. Gunmen strangled my husband to death – Wife
. He died after a brief illness, counters son
Wife and son of the late registrar of the National Examination Council, Prof Godswill Obioma, on Tuesday disagreed over circumstances surrounding the death of the examination body on Monday night.
While Mrs Elizabeth Obioma confirmed her husband’s assassination to newsmen on the phone on Tuesday morning, one of her sons, Prince Godswill Obioma the 2nd, formally informed NECO that his father only died after a brief illness.
Mrs Obioma earlier told newsmen on the phone that “The assassins came in and killed him and left without taking anything.”
Mrs Obioma explained that her husband had just returned to Minna from a trip to Abuja when the armed men, who had been hiding in his compound, descended on him and strangled him.
But later same day, her son, Godswill, in a letter to the Director of Human Resource Management, NECO, Mustapha K. Abdul, informed the council of his father’s death, saying he died after a brief illness.
His letter read, “Dear Sir, this is to formally inform you that my father Prof. Godswill Obioma the Registrar/Chief Executive of NECO passed to eternal glory yesterday 31/5/2021 after a brief illness.
“We request that you kindly notify the Board, Management and the entire staff of the Council of this development. We shall keep you duly informed.”
FirstNews learnt that there had been attempts to remove Obioma from office as the NECO boss.
Sixty-seven-year-old Obioma was appointed head of NECO barely a year ago on May 14, 2020. He hailed from Abia State.
State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, could not be reached for comment.
Abiodun had yet to pick his call as of the time of filing this report.