More often than not, the death of a breadwinner impacts negatively on the wellbeing and continued upkeep of the members of a family.

In some cases, the unexpected demise of the main provider in a family could mean that the person next to him or her in hierarchy takes up the challenge of taking care of other family members.

This happened to be Juliet Okwudili’s lot when her husband, who was a Lagos State-based trader, died under mysterious circumstances in July 2023.

After her husband was buried in his hometown in the Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State, family members contributed some money on her behalf so she could temporarily sustain herself and her three young children.

In her attempt to find a bit of solace while still grieving her husband’s death, Okwudili left Enugu in late 2023, travelling to her sister’s place in Akute, Ogun State.

It was while Okwudili was in Akute that she was introduced to Lucky Michael, a Nasarawa State-born motorcycle operator, by her sister.

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After the introduction, Okwudili was told Lucky could help her buy a motorcycle for commercial purposes.

Convinced that the venture could help meet her financial needs as a widow, Okwudili gave Lucky N600,000 to help her purchase a brand new motorcycle.

Unknown to her, however, Lucky had other plans.

OKWUDILI’S TALE

In an interview with FIJ, 30-year-old Okwudili said she never thought Lucky could abscond with her N600,000, despite knowing what she was going through as a widow.

“After my husband’s demise, and while leaving our village for my sister’s place in Akute, Ogun State, family members contributed some money and handed the total sum they could gather to me,” Okwudili said.

“The money was meant for me and my three children’s upkeep. The plan was for me to manage the sum with my children until it was time for me to return to the village for traditional cleansing.

“When I arrived at my sister’s place, I was introduced to Lucky Michael, a Nasarawa State-born motorcycle operator. He happened to be living in the same compound.

“As the conversation went on, I was told Lucky could help me buy an Okada for commercial purposes. I was told he could help me purchase it, use it to carry passengers and deliver returns to me at the end of every week.

“I bought into the business idea and gave N600,000 to Lucky for the purchase of the motorcycle.

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“To my utmost surprise, however, Lucky absconded with the money without buying the Okada as promised.”

WHEN THE MATTER WAS REPORTED AT AJUWON POLICE STATION

Segun Ajumobi, the pastor of a church very close to where Okwudili and her sister reside in Akute, told FIJ that Lucky’s act was promptly reported to the police when it was discovered he had absconded with the widow’s money.

“I got to know Mrs. Okwudili after she moved to her sister’s place in Akute last year,” said Ajumobi.

“She would come to my church, and I would pray for her and her children.

“When Lucky collected the N600,000 from the widow, he ran away with the sum. We gathered that he also ran away with other people’s money as well. This happened in December.

“When this happened, we went to Ajuwon Police Station to lodge a formal complaint, and the police officers we met told us they would work on the case.

“After about a week, Lucky was arrested by the police.

“While Lucky was in police custody, we would always visit the station to request an update on the matter.

“On one of such days, however, the police officers we met on duty said Lucky was ill and needed to be taken to a hospital.

“Surprisingly, one of the officers also asked us to bring N10,000 so they could use it to settle Lucky’s medical bill.

“We felt the request the police made was not right and decided not to give them the money. How can we be paying for the treatment of someone we came to report to you after he had defrauded a widow?”

‘LUCKY NO LONGER IN POLICE CUSTODY’

According to Ajumobi, Lucky is no longer in policy custody.

“Now, we can no longer see any evidence that Lucky is still in police custody. We also have it on good authority that he has been released and has secretly fled to Nasarawa State,” said Ajumobi.

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“I really need to let you know Mrs.Okwudili’s condition after she was defrauded.

“N600,000 was the entire amount of money that was contributed and given to her by family members. The idea was for her to be able to take care of herself and her children.

“Now, the money is gone, and the police are not even helping matters, going by what we have witnessed so far.”

FIJ CONTACTED THE POLICE

When FIJ called “Inspector Abbey” and “ASP Obi”, two Ajuwon Police Station officers believed to be aware of the incident, for comments on Wednesday, the former’s phone line was switched off. The text message that was also sent to him had not been responded to at press time.

ASP Obi, on the other hand, answered the phone call placed to him but claimed he knew nothing about the matter.

“I do not know anything about the matter. And Inspector Abbey, who may know something, is also indisposed at the moment,” said Obi.

“If you wish to follow up on the case, you can physically come down to our station.”

When FIJ contacted Omolola Odutola, the police spokesperson for Ogun State on the matter, she requested that Okwudili reach out to her personally just so the matter could be resolved.

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Okwudili subsequently made phone calls to Odutola as recommended on Wednesday, but the latter would claim she was in a meeting and would only entertain messages sent via SMS.

An SMS detailing the incident was sent to her on Wednesday, but she had not responded to it at press time.

The widow and Pastor Ajumobi also called the PPRO’s line on two different occasions on Thursday, but the calls were not answered.

AT THE MOMENT

At the moment, no one knows where Lucky Michael is.

One thing is, however, certain: He has not honoured the agreement he had with a widow trying to survive with her three young children.

Unfortunately, no one has his pictures or knows where he might be in Nasarawa State or who his relatives are.

The police in Ajuwon have not also been able to convince anyone that Lucky is still in their custody.

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“Please help me out. My children have not been going to school as a result of what Lucky did to me,” Okwudili told FIJ.