An Assistant Director of Nigeria Railway Corporation, Nuhu Dibal, has died after being stabbed in the chest at his residence.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the
assailants, whose number could not be ascertained, stormed Dibal’s
official residence on 76, Ahmadu Bello Road, Railway Compound, Ebute
Meta, Lagos, on Tuesday around 2am.
It was learnt that the assailants gained entry into the deceased’s duplex through the window of the toilet in his bedroom.
Dibal (47), a father of five, rejoined
the services of the NRC in 2010 and moved into the apartment six months
ago while his wife and the children moved in with him last Friday.
Thirty nine year-old wife of the
deceased, Rahab, said the assailants gained access to her husband’s
bedroom because the toilet’s window had no burglary.
She said, “I slept on the same bed with
my husband on Monday night and suddenly around 2am, I heard his voice
from my sleep faintly saying, ‘Who are you?’
“I made frantic efforts to check for him
upstairs but could not find him after calling him and there was no
response. Then I saw blood stains on the staircase and I traced him to
the sitting room.”
Rahab said she saw her husband in the
pool of his own blood with a single stab wound at his chest after which
he was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Meta.
She said her husband was later referred
to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi Araba, where he was
confirmed dead on arrival around 5.30 am on Tuesday.
She said, “After the incident, I discovered that my husband’s laptop and his two phones were carted away.
“Besides, the N12, 000 I kept in my
handbag went missing while the bag itself and the contents were found in
the bedroom’s toilet.”
Our correspondent, who visited the home
of the deceased on Thursday, observed blood stains on the knob of the
door leading to the upper chamber of the apartment.
Rahab, however, said two strange men in a
red jeep parked in front of the compound on Monday at about 5pm and
were spotted pointing at the building.
She said, “The two men spent nothing
less than 10 minutes. My husband was sleeping at that time. Besides, I
did not challenge them because I never had any inkling that a disaster
of this magnitude could befall my family.
“My husband’s killers have succeeded in taking away my joy. The police should fish out those who sent him to an early grave.”
The deceased’s cousin, Nicholas, also urged the police authorities to fish out the perpetrators of the dastardly act.
He said, “He has paid the ultimate price
as the deed has already been done. I have lost not just a brother, but a
friend and a confidant. The police must swing into action and explore
all options to bring his killers to justice so that other innocent
people would not suffer the same fate.”
Dilbal’s friend, David Adamu, who is
coordinating the funeral, described the deceased as a man who stood for
truth throughout his life time.
“I have known him for about 15 years
and he was a man who impacted the life of anyone who came his way. He
made friends across ethnic and religious divides,” he added.
According to him, Nuhu’s remains will
be flown to Borno State on Friday (today) and interred in his village at
Kwaya Kusar Local Government.
The Assistant Director, Public Relations
of the NRC, David Ndakotsu, said the circumstance leading to Dibal’s
death was unfortunate.
Describing the deceased as hardworking and friendly, Ndakotsu said the corporation was deeply saddened by his death.
“To the best of my knowledge, such an
incident has never happened on the compound of the NRC. The management
is already working in collaboration with the Railway Police Command to
get to the root of the incident,” he said.
He said the incident was an additional
challenge for the NRC’s Management Security Committee on the need to
review its operations and act accordingly to forestall a recurrence.
When our correspondent visited the
Railway Police Command headquarters, Ebute Meta, the Commissioner of
Police, Moses Saba-Sodangi, and his spokesperson were said to be away.
Efforts to reach the CP on the telephone
proved abortive as his line was switched off and he did not reply to a
text message to him.
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