Amazing Incident In The Book: Henry Ameh, Papa the Footballer
An Unidentified Corpse Made Its Way to My Village As Me …
But then instead of taking the unidentifiable corpse to a mortuary in Anyigba for announcement on Radio Kogi, with this information, Isah directed that they go to Idah that in Idah they might get clue to the identity of the mutilated corpse. So, they headed to Idah. When they got to Ugwolawo, they dropped the corpse of the woman and moved on to Ajaka.
With Henry’s popularity, by the timethey got to Ajaka, the news had spread that Henry had died in the road accident. And so, when they got to Ajaka at about 8pm and dropped the corpse of the student conductor, the youths of Ajaka boarded the bus that was conveying the injured passengers. On getting to Idah, the convoy drove to Tony Achimugu’s house, uncle to Henry.
Achimugu was alone at home when the convoy arrived his house that night. The boy staying with him had gone out of the house that night. When the news was broken to him that Henry had died in a road accident and that they had brought his corpse, he shouted and burst into crying. He became uncontrollable. Confused on what next to do, they decided to convey the corpse to Odolu. So, they left Achimugu’s house and headed off to Odolu that same night. One other uncle of Henry, John Marshall Enemaku, living close to Achimugu, himself and other relatives who were staying within that vicinity moments later rushed to Achimugu’s house and he told them what had happened. They got a car and fuelled it and left for Odolu that very moment.
On their way, when they got to Ogbobo they saw some group of people on the roadside and asked them if they saw two buses drove pass. They replied that they did not see two buses drive pass. They then turned back and returned to Idah. When the two buses got to Odolu junction, they packed. The youths and the NURTW officials alighted from the bus they boarded and walked to Henry’s father compound. When they got into the compound, one of the NURTW officials knocked on the front door of the house. Henry’s father heard the knock and opened the door and came out. He saw group of young boys with few men among them.
Some of the young boys he knew and others he did not know. After the exchange of greetings, the spokesperson of the group moved forward and said to Henry’s father that they were in his house to inform him that his son, Henry was involved in road accident and has a fracture and that they are taking him to Nsukka for treatment, and the bus conveying him to hospital in Nsukka is packed at the junction. The junction is a stone throw to Henry’s father house.
Having heard what, they said, Henry’s father called one of his sons, Emmanuel to accompany him to
the junction. Half way to the junction, the eldest man among them turned to Henry’s father and told him, ‘Baba, you are a man. What we brought is a dead body all the way from Tarfa, Kaduna road. One of the injured passengers said the corpse is your son. And we cannot allow it to be buried anyhow there in Tarfa that was why we have brought his corpse home for you to identify it, if truly he is your son. Henry’s father said, ‘okay’ and that they should go. And they continued their walk towards the junction. They got to the junction and door of the bus carrying the decomposing mutilated corpse was opened and a touch light was put on. Henry’s father looked at the decomposing corpse and said to the group that the finger of the decomposing corpse does not look like that of his son Henry but let the corpse be taken to the village. They all got into the bus and drove into Ollah.
Meanwhile, the local government election that was held on Saturday March 27, 2003 was characterized with violence. When the two buses approached the village, the villagers on sighting the two buses started running into the bush. When the buses arrived the village and packed, the youths and elders alighted from the bus, one of the youths from Odolu who had joined the others from Odolu was able to recognize one of Henry’s cousins, Cordelia. He called her by her name and she answered him and went and met him.
They spoke, having recognized one of the youths, Cordelia called on the villagers not to panic and that they should come out of hiding that it is a dead body that they have brought to the village. The villagers heeded her call and came out of hiding and converged around the two buses. As earlier mentioned, the accident occurred on Monday, on the same day Henry had left Idah for Gboko. When he got to school, he was tired and slept off. The next day, his friend, Bameyi Egene who was requesting for money for his school project from his elder brother in Kaduna came to Henry’s place at about 10pm. He asked Henry to accompany him to NITEL in Gboko, so that he could call his brother through NITEL phone booth facility. Henry drove him and they got to NITEL using 100units call card, Bameyi put a call across to his brother, and made his request. At the end of his discussion with his brother, the unit that was remaining was just about 10 units. He then told Henry that he could use the remaining units to call his wife. Henry collected the call card and inserted it and dialed his GSM number, he had dropped his phone with his wife. Gboko was yet to be connected to the GSM network.
