Since the gruesome murder of the Chief Security Officer of the Amiesimaka Adokiye Stadium, Jeminiwa Richard Timothy, and his 23-year-old son, Silas, by suspected assassins in his house at Igwuruta Town, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, the victim’s widow and other family members are yet to recover from the shock. Blessing Ibunge, who spoke with the widow,reports that she is appealing to the Inspector General of Police, the government at state and federal levels, and the international community to ensure that the victims get justice
“My son had just graduated from the University of Port Harcourt. The day of his burial was the day his project was brought home. They killed him and his father the same day. I don’t know where to start. Every day of my life, I’m in pain. Please, find justice for me,” lamented the widow of the slain CSO of the Amiesimaka Adokiye Stadium, Jeminiwa Timothy, as tears streamed down her cheeks.
On Friday, January 31, 2025, the joy and peace of a family of five was cut short. Mr. Jeminiwa Richard Timothy, a retired Corporal with the Nigerian Army and at the time the Chief Security Officer of the Amiesimaka Adokiye Stadium in Rivers State, had gone out in his Hilux van alongside his wife, Mrs. Jeminiwa Grace Ebun, leaving their children in the care of their eldest son, 23-year-old Silas.
At about 9 p.m. the same day, what should have been a joyful welcome home turned into a bloody nightmare. Suspected assassins, allegedly targeting the CSO, had already struck. Silas, believing it was his parents at the gate, opened it to usher them in, unaware it was a group of trigger-happy gunmen. Acting on alleged orders, they shot the young graduate dead before realising he was not their intended target.
Realising their mistake, the gunmen reportedly exclaimed: “We have killed the wrong target.” Confusion arose among them, but with no immediate security response, they decided to wait for the real target. When Jeminiwa Timothy and his wife arrived, they were initially puzzled by the presence of strangers in front of their home, but it was too late to reverse their vehicle. The armed men, spotting the Hilux, immediately ambushed them, approached the intended target, and shot him twice in the forehead. The breadwinner and father of a peaceful family had been cut down.
It was a horrifying sight for his wife, whom they initially attempted to abduct. However, on second thought, they released her, it was not a kidnapping but a targeted killing. They instead hurried to assist one of their gang members, who had earlier been shot in the leg for killing the wrong target.
A Widow’s Recollection
Rejecting the claim by police that it was a kidnapping and not assassination, the widow who recently buried her slain husband and son in Ayetoro Gbede, in Ijumu LGA of Kogi State, cried that since the incident she has been living in pain. She lamented that her 60-year-old husband was innocently killed, and recalled that there had been previous threats and attacks on the state government property he was securing.
She recounted one of the earlier incidents that she believes may have led to the killing: “One of the times they looted from that stadium, around 5 a.m., somebody called my husband that they came to loot there. He didn’t go with the car, only with a torchlight.
“Immediately he got to the stadium before the suspect, the man told him to turn off his torchlight. My husband moved towards him, held him by his trousers, and asked what he was doing there at that time. The man said to Oga Timo, ‘I don’t know how to say na you. I came to your house knocking when they were looting.’ In the end, he said he knew the people who came but didn’t participate.
“My husband then called the neighbours and the father of the suspect, saying it would not be right for the boy to end up in prison through him. He told the father to talk to his son to stop going there to loot. Another time, he arrested someone else at the stadium.
“When they questioned him, he claimed he was a soldier, but they later found out he was a student. My husband handed him over to the DPO, CSP Emmanuel Ifeanyi. The next day, the DPO called my husband, saying there was ‘power from above’ ordering the suspect’s release. My husband objected. Within 24 or 36 hours, another set came, arriving in a self-loader SUV.”
She said her husband was at home when he got another call that people were at the stadium. When he arrived, he found the driver of the SUV was a retired soldier. Inside the vehicle, there was a military uniform, cutter, and gas cylinder, items she believes were intended for an attack. Her husband took the items to the police station.
“The next day, when my husband and the stadium accountant, Mr. Adewunmi, went to write a statement, they found people already preparing to tow away the SUV. The DPO said he wanted to bring the Commissioner. My husband asked why, since he had not even written his own statement yet. When he tried to take pictures of the plate number and the items, the police stopped him,” she said.
Mrs. Jeminiwa alleged that despite repeated reports of attacks on the stadium, the police downplayed the incidents. She said the company managing the stadium, Deux Project Limited, eventually directed her husband to move their materials to another yard. While they were doing so, police tried to arrest his workers despite being shown documents permitting the removal.
