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• My late brother took care of my kids and I since my husband died –Deceased’s elder sister
From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
Mrs Eucharia Nwaji is at the moment a sad woman. She is broken and in perpetual state of distress.
But that is not unexpected. The aged woman is the mother of Jeremiah Amuche Nwaji, one of those who lost their lives in the tanker explosion that occurred in Enugu State on Saturday January 25 2025.
The late Nwaji
On that day, Jeremiah Nwaji was burnt to death alongside his wife, six children, his younger brother, Chiemerie and two maids. They were on their way to Ebonyi State for the burial of Jeremiah’s father when the monumental calamity struck.
Mrs Nwaji, the distraught woman, is gradually picking herself up and coming to terms with the reality. At an encounter with Saturday Sun, she said when she thought that things were getting better for her after losing five of her initial 12 children, she didn’t know that things would rather get worse by losing Jeremiah, who she described as her pillar and that of her surviving children, plus her youngest son, Chiemerie, her daughter-in-law and six grandchildren.
Jeremiah and his entire family were returning to Ebonyi State from Onitsha, Anambra State for the burial of his father, Chief Augustine Nwaji, when a tanker filled up with petrol exploded on the Ugwu-Onyeama axis of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway and razed the Toyota Sienna in which they were travelling, killing all 11 occupants immediately..
About six other vehicles were affected by the explosion with more than 20 lives lost so far.
The remains of Jeremiah Nwaji and those of his family have since been buried. Ashes taken from inside their ill-fated vehicle were put in different caskets and given symbolic burials.
The Nwajis were buried in their Agbaja Abofia residence, Ebonyi Local Government Area, Ebonyi State two days after the incident. Tears flowed uncontrollably when their caskets were lined up in the Nwaji compound for burial..
After their burial, the reporter visited the Nwaji family and interacted with Mrs. Eucharia Nwaji, the aged mother of the deceased.
The woman and some members of the family, as well as her friends, were preparing for the burial of Chief Augustine Nwaji, her husband, when our correspondent visited.
The patriarch was buried on Friday, January 31 in his compound after a Christian wake the previous day.
The distraught woman lamented that the disaster has created a big vacuum in her life and the entire family.
She said she was always consoled by the late Jeremiah Nwaji after she had lost five of her 12 children, recalling that he always insisted that things would get better for her and the entire family. She regretted that when things actually started getting better, the worse happened in her life, leaving her devastated, hopeless and helpless.
She alleged that Jeremiah’s death was spiritually manipulated. In her words, enemies have been after her family.
She disclosed that there have been sacrifices in front of the gate of the Nwaji compound. She said some strange items, including pieces of red and white clothes, some traditional items for sacrifice like nzu (native chalk), and eggs were always scattered outside the compound.
She said N50 notes were usually kept around those items whenever the sacrifices were made in front of the gate and the back of the compound.
Said she: “I have cried, cried and cried for what happened to my son Jeremiah, his wife, six children, brother and maids.
“At a time I thought they would return home. I thought it was a dream and that it was not true they were dead because of Jeremiah’s deep faith in God. He was a devout Christian who worshipped God will all his strength and never joked about anything concerning God. So, I thought he was not dead.
“But it dawned on me that Jeremiah and his entire family and his brother were actually dead when their caskets were lined up in our compound for the burial. I don’t know who he offended or who his father offended that caused this calamity. His father was a nice man too who never looked for anybody’s trouble. So, I don’t know who was responsible for this calamity that befell us like this.
“People didn’t want him to be alive and bury his father, people are envious of him because of his steady progress in life.
“Jeremiah’s death pains me so much. His death and that of his entire family pains me so much. I have cried a lot and summoned courage to endure it so that those who have been after my family will be put to shame. I lost five children before Jeremiah, his brother and entire family own and their deaths are not ordinary. People are responsible for their untimely deaths.
“Some were saying that I was no longer alive, that I have died. Some said I no longer wake up since the incident occurred and I was hearing all those things. This forced me to be strong, though it’s not easy for me. But I have to be strong.
“When I lost my five children, my surviving children, including Jeremiah, have been consoling me, assuring me that things will get better.
“When I thought that things have gone better, the worst happened and I lost Jeremiah who was my pillar and that of his siblings. Jeremiah was our breadwinner, he was a hustler, so caring and humble. He loved impacting life,” she said.
Jeremiah’s elder sister, Edith Chiamaka Onyibe, who lost her husband in an accident on the same Ugwu Onyama axis of Enugu -Onitsha Expressway in 2005, told Saturday Sun that the deceased treated her like his husband.
She lamented that no one could fill the gap that the death of Jeremiah created in her life, described him as caring, gentle, humble, hardworking, sincere and a true Christian.
The mother of three said: “My brother Jeremiah Amuche Nwaji had no problem. He was the quiet type. He was not a troublesome person. The only thing that preoccupied his mind was God and his business.
“My brother was a true Christian. He helped whoever that came his way. He was a nice person. Our entire family is a Christian family and Jeremiah was always at the forefront of our Christian life, he was behaving like our father who didn’t joke with things of God.
“Jeremiah was a very humble person, he was so humble that you hardly know he was very rich. He related with everyone and this was why he decided to return home and join the youths of our village for community work in preparation for our father’s burial that Saturday the incident occurred. He decided to come home and join our youths so that he would not be seen behaving as a big man if he didn’t participate in the community work.
“He was supposed to return on Sunday but because he didn’t want to be seen as avoiding the work, he decided to return on that Saturday of the incident. He was very caring and considerate. Jeremiah attended secondary school and stopped there. His results were not good and he resolved not to further his education.
“Jeremiah said that instead of him to be wasting money on furthering his education, he would rather drop out and use the money to sponsor us his siblings as first son of our family. And he did what he said and trained all of us in school after learning a skill and establishing himself.
“My brother has been the one taking care of my three children that my husband left behind after his death in 2005. My husband died in the same Ugwu Onyama where Jeremiah died. My husband was a truck driver. He had an accident on that Ugwu Onyama road and died.
“Since my husband’s death, Jeremiah has been the one shouldering the responsibility. He treated me as if I was his wife. He did everything for me to ensure that I was not missing my husband. I don’t have anyone to be talking care of me and my three children now that he’s dead”
“One of my sons was preparing for Junior West African Examination Council and his school asked him to pay N100,000 in order to participate in the examination. He is attending a Catholic school and my brother Jeremiah was the one that was training him .
“So, my brother gave me N50,000 as part payment for the examination and asked me to exercise patience. He told me that after our father’s burial that we were preparing for, he would pay the remaining N50,000 to enable my son write the examination. We never knew he would be dead even before the burial,” she lamented.
English (US) ·