A 19-year-old apprentice in Benue State, Sekegh Aku, was reportedly stabbed to death by a 17-year-old peer in their street over a minor argument. A relative of the deceased, Mrs Evelyn Terwase, speaks about the tragic incident

Who are you to the deceased?

My name is Terwase Evelyn, I am like a sister or mother to the deceased. We stay in the same compound. He is like a son to me; his name is Sekegh Simon Aku. His mother and I are from the same local government and we relate more like sisters. So I was very close to him just like a mother.

There was a report that Sekegh was stabbed to death. What really happened?

Nothing really happened, he was just into a mere argument with his friends. They had been friends for some time now; it did not happen in the house, it was in a nearby house, because the immediate elder brother of the deceased was there with them. According to him, it was just a mere argument, not a serious issue and that in the course of the argument, he tried to stop them from shouting at each other. Sekegh didn’t know that the boy had the intention of harming him. He was talking to his brother when the boy removed a pair of scissors from the bag he had on him and stabbed Sekegh. He died immediately. By the time the news got to the mother, it was too late; he had already died

How old was Sekegh?

He was 19 years old; the boy who stabbed him is 17 years old. His name is Torver Kunav.

When and where did the incident happen?

The incident happened at Tomahar Street in the Gboko Local Government Area of Benue State. I was not around when the incident happened; it was my son in Abuja that called me and said I should come back home, that something bad happened on January 9, 2023, around 11am.

The boy who stabbed the deceased is a very arrogant and troublesome boy; he is known by everyone around to be very troublesome; he has no good qualities or character at all. We had even tried to separate him and our son but we live in the same street. He stays with his parents and he has landed them in trouble countless times.

How did you feel on receiving the news that Sekegh had been killed by the boy, whom you said you had earlier tried to stop him from being friends with?

I am hypertensive and you know how hypertensive victims behave but I just had to control myself and be as calm as I could because I also have to console his mother. It has not been easy for the whole family; we are mourning.

Was the case reported to the police?

It was reported at Gboko Central Police Station. It was policemen from the station that took Sekegh’s body to the mortuary.

What about the boy who allegedly stabbed Sekegh?

It was the boy’s mother that personally reported the case to the police; I guess for fear that he could be attacked. So, the boy was arrested and detained by the police. But presently, his relatives are nowhere to be found; they packed all their belongings and fled their house.

What kind of a person was Sekegh?

He was from Konshisha Local Government though born and raised in the Gboko Local Government Area of Benue State where he lived until his death. He was a free-spirited boy; everybody wanted to be around him. He was an apprentice, learning carpentry.

Sekegh always said the boy always tormented him, and used to tell him that one day he would kill him; that one day he would stab him to death but nobody believed that it was going to happen; we thought it was a joking matter; we thought it was the usual jokes by children.

How are his parents taking the tragic incident?

The father of the deceased is dead, and it has not been easy with the mother, but the eldest person is the one sorting the case. We are yet to get any feedback from him; we are waiting for him.

What kind of support do you think the family needs at this time?

We have not started the burial plans; we are still waiting. The family has not decided on what to do; the police have to give us a go-ahead. Once we settle with the police, then we can make arrangements for the burial, although all of us in the family are widows in the house. His mother has been a widow for 10 years now, so if there is any way help could come for us, we will be glad.

The family needs financial support for the burial proceedings of the deceased because the mother is economically handicapped. The family also needs security architecture to be tightened in the area to ameliorate the growing threats posed by cultism; we will be grateful. (Sunday PUNCH)

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