Nkiruka Okeke, 27, a mother of four, recounts the harrowing day she lost her husband, Oluzuluike Okeke, who was stabbed to death by suspected herdsmen while working near a stream in Obuovia community, Enugu State.
Living in Onoli community, along the Enugu expressway, Nkiruka supports her family by selling okpa, a local delicacy.
Her husband, 33, earned a living through physically demanding work, dredging and packing sand from streams for sale.
“It all happened so suddenly,” Nkiruka recalls. On October 3, her husband left for work after preparing the children for school. Shortly afterward, a neighbor ran to her house, shouting that her husband had been stabbed by herdsmen.
She rushed to the hospital to find him alive but weak.
Oluzuluike managed to say only, “The herdsmen stabbed me in the chest,” before collapsing. He died before he could be transferred to the University Teaching Hospital.
Nkiruka describes her husband as peaceful and hardworking. He had no disputes, and the only wound was a stab to the chest.
None of his belongings were taken. After being stabbed, he had tried to reach a nearby roadside vendor for help, but his injuries were fatal.
The attack occurred around 1 pm near a stream used mainly for farm work and bathing, close to where people live.
Though others passed through the area, no one intervened or identified the attackers.
The couple has four young children: a girl, 8, and three boys aged 7, 4, and 3 years and 3 months. Nkiruka shares that coping has been incredibly difficult.
Her children cry and struggle with the loss, and she struggles to provide basic necessities like food, medicine, and school supplies.
Nkiruka also highlights ongoing harassment by herdsmen in the community.
They destroy crops and intimidate residents, forcing many to abandon farming. Her husband had continued dredging sand to sustain the family as farming became increasingly unsafe.
Despite help from neighbors and friends, support is limited. “I just pray that God will help me raise these children,” she says.
She hopes her children can still receive an education, fulfilling her husband’s dream for them.
“My greatest wish,” Nkiruka concludes, “is justice for my husband and protection for families like mine.”
“We are living in fear, and the government must act before more lives are lost. My husband only went out to work to provide for his family, he did not deserve to die this way.”
