The 13th day of June 2013 began like a typical day. Ijeoma had attended her best friend’s son’s wedding at Osun State in Nigeria and was on her way back to Lagos, Nigeria to be with her family. Ijeoma was a light-skinned, moderately plump woman, with a pair of hazel eyes which many would ascribe to as having escaped albinism. Her friends called her “electric” because of how fair-skinned she was. It was impossible not to laugh when you hear them call her that with thick Igbo accents. Ijeoma was a joyance to be with, everybody loved her, her husband adored her and her children cherished her. She is what the Gen Z would call “a vibe”. She was witty, elegant, well-spoken, a lover of Literature, a dancer and a prayerful woman. She was the cord that bounded her family and husband’s family together, a lover of peace. She was full of wisdom and everyone who met her attested to her heart for service.
Ijeoma had six children, three boys, three girls namely, Chiomanonyelum, which means – the good God is with me, while Ikechukwu – the strength of God, Ugochinyeremmmaduapughinaramy – the glory God has given me, no one can take it away from me, while Chibuike – God is my strength, Chidimma – God is good to me while Arinzechukwu – glory be to God. Ijeoma was a woman of faith, who loved and served God with all her heart and this was why, her children’s names were deeply embedded in her various experiences with God and how He revealed Himself to her in various dimensions during the conception, pregnancy, and the birth of each child. With her children, Ijeoma was a disciplinarian and a friend. She believed in the Biblical principle, “spare the rod and spoil the child.” Her children loved her because she was a safe space to share their concerns and worries. Some of Ijeoma’s children were in boarding schools and the holiday seasons were always ones they looked forward too. It meant everyone would ‘gist’ (which is a slang in Nigeria for saying talk) and laugh about the happenings in school, sometimes, Ijeoma would tell her children tales of similar experiences she had in Boarding school.
Ijeoma’s husband, Paul, was always fond of telling her or their six children to always call at certain places whenever they are on a road trip. You would hear things like, “I ruo toll gate, flash me,” “I ruo Ore, flash me”, etc. This simply meant – when you get to toll gate,” flash me”. Flash me is a Nigerian slang used when people place a call through and it rings, but they end the call abruptly, usually, it is commonly used by people who do not have call credit. However, Paul required his wife and children to use this method as a way of notifying him of their location at every point in time.
On this day, Ijeoma had informed her husband at about 5pm that she was already in Lagos and they both agreed he was going to pick her up at the bus stop called, “Second Rainbow” along the Oshodi-Apapa expressway, Lagos. It was Paul’s usual habit to pick up or drop off his wife or any of his children whenever they had to travel. Just that day was very different.
Ijeoma had accompanied her friends on her journey home. On finding out that Ijeoma would pass through a major bus stop called “Apple Junction” in the Amuwo Odofin area in Lagos State, they thought to be benevolent enough to drop her off at this point rather than at “Second Rainbow”, which was a bit farther from her home. Ijeoma agreed to this and called her husband immediately to notify him. Paul did not have a problem with this. What mattered most was that he picked up his wife whom he had been worried a lot about her safety for the past few months.
