Mrs. Rose Iboko is the wife of the late valiant cop, Sergeant
Chukwudi Iboko, who was captured in a viral video, showing him in a
shootout with robbers at the Wetheral Road, Imo State branch of Zenith
Bank, on February 22, 2017. She and her children talk about life after
the demise of her husband with CHIDIEBUBE OKEOMA.
Her grief is palpable. One only needs to cast a glance at Mrs. Rose
Iboko to decipher that the anguish of losing her husband has taken a
toll on her. This is unmistakable in her gait, talks and looks.
Iboko is the wife of Sergeant Chukwudi Iboko, the brave policeman,
who died after engaging a gang of four robbers who trailed a customer to
the Wetheral Road branch of Zenith Bank in Owerri, Imo State, on
February 22, 2017, in a shootout.
Though the incident happened four months ago, the video of the
encounter, captured by the bank’s CCTV, has gone viral, with many
saluting the rare valour displayed by the cop to the detriment of his
life.
PUNCH went to Amakohia in the Ihitte Uboma Local Government
Area of the state, where the widow resides with her seven children.
Can you please tell us about yourself?
I am Mrs. Rose Iboko, wife of the late Sergeant Chukwudi Iboko, the
policeman who died as a result of the gunshot injuries he sustained in a
shootout with armed robbers at the Wetheral Road branch of Zenith Bank
on February 22, 2017. We are from Etitiulo community in the Bende Local
Government Area of Abia State, but we live in Amakohia in Ihitte Uboma
Local Government Area of Imo State. I am 32 years old.
What can you say about your family?
My late husband was from the same community with me. I am a
housewife, while my husband was the breadwinner. I was only taking care
of the home and our kids.
When did he die?
He died the next day after the incident on Thursday. Before I could
arrive in Mopol 18 office in Owerri, my husband was already dead. It was
in the office of the officer in charge of the unit that I was told that
my husband was dead. I was, however, not allowed to see his corpse. I
was only able to see his corpse for the first time during his burial in
the village when his remains were laid to rest. That was almost one
month after his death. He was 37 years old.
When did you see him last and what did you discuss?
I saw my husband last, four days before his death. It was on February
19. He came home for the weekend to inform his children and I that he
had got a new posting to work as a security officer in a bank. I never
thought that it would be the last time we would see, talk and hold each
other.
He also told his children that he would be visiting the next weekend
to bring them foodstuff and money for the upkeep of the family,
especially for their textbooks. He was just three days old in the bank
before the robbery which claimed his life. He resumed at the bank on
Monday, the bank robbery took place on Wednesday, and he died on
Thursday before I could even arrive in Owerri.
Were you aware that he sacrificed his life to save that of others on the premises of the bank that day?
Yes, I am very aware. I was not surprised that he confronted them
because he was a combatant, committed and patriotic cop. My only regret
was that his death was untimely, leaving me to cater for our children
alone. He was in Yobe State for a special mission during the upsurge of
Boko Haram attacks in the North.
He was also on special missions in Kano and Plateau states and he
fought gallantly. One thing about him was that he was committed to his
job. He loved his job and derived joy in saving lives.
What did you do when you learnt of his demise?
It was one of his colleagues who called me on a Thursday morning to
tell me that my husband was shot by armed robbers the previous day. I
don’t know the person but he spoke to me in a manner that suggested that
all was not well. He didn’t tell me that my husband was dead. He only
informed me that my husband was shot by armed robbers a day before that
day. It was when I arrived in Mopol 18 that I was told that my husband,
whom I spoke with on the phone on Tuesday prior to that day, was dead. I
couldn’t believe it. I told them to stop the joke but they insisted
that he was dead. It was as if my world had crumbled. Several thoughts
came to my mind within a few minutes: “Where do I begin? How do I
explain what happened to him to his children, especially our last child,
Success, who was fond of him? Where do I go from here?”
What do you tell the children anytime they ask after their father?
I have eight children for him; seven boys and a girl, Success, who I
earlier said is the last born. We have triplets; all boys, but sadly,
one of them, Chukwuebuka slumped and died the day their father’s remains
were to be interred. He slumped immediately he saw his dad’s corpse
during his lying-in-state and died.
It was a double tragedy for my family that day. He was very close to his father.
Despite being just five years, he couldn’t bear the loss of his
loving father. Most of my children know that their father is dead, only
the young ones are yet to comprehend what happened. I keep telling those
ones anytime they ask after him that he is on a special assignment and
would be back soon. But each time I lie to them, I would go into the
room and weep profusely because when they ask for his whereabouts, I
also recall the great moments we shared.
