On Tuesday, February 1, about 2.00 am , assassins numbering over 10 with two (2) women armed with AK47 assault rifles, short axes, torchlights and iron -cutters invaded the private residence of Richard Nima, retired director of the Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, and ex-activist of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) located behind the popular GVC filling station in the Aleto community in the Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State.
On Tuesday, February 1, about 2.00 am , assassins numbering over 10 with two (2) women armed with AK47 assault rifles, short axes, torchlights and iron -cutters invaded the private residence of Richard Nima, retired director of the Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, and ex-activist of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) located behind the popular GVC filling station in the Aleto community in the Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State.
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Esther Sunday Isong Nima, wife of the deceased told our monitor that when the heavily armed assassins struck, they shot sporadically for several minutes, while cutting the iron gates and doors to Richard’s house, while she called the police hotline- 112, and a police officer who answered the call after taking the description of the place, claimed that his men will come, which they never did.
Some resident of the area spoken to also confirmed this. The assassins eventually broke into the residence and Richard Nima who was awaken by the furious gun barks started shouting helplessly “ who is that “. The gunmen confronted the MOSOP activist turned PDP politician and shot him, amidst the whimpering cries of 5 months and few weeks – old- beautiful Miss Deborah Nma. The deadly bullets from the killer’s gun pierced his right hands and damaged his ribs and stomach. He fell down, panting between death and life, and the gunmen and women started retreating, thinking he died instantly. One of them reportedly yelled gleefully, “ let’s go, it is done “. They did go for anything rather were looking for documents after the shot him, and he was in his pool of blood.
Our monitor gathered he was still alive until a police patrol team arrived, not the one that he wife had telephoned earlier, but one on regular patrol. The police and assassins had reportedly engaged in a light shoot out, and the gun men and women later retreated. A family source said he didn’t die instantly, he died on his way to Teme Clinic, the hospital operated by Doctors Without Border, an international medical humanitarian body. The wife said he would arrived the hospital arrive if not his car used to convey him broke down before getting to Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital where the hospital is located.
The matter has been reported to the local police division in Ogale – Nchia, Eleme, Rivers State, and Inspector Ephraim Akpan has been assigned as the Investigating police officer (IPO) who our monitor learnt has been quite uncooperative as he incessantly demands for money from the poor and vulnerable Nima’s wife, Esther. The police officer repeatedly told her that if she has money the matter would be better.Since the killing of Richard Nima, his wife had received several threatening calls from the suspected killers of her husband. She is currently in hiding.
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Our monitor gathered that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had zoned the chairmanship position of the Khana Local Government Area Council to the Nyokana kingdom in the coming Local Government election scheduled to take place in March, 2011 to the area, though postponed now. And Richard was a formidable candidate given his MOSOP structures and others. In spite of Richard’s ambition, the incumbent Khana council chairman, Gregory Bariledum Nwiadom is also interested, and had reportedly convened several meetings which Richard shunned to assert his interest in continuing his tenure after his first tenure which ends in April, 2011.
Richard Nima born on October 16, 19955 was retired from his civil service job on April 10, 2009. The deceased was a staunch MOSOP activist during the hanged Ken Saro-Wiwa’s days as leader of the movement. In early 2000 Richard left hundreds of MOSOP activists who were dissatisfied with the leadership of Ledum Mitee, second-in-command to the martyred Wiwa who had assumed headship of MOSOP after Saro-Wiwa, the famous Nigerian writer, satirist and activist. Richard who was one of the closest friends of Mitee later left the MOSOP politics after his retirement from government and went into full time agricultural business and partisan politics. A father of five (5 )children, had had two (2 )broken marriages, Esther is his third marriage.
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