she was apologetic that she had not asked me to send the CV to her. I am still waiting with the CV.”
Vanguard
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