Wife of a former civil servant attached to the Rivers State House of Assembly, Pastor Rachael Koko, shares how her late husband, Keneth Koko, was abducted without release in 2013 and efforts she made to find him

It was learnt that your husband was kidnapped in October 2013. Can you narrate the circumstance that led to his abduction 10 years ago?

It has been a long journey and time but to us, it is still fresh. He told me that he was having a programme in church and he said he would like to have a meal prepared by me for him. One hour after I arrived home, I heard a lot of gunshots beyond my imagination. It was so scary that I asked all the children at home to go downstairs and lie down flat since we did not know where the gunshots were coming from. Our house was a storey building. The gunshots continued and persisted for more than 10 minutes. So, we became afraid; we had a flood light and my generator was on. After a while, the gunshots stopped, and after about 10 minutes, we noticed that for about the next 30 minutes, nothing was going on. So, I asked them (the children) to come upstairs. So, many people called and asked me what was going on in my place. I replied, ‘I don’t know. I said so causally.

How did you get to hear about the news of your husband’s abduction?

Not quite long, I saw a car headlight coming from outside, and I went to peep through. We didn’t know the people and none of us agreed to come out but everybody was indoors. So, one of my boys and a church member were passing by. He (one of my boys) then said, ‘Mummy Koko, where are you?’ I told him I was in the house, and he said, ‘Okay, what of Daddy?’ I told him that my husband went out and he should be on his way back. I also told him from where I was that I had been trying to call him. We had a private phone and for security reasons, we used that phone to call each other anytime we had an emergency.

I told the guy I had been calling my husband, but he had not been picking up the phone, which was very unusual. The boy then told me, ‘Mummy, which car did Daddy use?’ I then told him about the car Daddy used. He said as he was standing, he could see the car, which was about two to three buildings from our house, not knowing that the headlight I was seeing was from his car. He was abducted from his car and the gunshots were targeted at stopping him. The lady who was living very close to the house heard them say, ‘We will waste you; we’re going to waste you, open the door.’

He (my husband) refused to open the car door for a while and that was why the gunshot continued. So, he had no choice but to open the door. All the calls I made to our security number were not picked up. They left the phone in the car; cash and a lot of things were left. Kidnapping was something else in Rivers State then; it was rampant. So, that was how they took him on that 5th day of October.

The incident happened shortly after he came back from the US; it was two weeks after we came back. We went on holiday with the kids and just came back. The men who kidnapped him were saying, ‘You think you can run away? We’ve been waiting for you.’ The lady opposite our building that saw everything going on, was even pleading that the man should open the door and that they would not kill him, but my husband was a bit stubborn, he initially refused.

At what point did you realise that your husband was no more?

I didn’t realise he was no more because for over two years, we were still believing that we would find him and we were going to places in search of him. Some people came and gave us information about seeing someone like him. I was going from one place to another. As a pastor, I was dealing with all these boys, including all these militants. I preached and interacted with them; I preached and convinced some of them to follow Christ and they assured me, saying, ‘Mummy Koko, don’t fear, we will take you from one place to another.’ They (the kidnappers) say I should not bring in the police but at every point, I alerted the police because I wouldn’t have been able to be going there on my own. But after a while, they said I should stop coming and that they would carry out the search for me. However, for over two years, I became sick and lost my appetite. I almost died if not for Christ. My husband’s brothers and my son who flew back from the UK were doing the search for my husband while I was sick.

How did you feel when it dawned on you that Mr Kenneth Koko might have been killed?

It is still on us, even now, but our hope is in Christ. As someone who fears God, I know he’s no more and I can attest to this. It is just to move on and believe in God with the hope that wherever he is, he has eternal rest. It’s still fresh in our memory; our lastborn cannot get out of it. She’s in Canada because I had to take her out of the country. Before my husband was abducted, he registered her to go stay in Canada since the other two children were there. So, after they kidnapped him in October, her school was supposed to start in February, so I took her down there and handed her over to her elder siblings before I came back.

How old was he when he was whisked away?

He was 63 years old.

What was his occupation?

My husband was a civil servant attached to the Rivers State House of Assembly. He worked with politicians. He was the head of Estate and Works.

Do you think anyone has any reason to have abducted and killed your husband?

Well, for everything that happens in life, there must be a reason behind it. Of course, there must be somebody somewhere who had him kidnapped because his kidnap was not for ransom. They never told us to pay any ransom. We waited for them to call us for ransom but it never happened. Even though I was taken out of my house, people were there; no letter was sent, nothing was asked. The only thing we heard was that some documents were with him. After a while, I even had to run away from Rivers State. I was being trailed, being pursued. So, my daughter who was married in Abuja came to pick me up in Port Harcourt. That was how I relocated to Abuja.

