Mystery deaths rock family in Warri over land tussle
If Godwin Ogbogbor, head of the Ogbogbor family of Effurun in Uvwie Local Government of Delta state, had known that leaving his home in Lagos to his ancestral home in Delta State on the morning of 28th of August, 2002 would cost him his life, he would not have embarked on the journey. Before the end of that day, he was kidnapped by suspected militants.
After several days in the hands of his captors, he was released with a stern warning never to return to the land.
Godwin didn’t heed the warning, determining that hoodlums cannot chase him from farming on his family land and residing in his home. Consequently, in 2008, approximately six years after he was initially kidnapped, tragedy struck. Pa Godwin on his way from the farm was accosted by some men who took him away to an unknown destination. Thus, began the frantic search by the rest of the family to know the where about of the old man.
Days turned into weeks, then months; two months after he went missing, his decomposed body was found with gunshot wounds confirming the worst fear of the family.
If the Ogbogbor family thought that was the end of their travails, they were wrong, like a cursed family, several male members of the family kept dropping dead in questionable manners.
In June this year, Vincent, the younger brother of late Godwin Ogbogbor, also dropped dead in a very bizarre manner.
Tracing the root cause of the tragedy that has continued to trail the family, Madam Agnes, an aunt to Godwin said trouble started when her cousin Godwin turned down overtures by another family to sell the family land.
The land measuring about 10 acres is reported to have been in the possession of the Ogbogbor family for decades and is alleged to be deposited with natural resources.
The discovery of the natural resources is thought to have been the catalyst of the tragedy that has befell the family as another family is alleged to be engulfed in a tussle with the Ogbogbor family for the ownership of the land.
The peculiar deaths the Ogbogbor family has witnessed has prompted the only surviving son of Pa Godwin, Joseph Ogbogbor who is next in line to inherit the family properties to flee the shores of Nigeria in a quest to save his life as he doesn’t want the same fate that befell other male members of his family to befall him.
Other members of the family are also said to be living in fear as they do not know what will happen to them next.
Madam Agnes who spoke to The Daily Times on the phone, was apprehensive over the safety of the rest of the members of the family, especially the male amongst them (as only male children inherit lands in their part of the land).
“I am worried about the safety of our son Joseph following the series of tragedy that has befallen our family; we just want him to be safe wherever he is,” she said.
As it stands, the safety of Joseph Ogbogbor is the most dominant thing on the minds of friends and relatives of the young man as ominous signs hover around him.
