By Chuks Eke
Barely six months after Mr. Nnamdi Jerome Nnaji, an Igbo indigene resident in Maiduguri, Borno state declared his wife, Mrs. Sandra Nnamdi Nnaji missing from a private hospital in Port Harcourt, Rivers State after she was allegedly attacked by unknown gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram insurgents, he is still complaining that his missing wife is yet to be found.
Mrs. Nnaji, a banker, advocate of girl child education before marriage and strong fighter against early girl child marriage based in the north had disappeared from her hospital bed in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on October 8, 2024 while she was still responding to treatments following an alleged physical attack on her at Eleme area by gunnen suspended to be Boko Haram insurgents.
She had earlier escaped from her base in Borno state where she was residing with her husband after series of attacks by the insurgents and fled to Port Harcourt to live with her sister but the insurgents who were not comfortable with her position against early girl child marriage and her advocacy for girl child education before marriage, trailed her to Port Harcourt and allegedly continued their onslaught against her.
The first two foiled attempts on her life in Borno state allegedly took place on March 23, 2023 and August 4, 2024 and she was forced to abandon her husband and other family members and escaped from her husband’s personal house at No. 7A/8A Kanembu Street, Gubio Road, Shagari Low Cost Housing Estate, Maiduguri, Borno state and fled to her sister’s house in Port Harcourt for sake of safety.
In a press statement issued to newsmen in Onitsha, Anambra state, her husband, Mr. Nnaji recalled that she has been missing since October 8, 2024 after she suffered a third attack in Eleme, by the same suspected Boko Haram insurgents who had trailed her from Maiduguri.
Nnaji recalled that after the attack at Eleme market in Port Harcourt, Sandra, his wife was hospitalized at a private hospital from where she got missing.
In the statement, he further lamented that even after she barely managed to escape the attack, the insurgents declared her wanted at all costs without asking whose ox is gored as according to them, fighting against early girl child marriage and at the same time advocating for girl child education before marriage is to them a taboo.
“After escaping two failed attacks from the Boko Haram insurgents in Maiduguri on March 23, 2023 and August 4, 2024, she fled to Port Harcourt and lived with her sister, to hide from the insurgents, yet they traced her to Port Harcourt and also tried to kill her on two occasions”.
“I, the husband was called to come to the hospital to pick my wife after being discharged from the hospital and on arrival, the hospital authorities informed me that she had left and ever since then, I and other members of my family have never set our eyes on her again”.
According to Nnaji, “At this stage, we don’t know whether she is still alive or not or whether she was abducted by the insurgents while in the hospital or whether she fled by herself out of fear and I am therefore appealing to the security agencies and the general public to assist me in locating her whereabout as I am highly disturbed and dejected about the ugly scenario”.
“It is also pertinent to note that the family has even reported the matter to the police and the police are trailing her whereabout but to no avail as she is no where to be found at the moment and we are therefore using this medium to appeal to the general public and law enforcement agencies in particular to assist us in locating her whereabout either dead or alive”.
