For Esther Makonjola, the sound of two gunshots at exactly 11:28 pm on January 10, 2023, marked the beginning of a nightmare from which her family has never fully recovered. What started as an ordinary night inside their Ushafa home in the Federal Capital Territory turned into a brutal attack that left her husband, Benjamin Okonjola Ogundare, dead, while their 14-year-old son and another relative were dragged into captivity by armed abductors.
More than three years later, Makonjola still remembers every detail of that night with painful clarity — the frantic banging on the windows, the fear that gripped the household, her husband’s final decision to open the door to protect their children from stray bullets, and the chilling moment the attackers told her they had killed him. By the time she returned home after being marched away by the assailants, the father of her children was lying lifeless on the ground.
In this interview with THE WHISTLER’s Kasarahchi ANIAGOLU, the widow recounts the horror of losing her husband, the traumatic month her teenage son spent in captivity, the financial burden of ransom demands, and the painful struggle of rebuilding life after tragedy. She also speaks about grief, insecurity, survival, and why, despite everything, she has chosen to let her late husband rest.
Excerpts…
What is your name?
My name is Esther Omowuni Ogundare Makonjola, a mother, a public servant, a wife, now a widow.
What was the name of your late husband?
His name was Benjamin Okonjola Ogundare.
How will you describe your late husband?
My husband was a very nice man. He’s an artisan who repairs printers, photocopiers, computers and the like. Also, when you need to purchase these items, he will assist you in getting them.
He’s a father, and he loves his children. He was 49 years old before the cold hands of death came and suddenly took him from us.
How long were you married before his demise?
Our marriage was up to 22 years, and God blessed our marriage with two kids.
What did you miss most about him in your everyday life?
He’s a very caring man; he loves his children so much. For him, if his children don’t eat, he will not eat. He was a very nice man to the core.
He doesn’t play with his family and doesn’t want to see us in a sorrowful way. He was a very humble guy, never fought. He used to tell his children before his death, avoid troubles, and he never fought or abused me.
Couples will always disagree, but we never went to bed angry at each other. My husband was the shy type.
Could you share what you remember about the day he was taken?
It’s not easy for somebody who was not sick. It is when he’s sick that you should be praying for God. Whatever happens, let God just take the glory. Or whatever thing that is going to happen, let it be for the glory of God.
But this one was just sudden, January 10, 2023, the day my life turned drastically. We were just sleeping that day. He hadn’t even slept for up to an hour before they came.
Who came?
The killers, evil men of the night. He doesn’t keep late hours. From 8:00 pm, he’s home. So, that very day, we were in the house. I was the last person to sleep because I wanted to hear the news, but there wasn’t any light that day. After I waited until 10:00 pm, still no sign of electricity, I decided to turn off all appliances, did a routine check to ensure all doors were properly locked, and then I retired for the day.
I had just entered the room, and it was a few minutes to 11:00 pm. But my husband had fallen asleep. So I tapped him and said why are you sleeping like this? Shift, let me sleep. He had slept off. I just slept beside him.
While I was struggling to sleep, all of a sudden, I heard two gunshots, immediately, I looked at the clock, it was exactly 11:28 pm. I will never forget that time, the hour when death came uninvited.
Everybody woke up. The people around, they woke up. What is happening? They were at our door.
They did not go to other places. They now strategised themselves, some in front of the house, others had taken positions behind the house.
We heard a series of bangs on our room window while another person had taken position at the escape door in the kitchen. They did not go to any of our neighbours. It was only at my home that they carried out that operation.
Immediately, the one banging the window shouted, ‘Madam, open this door now.’ We were already panicking, panicking. Everybody was calling, sending messages to family members. So they left the windows, and they just started banging on our doors, trying to gain entrance, but couldn’t.
So, my husband decided to open the door for them. He was scared that they might begin to shoot, and our son (14 years old at the time), and his female cousin, who was also serving at the time, were also in the house.
He did not want them to start shooting. He said, “Let me go and open the door.” He decided to open the door.
I declined and asked him, so you want to open the door? He said, let me open the door. If they decide to shoot, I don’t know where it will land. My son is there, same with my cousin.
Immediately, he opened the door. They just seized him. Five of them stormed into our home.
One came to me, where is your money? Where are your phones? They collected our phones, carried my purse, and carried some other things in the house.
They just seized my husband and took him outside. They were dealing with the kids and me inside. They collected money.
