SEIMA Godoz, son of retired Nigerian Air Force (NAF) squadron leader Helen Godoz, who died during an attack by yet-to-be-identified gunmen in Jos on December 22, has narrated how his mother was killed in cold blood.
In an interview with The ICIR on Tuesday, December 27, Godoz explained that his mother was not struggling with the gunmen when she was killed.
He debunked reports that his mother died while trying to rescue him from abductors.
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“It was on the 22nd, a Thursday. I came in from Abuja at about 3:00 pm and was with her all day. I had just finished taking a bath at about 7:00 pm when I heard her shouting by the front door. I ran out to meet her. Some boys were there and she was already in a pool of blood. Before I could run towards them, they shot me,” he said.
Godoz confirmed that he and his mother were the only occupants of their residence in Jos North, Plateau State, at the time of the incident, adding that he was abducted after he was shot in the chest.
He noted that his abductors, who were four in number, led him on a long journey into the hills, where he was held captive until his release two days later.
“They told me to kneel down after taking me into the hills and asked if I had N100 million or they would kill me. I was scared and told them not to kill me. So they turned on the phone they took, and called my family to provide the money,” he said.
Upon his release, he was handed over to security operatives and is currently receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.
“The reports going around are inaccurate. The incident happened on the 22nd, and I was released on Christmas Eve, about forty-eight hours later,” he said.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.