My son’s killers dashed our hope of escaping poverty — Father of slain corps member

August 8, 2026 12:11 am

Okebaram Okanimee, father of the slain former Student Union Government president of the Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Owerri, Chimaroke, speaks to UCHE OKERE about the family’s dashed hope and the need for the government to expose and punish those behind his son’s death

How are you related to the deceased?

I am the father of the late Chimaroke Okanimee.

Could you recall how your son, Chimaroke, went missing?

The last time my son reached out was on July 24, 2026, in the morning around 8:58 am, when he spoke with Tochukwu, his sibling, on the phone. He had told his brother to find out something for him. So, in the evening when Tochukwu tried to give him feedback, he realised his number was unreachable. By Friday evening, nobody could reach him.

I didn’t suspect anything because I blamed it on poor network service since he had told us that due to the riverine area, phone calls might not go through because the network would be fluctuating. Sometimes you would try to call him, but his number would not be available. So, I didn’t suspect anything because I thought he might have been out of network coverage.

However, around 5 pm on Sunday, my sons called me and told me that someone had informed them that since Friday, Chimaroke had gone out and had yet to return to his apartment, and that he could not be reached on the phone. They said nobody had seen him.

What was your reaction after you got this information?

On Monday morning, I directed three of my sons — Tochukwu, Chiyeaka and Chibuike — to travel to Bayelsa State to ascertain his whereabouts. They are his siblings.

So, they went to the NYSC secretariat in Bayelsa State to find out how to get to his place. Upon getting there, one director took my three sons to his office. According to my boys, the director told them that they were saddened that my children had come because they (NYSC officials) were supposed to visit us.

He then showed them a video of Chimaroke’s corpse. My children later came home and told me what transpired there. Then on Tuesday, the NYSC sent a delegation from the Imo State Secretariat of the corps, the Mbaitoli chapter, and some security officials to us here. They consoled us and told us that they came to inform us officially about Chimaroke’s death.

Did Chimaroke complain about having any misunderstanding with anyone or group?

No, he never made any complaint, not even at Nekede Polytechnic. When he bought the form to contest the SUG presidency, he said they were five contestants, but the school management screened out two persons. He said there was a protest over the two people who were dropped and that they had to travel to Abuja at the time. However, the school management insisted they were bound by their constitution.

I don’t know the details, but after several prayers, they went back to Abuja again, and it was resolved that only three students were cleared to contest the position. I don’t know who they went to see in Abuja, whether it was the education ministry or somewhere else. But after the clearance, the election held and Chimaroke won.

His younger brother, Tochukwu, who lived with him in Owerri, said he told him that there was a way some boys in his Nembe neighbourhood looked at him, but because he was easy-going, I guess we didn’t pay much attention to the complaint. Tochukwu said he advised him to be careful.

Did fellow students come home with him as SUG president, maybe for weekends or visits?

He only came home with his childhood friend, whom he grew up and attended school with. They attended the same schools and lived in the same house in Aba, Abia State. They also lived together in Owerri. That’s about his only friend. You wouldn’t even know he was an SUG president when they came home together. There were no cars or anything that would attract attention.

The truth is that I don’t think anyone in this community can say much about him because they barely knew him when he was alive, as he was very private. Though he only came home once in a while, I visited him sometimes while I was still working at the Industrial Cluster, Owerri, as a panel beater before I sustained a chest injury and had to stop. So, he never complained about having problems with anyone at any point in his life.

If death had chosen me instead of Chimaroke, I would have preferred it because living without him, after all the suffering and sacrifices, is difficult to understand. Look at his elder brother; he’s a person with special needs. So, we decided to train Chimaroke and invested everything we had in him, so he could lift the family since his brother could not.

How many children do you have?

We have six children. The late Chimaroke was our second child and son. We have three other sons and a daughter.

Tell us about Chimaroke, your late son.

He was born on December 8, 1999. He grew up in Abia State, where my sister, his aunt, is based. He had both his primary and secondary school education there. He attended Technical College, Abia State. He studied Civil Engineering at the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Owerri. He obtained both his OND and HND there.

He completed his HND in 2023, but due to financial challenges, delayed his service until this year. He said he wanted to save some money before going for his service year. He was posted to Bayelsa State and deployed to Nembe for his NYSC, where he was before he was discovered dead.

Truth be told, my son had no comparison with any other person. He never had problems, right from birth till his unfortunate death. We never received any complaint about him; he was respectful to elders and everyone in this community and beyond. Everyone liked him. He was a regular youth; he could see boys playing football, spend a little time with them, and then retire to the house to study.

He was not into girls like some of his age mates. He was so endearing, accommodating, and down-to-earth. My people always called him our first daughter because he would always join in cooking in the kitchen. He cooked for the family and was a good cook. My child was very good at domestic work. He knew where everything was kept and was always ready to assist.

How good was he in his studies?

My son never came third in any examination till he died. He was always at the top of the class and always clinched first position from his primary to secondary school years. I don’t know if he got a distinction or upper credit at Nekede Polytechnic, but I know my son always came first. However, he told me that he made a good grade.

What was he planning to become in the future?

The Nekede Polytechnic management wanted him to become a lecturer there, but I told him to complete his youth service first and that afterwards, he could join them because nobody knew how politics and life would turn out. We later saved some money and allowed him to go for his youth service. Luckily for him, he was posted to Bayelsa State. He was into property brokerage during this period, so he could also fend for himself.

Unfortunately, Chimaroke is dead. What does this mean to you and your family?

(Takes a deep breath and sighs). This is a very big blow because my son was the golden child of the family. All of us in this family, including his mother and siblings, looked up to him to give us a better life. He was our eye, our very hope. I was hoping that he would help me train his other siblings because he was the only graduate in the family.

His other siblings stopped at secondary school education. He was our future hope, the child upon whom we placed all our hopes and resources because we were struggling. His mother, Ijeoma, did hawking, and whatever I earned, she would use it to buy food and cook for the family.

My wife and I struggled to have at least one graduate in the family. Graciously, God also gave him good positions in school, so we were hoping that our story would change through him. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Our family’s messiah has been stopped in his prime.

What kind of friends did he keep?

Chimaroke didn’t have friends. Many people in this village are unfamiliar with him. Anytime he was around, he preferred staying indoors. He wouldn’t spend two hours outside the house whenever he came around.

Do you want to make any demands?

I want the government to fish out my son’s killers, arrest and prosecute them. That’s what I want. I want justice for my son today and tomorrow. The government should bring the perpetrators to book and make them face the full weight of the law. This is a child we trained through the sale of palm kernels. For now, NYSC officials said they came to inform us officially, but I told them we want fair and speedy justice for my son.

They told me that they would hand the corpse over to the authorities first. I have not heard anything from them since then, but my people have confirmed that the corpse is in a morgue in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

I was told we could only get there by speedboat. We are not working. I can no longer do my panel-beating job because of a lingering chest injury. My wife too can no longer hawk because of age. She doesn’t have a shop of her own, so she does petty trading such as selling roasted corn by the roadside.

But you can see that we are mourning, so we have been indoors receiving visitors. I appeal for help from the government and kind-hearted individuals to help raise the other five children so they do not suffer in life, because at this point, I don’t understand anything anymore.

Uche Okere

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