There were claims that his abduction and murder had a political undertone. How will you react to this?

Well, I believe it strongly but without evidence to back it up, what can one do? So, something I don’t have evidence about, I don’t say it but I know it (his death) has a political undertone.

Can you recall if your husband had any issues with anyone before the incident?

No, my husband was a very quiet person. We don’t believe so much in the church these days but while he was serving God, he served God with all his might and he was somebody that could not be convinced to change documents or say something that was not the truth. Maybe it was one of the reasons he was abducted.

What efforts did you make to find him and maybe save his life?

As I said, we looked for him for seven years until the government declared him dead. For seven years, we looked for him everywhere, Ondo, Ogun State. There was no place we didn’t go to, we went to the prison; the police were helping us; the DSS was also helping us because I had some of them in church. They went everywhere; there was no place we didn’t go.

What did the police say during and after their investigation?

Till today, as far as they are concerned, the case is still open because I kept asking them if they had forgotten the case and they said the case was closed after seven years. I asked them to reopen the case. Why will they say the case has closed when the body of my husband has not been found?

You are currently in the United States of America. Why did you decide to travel out of the country after your husband’s death?

I’m here on a visit: I left the country late last year but I refused to come back because, since last year, I was to see my children in Canada, then visit my younger brother whose child is ill. I’ve been with that child since he was three years. So, he listens to just me. Most of the time, I come to the United States to stay with him and take care of him. When I got here, I was getting many threat letters even after a decade of losing my husband. My son is a lawyer in Nigeria and he called while I was in Canada and said, ‘Mum, I received a letter from someone I don’t know, no name on it and he was asking for documents. He read the letter to me because they didn’t want to show me something that would break me down because I have high blood pressure. So, he read a portion that says, ‘We know where you are; every one of you, we know where your daughter is’, and that’s why I’m staying here now.

When did you travel out of the country?

Last year.

Do you have any intention to come visit the country?

Yes, I want to come back but we are all around on the ground, looking for a way to remove my children, because three (threat) letters have come; three!

How are your children?

My three children are in Canada, I have two girls and a boy who are all in Canada. My son is a petroleum engineer and my daughter is a microbiologist. I have three adopted daughters. Altogether, I have eight children.

What fond memories of your husband do you have?

If I start now, we will finish. I have many fond memories of my dear husband because he was my support system and everything to me. When I was pasturing a church, he was managing the home front for me. Even as a man, all he wanted to see was me becoming better in everything I put my hands on. I had a big supermarket in Port Harcourt Club, and while I was there, they were threatening me, pursuing me and that was why I ran away and left my shop and everything because life is worth more than all this and no amount of money can be compared to life.

Do you feel depressed anytime you think about him?

Yes, even now. It’s just that from the beginning, it has been God; He has been my anchor, the only one, my hope in glory, and that’s the only reason. As I said, I was depressed for two years, I was in a coma, I was not talking and I was just mourning for two years. This is the first time I’m talking about it. I’ve never really opened my mouth to say anything but I’m happy I can open up. You know, I’ve been through a lot.

How were you able to come out of that bitter experience?

As I said, nobody can come out of this experience. Even as I’m saying it, it feels like yesterday but when I look at my children, I look at my grandchildren, I look at what God is doing in my life, I see his hand in my life. I know that it is the devil all along because it is like everything stopped when this happened but God picked me up again and I continued. So, it was not easy but we’re coming out of it by the grace of God.

What has the situation taught you?

Life is delicate, anything can happen at any time because nobody planned this. I just got a call from him, I want to eat this, I want to eat that and that was the last time I heard from him. After that call, till today nobody knows anything, no corpse, nothing. The message is that everybody should be prepared, you should be prepared.

What kind of person was your late husband?

My husband is a very Jolly good fellow, and that was what I always called him. He liked people around him and he liked going out. He liked talking to people but he was a naturally quiet person.

What was the reaction of the family and friends when they heard about his abduction?

His mother is still alive; though she’s over 90 years old now. While I was sick, she was hospitalised as well. My husband was a great pillar to his family. He took care of everybody. He was the firstborn son of the whole family. So, it was a big shock to every one of us.

Did you get any support from his family after the incident?

I got support from everybody. As I said earlier, my husband is the pillar.

Where are you from?

I’m from the Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State.

What kind of help do you need?

I’m looking for something that will take away my children (from Nigeria) because the threat is still fresh; this is something that should be done to keep my children because I’m worried about them. I want the police to go down to the root cause of the death of my husband. There’s this police guy I call every time. He would say, ‘Madam, when we have something, we will call you.’ I’m telling you till now, nothing has been done.

Do you consider marrying again?

No, never. Everything just died in me and I’m not a happy person even though I smile, I joke. The man that started life with me was just taken out like that. (Saturday PUNCH)

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