The quiet village of Ndiagu Amofia Umuhu, Eha-Amufu, Isi-Uzo LGA, Enugu State, has been plunged into mourning after Deacon Donatus Ndubuisi, fondly called “Ofunwa,” was brutally killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen on February 28, 2025.
Ndubuisi, the only child of his widowed mother, Mrs. Oreku Odogbunwebe, had returned home to visit her and help with farm work when tragedy struck. That morning, mother and son harvested cassava, yam, and cowpeas together, unaware that it would be their last moments together.
Gunshots rang out in the distance, but they paid little attention—until a closer shot changed everything. Ndubuisi’s uncle, working in a nearby palm plantation, was shot. In the panic, Ndubuisi and his mother ran in different directions, not realizing he had been fatally hit.
Hours later, a search party found his lifeless body. His devastated mother recounted the heartbreaking moment she realized her only source of joy and support was gone. “My own lineage and his lineage have just closed because he was my only child,” she lamented.
A university graduate waiting to begin his national youth service, Ndubuisi was also a skilled photographer and electrician. His mother had urged him to marry, but he always replied, “Who will support me?”
Now homeless and struggling, Oreku has pleaded for help. “I need shelter, food, and clothes. I have nothing left,” she said, as she accused the government of neglect. Officials visited her but were more interested in questioning whether she had seen the attackers than in offering assistance.
The attack is part of a growing wave of violence in the region, with herdsmen accused of deadly raids on villages. Many in Enugu blame the government for failing to protect citizens, and the community remains on edge, fearing further violence.
For Oreku, no justice can bring back her son. “There’s nothing anyone can do to make me forget him,” she said, her grief echoing the pain of countless families affected by Nigeria’s escalating security crisis.
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