Wrong target or bulls’ eye, kidnap or assassination mission?

The city of Port Harcourt woke up last Friday to hear that a suspect has been arrested by SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad) for the assassination of Ken Atsuete.

Many accounts have been poured out on the killing of the foremost human rights lawyer in Port Harcourt, this last Monday, August 29, 2016, but what is not in doubt is that Ken (as he is fondly called) is no more. The first point to clear is that he was killed at about 5am on the fateful day, not 8pm the previous evening (Sunday) as some versions claimed.

Ken had a property at Aluu, away from the entrance to the Uniport from Delta Park. The road is bushy, eerie and lonely, from an earth road off the bend to the right. The visitor must drive through a borrow-fit that gives the feeling of Milking Hill in Enugu. Ken lives alone there, his family abroad, but there is a pastor neighbour, the closest to his building.

The pastor was returning home in the evening with his wife only to be accosted at his gate by some bike-riding hit-men. He had called his daughter to come open the gate, but the armed men intervened. They asked the wife to lie down and drove off with the pastor. Ken and the abducted man’s wife and family spent the night brooding.

Soon, the pastor called his wife to come pick him up. Ken reviewed the scenario and urged her not to go out that night. It was to be revealed by the pastor that the men called their contacts to announce they had got the man and that the boat should be made ready. The abducted pastor also said he had to convince his abductors he was not Ken but a mere pastor. He said the men pushed him out after taking his things (excluding the phone?).

Ken persuaded the wife to persuade the husband to lie low wherever he was till morning. By 5am, Ken asked the woman to hop into his Jeep to go look for the husband. As they drove along the bushy road, a Camry overtook them and ordered a stop. They went off with both of them. Soon, the account continued, they again asked the woman to lie down. They seemed to change their minds and pushed her down. Soon, she heard a shot. Ken was dead.

The killing has set tongues wagging once again in a state that has been awash with blood of the innocents and the not-so-innocent. Were the killers after the human rights lawyer or the pastor? In a place with two men, the visitors got both of them and freed one. Many thus think the killers eventually got who they had in mind. The first capture could be wrong, and the pastor has to thank his God because not many survive mistaken identify in assassination or abduction jobs.

Many ask why Ken was active in Rivers environment, wondering if he was an indigene of Rivers State. It was revealed that no, he is an Itsekiri (Delta State), but his mother is from Rivers State. ‘Ah, he is an authentic man’, they agreed.

If the killers were kidnappers as the first police theory suggested, there was no account of demand for ransom at any time. As soon as they threw out the neighbour’s wife, they shot him.

Could the killers used the pastor as a bait to trap Ken? Many think so, but how on earth did they rely on the hope that Ken would accompany the woman, even if he was known for bravado as a human rights activist? On the other hand, if the abductors collected ‘everything’ from the pastor before pushing him out, how come the man still had a phone to make calls? But, if the killers wanted Ken so badly, why did they wait to any time he would come out, instead of returning to the house to hunt for him?

Many journalists are wondering why Ken failed to escape after his neighbour had been captured or even when he was freed? Many said they would have fled the area till the next day, but Ken didn’t. He rather was the one who asked the woman to wait till morning and he also asked her to arise and join to go fetch the husband.

Ken was a human rights lawyer but he was also seen as an APC lawyer. The APC, in charging against his killing, admitted he was the lawyer for an APC chieftain, Flag Amachree, standing trial and incarcerated for his actions during an election in Buguma against the PDP. Yes, a lawyer is free to fight on any side but when this is consistent, it could give out a whiff.

The APC deputy chairman, Peter Obite, said Ken had got many threat text messages. The police may look into this. He also said Ken had in a recent radio programme threatened to expose how the PDP got the federal high court injunction against INEC and the APC in the Tai rerun election saga. The injunction came when the courts were on vacation and Ken said he would prove things that happened. The APC says he would never live to expose those things, and pointed fingers to those who could benefit from his death. So, threatening to expose the court injunction deals, was this legal activism, political activism or still human rights job?

If the killers were truly kidnappers, did Ken fight them, could he fight them? If they were kidnappers, why did they not ask for ransom?

Many have asked why Ken lived in such a lonely place in a city flowing with blood and honey, as if a citizen had no right to live in quiet and lonely places. When he acquired the place, the city may have been safe. Or, it could be a favour from those he assisted because Ken was ready to throw in with any oppressed group.

The road to his house is lonely and eerie-looking but he may have relied on his rapport with the environment (local boys). Did this fail him or did new boys come in for action?

Ken is dead but looking for his killers would be the new CP’s neat job. This would bring pressure as both the APC and the PDP would want his ears actions in certain ways but his name (Foluso Adebanjo), is important at this moment. Though just two months, eight days old in the state, Adebanjo must move fast and prove his mettle as a CP with this case, beyond being a bomb expert.

So far, an arm of the police, Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), has hinted on radio of an arrest of someone they said was involved in the dastardly act. They have added a twist, saying there was huge pressure from official quarters to release the suspect. Who know how the pressure is coming, whether it involves offer of huge sums.

Rivers State has only two official quarters: The state government run by the PDP/Wike and the FG run by APC/Buhari/Amaechi. The SARS did not disclose which arm was arm-twisting them. Details would continue to emerge, however, as the human rights community has taken over.

The debate resumes; is Rivers safe or unsafe? Are reports of killings and massive violence real or fabricated by the press for the opposition? Keep your answers to yourself, or ask Ken.