In a heart-wrenching interview with PUNCH Media on Sunday, Godwin Udoh, a 54-year-old pastor at the Full Gospel Church of God in Egbeda, Lagos, recounted the tragic killing of his wife, Comfort, by a drunken policeman in 2015 and accused both the Nigeria Police Force and the judiciary of abandoning his family’s quest for justice.
Speaking to journalists Uthman Salami and Hiradat Hassan, Udoh detailed how Corporal Musiliu Aremu shot his wife dead and severely injured him over a ₦2,000 bribe, only to be released on bail and disappear, leaving the family in perpetual pain and trauma.
The incident occurred on September 15, 2015, as Udoh, his wife, and their four children returned from a church service in Ejigbo, Lagos. At Ijegun bus stop, Aremu, one of four policemen at a checkpoint, demanded ₦2,000 from Udoh, who explained that he had no money and was a pastor returning from worship. Despite another officer instructing the family to leave, Aremu, allegedly intoxicated, cocked his gun and opened fire. One bullet struck Udoh’s jaw and arm, while another fatally hit Comfort in the head, killing her instantly as she held their 11-month-old baby.
“They left us bleeding while my children were screaming,” Udoh recalled, noting that nearby hospitals refused treatment without a police report, forcing a Good Samaritan to drive him to the Police Area Command in Idimu. Despite assurances from the Area Commander and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) that emergency cases should be treated first, Igando General Hospital insisted on a police report, delaying care. Comfort’s body was later taken to Mainland Hospital, Yaba, while Udoh was admitted to Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), unaware that his wife had died.
Udoh revealed a litany of broken promises by the police. The IGP at the time pledged scholarships for his children up to university level, coverage of medical bills, and a monthly stipend. However, the scholarship certificate provided covered only primary school, and no further action was taken despite Udoh’s appeals to then-Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni. “They have not given me or my family a single kobo,” Udoh lamented, adding that an autopsy confirmed a police bullet killed his wife. He continues to suffer from a metal implant in his jaw, unable to chew solid food, with no funds for corrective surgery estimated at ₦7 million to ₦7.5 million in 2017.
The pastor’s pursuit of justice has been equally frustrating. Aremu and his colleagues were initially arraigned at the Ebute Meta Magistrates’ Court, but the case stalled as the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) delayed its legal advice. Udoh later discovered that Aremu had been granted bail of ₦1 million by a judge at Ikeja High Court, without notifying the court handling the substantive case. “They deliberately freed him,” Udoh alleged, noting that searches across Lagos prisons yielded no trace of Aremu, who remains at large. The judge threatened to arrest Aremu’s sureties, but no action followed.
In 2020, Udoh won a fundamental rights suit at the Federal High Court, securing a ₦100 million compensation order against the police. However, the then-Attorney General appealed, citing insufficient time to study the case, and the matter is now set for hearing at the Court of Appeal on April 31, 2025. “₦100 million cannot return my wife or restore the family,” Udoh said, highlighting the ongoing trauma, particularly for his eldest daughter, who suffers convulsions from the shock of witnessing her mother’s death and requires psychiatric care.
Udoh expressed profound disillusionment with the police, stating, “I felt disappointed with the Nigeria Police. How can you give a gun to a drunk?” He also criticized the judiciary for enabling Aremu’s release, questioning whether the officer’s status as a policeman influenced the outcome. Describing Comfort as a supportive entrepreneur and devoted mother, Udoh said his children continue to demand justice, asking each Mother’s Day, “Where is the policeman who killed our mother?”
The pastor, who has not remarried, called for urgent intervention to fund his jaw surgery and his daughter’s treatment, urging the police and government to honor their commitments. Legal experts and human rights groups have since renewed calls for accountability, citing Udoh’s case as emblematic of systemic failures in addressing police brutality and ensuring justice for victims.
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