His wife was pregnant then. The phone rang, and she picked the call. They exchanged pleasantries, and Henry apologized for not calling her when he arrived school. She asked him if he was able to buy the fairly used tyre he sought to buy for his car; he answered her that he did. They continued their discussion till the unit got exhausted.
Back in Ollah, the NURTW officials had dropped the corpse and were on their way back to Idah. How to
identify the corpse became a serious issue among the villagers and family members? Some said the corpse was Henry, others disagreed. Others were of the opinion that if any son or daughter of the soil died there was a way the village feel the grieve of such death but for this, none of the villagers showed any sign of grieve but rather a very strange feeling.
When the NURTW officials dropped the corpse and were to leave, one of Henry’s cousins by name Abuka followed them to Idah. They arrived Idah at about 2am, and he went straight to Marshal’s house and knocked on the door. When Marshall opened the door, he saw Abuka standing. He asked him where is he from, and Abuka answered him that he was from the village. What had happened, Marshall asked Abuka. Abuka told him what had happened. Henry was in Marshal’s shop in Idah with some of the people that had participated in the election.
So, it was strange for Marshall to hear that Henry had died in a road accident om a commercial bus along Kaduna road. He then decided to send Abuka to Yandev where Henry was schooling. Earlier part of that day, Abuka left for Yandev.
After Henry had finished speaking with his wife at about midnight, Mrs. Philo Idumajogwu who was then secretary to the then SUBEB chairman, put a phone call through to Henry’s wife. When the phone rang, she picked the call and was wondering why Mrs. Idumajogwu was calling her by this time of the night. When they got into discussion, Mrs. Idumajogwu inquired from Henry’s wifeif her husband was home for the local government election. Henry’s wife answered her that he was at Lokoja but travelled home after the election. Mrs. Idumajogwu said, ‘okay’ and dropped the call. After some few seconds she called back again, and asked Henry’s wife if she had spoken with her husband. Henry wife told her she did that she had finished speaking with her husband not quite long before her own call came through to her. Mrs. Idumajogwu insisted if she was sure that she spoke to her husband over the phone. Henry’s wife became apprehensive and asked her, why was she asking her in that manner. Mrs. Idumajogwu then told her that there was an accident that happened along Kaduna road and one of the dead passenger’s corpses was in the village as they spoke and that they said it is her husband’s corpse.
Henry’s wife said, ‘no’ that can’t be her husband’s corpse. Mrs. Idumajogwu then said to her that it was okay if she was sure that she had spoken with her husband and that she could go back to bed. But Henry’s wife could not sleep any longer. All sign of sleep had left her eyes. She became worried, and began to wonder if she had just spoken to the ghost of her husband. Few minutes after, she got another call through Thuraya phone call. “Those days, phone calls were only in NITEL offices, there was no NITEL office, let alone phone booth at Ollah village. I happened to be at home and we were able to use this “TURAYA” digital phone which could call from anywhere no matter how remote, to contact our people in Lokoja,” recalled B.O.B Ochai. The voice at the other end asked her if she knew the voice that was speaking to her. She replied that she did not. And, the man at other end introduced himself that he is B.O.B Ochai, a friend to her father in-law and the chairman during her wedding reception. After that introduction, he then asked Henry’s wife what did she tell Mrs. Idumajogwu. Henry’s wife replied that she told her that she had just finished speaking with her husband when her own phone call came through to her. Mr. Ochai then gave his phone to Henry’s father and he spoke with Henry’s wife. She told him that the corpse that they brought was not her husband, and that they should not bury it. After hearing that, the elders of the village gathered and had a meeting.
At the end of the meeting they decided to bury the decomposing corpse. Recollecting, B.O.B Ochai said, “Having confirmed our own “Henry” to have safely returned to studies at Yandev hale and hearty. Their “Henry” was eventually buried somewhere in the village, it was already decomposing.” meanwhile Abuka arrived Yandev and headed straight to the school.
More details in the book: Henry Ameh, Papa the Footballer
The book is billed for launching on Saturday, July 4, 2026 at Goshen Hotel, Ganaja Road, Lokoja at 1.00pm