How have you been coping with the kids without their father?
It has been hell for me since he died. The children dropped out of
school because I could no longer pay their school fees. I don’t work, I
am a house wife. His sudden death was an agonising loss to my family. To
eat is now a problem. Most times, we don’t eat and when we eat, it is
half food. Last night (Friday), we took groundnuts as dinner. It has
been very difficult for us. We now live from hand to mouth. We always go
to bed hungry without knowing where the next meal will come from.
Has the Nigeria Police Force reached out to you to support your family?
Not at all. They only came for his burial in the village on Friday, March 17, 2017. I am now left with my children alone.
What assistance has the bank rendered to you knowing that
your husband died in the course of protecting its assets and customers?
The bank only assisted me in making sure that he was buried. After that, no help has come from the bank.
What kind of husband and father was he?
My late husband was a combat-ready police officer. He loved his job
with a huge passion. I was not surprised that he engaged the robbers in a
gun duel because he was committed to what he did. As a husband, he was a
caring one. He was a role model to his children. He loved me and his
children so much. Whenever he came home on weekends to see us, he would
buy foodstuff and all we needed.
His family was first in all he did. He was close to the last child
who is also the only girl. It was in the process of looking for a girl
child that I had many children. He used to carry her about anytime he
was at home. He never beat me for once. Whenever we had issues, we
settled them inside our home amicably without anybody knowing that we
had disagreements. He was everything I desired in a man. He was caring,
romantic and responsible. He was equally God-fearing. He was a member of
Jesus Deliverance Bible Church in Amakohia. He took us along to
anywhere he was transferred to.
Tell me about your last conversation with him?
We spoke last the Tuesday preceding that robbery. I called him to
complain to him about his children’s stubbornness. You know how children
behave at times? I told him about their attitude because he had more
influence over them than me as a woman. He immediately asked me to give
the phone to the boys and reprimanded them. He told them to behave well
and that he would buy something for them on the way home for the
weekend.
They boys quickly obeyed. I also told him about the textbooks of his
first son, Favour, and he promised to give him the money on his return
on Saturday. I didn’t know that it would be our last discussion. What a
world! As if he knew he was going to die, before he left for his new
posting to the bank, he called all his children on Sunday and told them
to be good children. His words were full of wisdom. He asked them not to
look for trouble. When he was leaving on Monday, we all said goodbye to
him without knowing that it was the last time we would see him.
How did you meet?
We met in our village. I told you we came from the same village. We
grew up together. He knew me when I was a young girl and from there, he
liked me and later proposed marriage to me. We got married in 1999 and
even as of that time, I was young. He was not a policeman then. He
became a police officer few years after our wedding. He was nice and
hard working. Honestly, I miss him. Tears are my companion every night. I
have yet to come to terms with his demise.
Would you allow any of your children to join the police considering how their father died?
I wouldn’t stop any of my children who wants to be a police officer.
As a matter of fact, our second child, Wisdom, who is 13, always told
his father that he wanted to be a cop in future. The choice is entirely
that of any child who chooses that. I will only pray for the child not
to die untimely like his father.
Do you have any regrets that he was a policeman?
I have no regrets that my husband was a policeman because it was what
he loved. I am proud of my late husband as a police officer. My only
regret is that he died young without fulfilling his dreams and goals.
What do you want Nigerians to do for his family, especially as many saluted his courage?
I want government and Nigerians to help me support the education of
our children and to take care of us. I want them to please do for his
kids, the things he would have done for them as a father if he were
alive. I am jobless.
What were the things he planned to do which death did not allow him to realise?
He had an uncompleted building project in the village. He was
building a bungalow. I am not sure I know where I will take my children
to whenever we visit the village. He promised to train them up to the
university level. He pledged that he would assist Favour to realise his
dream to study medicine. But death didn’t allow him to fulfill any of
them.
Where are his parents and how did they receive the news of his death?
My husband’s father is dead and his mother, Mrs. Maria Iboko, is
seriously sick, owing to the shock she suffered upon hearing the news of
her son’s death. My husband was her second child and the family’s
breadwinner. She is almost 80 years old. My mother is currently down
with stroke. She could not bear the news. She was fond of my husband.
We are at the mercy of a landlord, he wants his rent. We owe
15-months, rent and that is about N180,000. I want the good people of
Nigeria to come to our aid before we are thrown out of the apartment.
