Has he always been preaching and doing evangelism?

Right from when he was 10 years old, he was that kind of child who always asked about God. All his life, he wanted to serve God. He even wanted to go to Bible school. We kept encouraging him to just finish his education first.

He was always told that after completing his education, he could go to Bible school. With the knowledge from education, any invitation he received from churches or schools would help him build up his ministry.

He had always carried a strong passion for evangelism. He was a kind of person who, even while eating the simplest meal, would always play Christian music. That was his motivation, his joy.

He never drank alcohol. He believed firmly that God healed him.

The only way to know he was ill is if you touched his body and felt his temperature. If you gave him earplugs at the same time, he would listen to gospel music with them. That was the kind of person he was. He didn’t smoke.

Is it true that one apostle asked him to go and preach at the governor’s former residence?

The apostle was more of a spiritual mentor or somebody he looked up to. The apostle is not my pastor. His church is not my church. It was a church he saw and felt like attending their fellowship once in a while after church service or when there was no service.

The apostle was the one constantly urging my son to go into Bible school. He kept telling him to leave university for Bible school since he had a calling from God. But we told the apostle, ‘This is not what we want as parents.’

Did that apostle visit your son while he was in the hospital?

Yes, he did, and the pastor was in the hospital with my son until he died. He was helping us in the hospital until the end.

Was your son accompanied to the governor’s gate by any person?

No, my son went there alone.

How would you describe your son?

I would describe my son as a loving, peaceful boy. He’s a peacemaker. He would even wish I put an end to this interview I’m doing as a mother. That was the kind of person. He never liked problems.

He was a person who could give everything he had and stay hungry the whole day. He was a simple boy who loved giving to a fault. He gave without considering the consequences, without even knowing if we had anything in the house to eat.

My neighbours are here; he would collect their clothes and use the washing machine to wash them, and return them to the owners. He was the kind of person who would pump water for the whole compound. Currently, everybody is feeling his absence.

What do you want from the government?

I don’t need their dollar bills. We are poor. I just want to know the people involved in his death and how this boy can be buried. Am I demanding much? I’m not demanding anything.

I’m not even asking for compensation of millions. But I think I have a right to see the people. Let them give me their reasons by telling me what he did. I only want them to say, ‘I am sorry. How can he be buried?’

Why didn’t the police allow you to bury the boy?

The AIG said we had written a petition and that it was a murder case. So, the boy won’t be buried until an autopsy is done. So, I realised we had to reach the stage of an autopsy. I said, ‘Okay, if you withdraw the autopsy, the truth will never come out.’

It will stop the process, and they can take away the corpse of the boy, especially if they only see it as an opportunity to make money, because they have no human feelings. Nobody from Cross River or anywhere called me or any member of the family.

Also, the state Commissioner for Information never called me. Nobody picked up the phone to call. Nobody came to my house to say, ‘We heard what happened.’ Not a single word. So, are they saying I don’t have the right to ask what killed my son, who killed my son?

How are you and the siblings coping?

He was shot on August 1st and died on August 9th, around 11 am. It was horrible. I couldn’t sleep at night. Each time, I feel like he’s even around us. I can’t even stay in my kitchen. I take sleeping pills to sleep at night. My pain is just rising like hell. I’ve been trying to get help for my kids.