She firmly believes the killing of her husband was connected to his steadfastness in protecting the stadium:“As my husband was in that stadium, that’s why they have not emptied it. Everybody there knows that Timothy was the one that held that stadium. Rivers people should please help me to find justice for the killing of my son and my husband. I’m traumatised every day of my life. They should not leave me alone.”
She said the police arrived more than an hour after the killing, by which time her son had died in hospital. “I don’t believe in the case of kidnapping, because a kidnapper will take someone away and demand ransom. In this case, they came straight to shoot him in the head and chest. One of them, while trying to help his wounded colleague, told me they came for the man who drove the Hilux, not for me.”
Mrs. Jeminiwa said she is not satisfied with the police investigation, alleging that her and her husband’s phones remain with the police without any progress in tracking suspects. “These people are not kidnappers. They are hired assassins. The autopsy showed they shot my husband in the head and chest, and my son too. From the look of things, someone was inside the house, and when they entered, they first shot my son before my husband.”
She recounted that as they approached home that fateful day, she and her husband heard gunshots. “By the time we reached the house, I saw my husband face down. They started taking him towards the stadium. I was shouting, ‘God of Adeboye, is this how my family will end?’ One of them shouted at me to shut up. They later told me, ‘Nor be you we dey find, na that man wey carry Hilux.’ They dropped me, and neighbours came out to help. My other children only came out after hearing my cries.”
The attackers took her phone, wallet, bank cards, car documents, and her husband’s military ID, which she said she was yet to recover till now.
Police Reaction to the Incident
Following the incident, which occurred on 31 January, the Rivers State Police Command, through its spokesperson, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, issued a statement saying that the Command had commenced investigation into the killing of the father and son.
In her words, SP Iringe-Koko said: “The Rivers State Police Command is aware of a tragic incident which occurred on 31 January 2025, at about 23:40 hrs in Rivers State, where one Timothy, a 59-year-old Chief Security Officer (CSO) of Adokiye Amiesimaka International Stadium, Omagwa, Port Harcourt, and his first son were brutally murdered by unknown gunmen.
“The Igwuruta Division of the Rivers State Police Command received a report from Omolara, Timothy’s daughter, stating that four unknown gunmen ambushed her father and brother, shooting them severely in the head, which resulted in their deaths. The police swiftly responded to the scene, recovering three expended AK-47 cartridges. The victims were rushed to hospital, but unfortunately succumbed to their injuries and were confirmed dead by the doctor on duty.”
The police spokesperson assured that the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olugbenga Adepoju, had directed the deployment of all necessary intelligence to apprehend the fleeing suspects and bring them to justice. On March 11, 2025, however, the Command issued a fresh statement revealing that some suspects had been arrested in connection with the crime, but claimed there was confusion over whether it was a kidnapping.
In that statement, SP Iringe-Koko explained: “Following a series of kidnapping incidents within the Rukpokwu, Igwuruta, Omagwa, and Etche areas, operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, acting on actionable intelligence, conducted a coordinated operation on 8 March 2025, commencing at approximately 09:30 a.m.
“The operation lasted eight hours and resulted in the arrest of the following men: Mohammadu Bello (30), from Padiki LGA of Kwara State, residing in Rukpokwu; Suleman Umar (26), from Hadeja LGA of Jigawa State, residing in Rukpokwu; Bello Amadu (35), from Keffi-Hausa LGA of Jigawa State, residing in Rukpokwu; Adamu Musa (30), from Hadeja LGA of Jigawa State, residing in Rukpokwu; and Abubakar Mohammed (22), from Azare LGA of Bauchi State, residing in Rukpokwu.”
She added:“During interrogation, the suspects confessed to multiple kidnapping activities, including the tragic killing of the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in Omagwa, where the CSO and his son were murdered in cold blood. The suspects are currently in police custody and are cooperating with investigators.”
She further noted that efforts were ongoing to uncover details of other crimes committed by the syndicate and to arrest others still at large.
Mysterious Death of Arrested Suspects
While the deceased’s family awaited the outcome of the investigation, Mrs. Jeminiwa said they were later informed by the police that the suspects arrested in connection with the incident had died in a gun battle when they led officers to their hideout. This development, she said, reinforced the family’s belief that it was a well-planned attack on a man who had served with dedication to protect state government property, even as a native of Kogi State.
Appeal for Justice
In tears, she made her final appeal: “I’m calling on the Nigerian government, the Inspector General of Police, all parents, and the Rivers State Governor to find justice for me. I stayed 22 years in Port Harcourt, but see how they paid me back. My son had just graduated from the University of Port Harcourt. The day of his burial was when his project was brought home. They killed him and his father the same day. I’m traumatised every day of my life. Please, find justice for me. My husband was a retired Corporal, and that was why the Nigerian Army buried him on 7 March this year.”
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