Abia State-born 67 years old Registrar of National Examination Council (NECO) has been assassinated by strangulation by unknown gunmen in Minna, Niger State.
Professor Godswill Obioma was on Monday night killed in what his wife believes is an assassination and strangled him to death.
Mrs Elizabeth Obioma, told journalists on phone: “The assassins came in and killed him and left without taking anything,” she said.
The Police is yet to react.
Mrs. Obioma said her husband had just returned to Minna from a trip to Abuja when the armed men pounced on him and strangled him.
Amid speculations of attempts to remove Obioma from office in the past, his assassination is being viewed by Niger state watchers in that light.
A statement attributed to a senior management staff, informing the board, Management and staff of the organization of Obioma’s demise conflicted that of his wife.
Attributed to his son, it reads in part “Dear Sir, this is to formally inform you that my father, Prof. Godswill Obioma, the Registrar/Chief Executive of NECO passed to eternal glory yesterday 31/5/2021 after a brief illness.
“We request that you kindly notify the Board, Management and the entire staff of the Council of this development. We shall keep you duly informed”
Recall that the late Registrar, who was appointed on the 15th of May, 2020 through a letter with Reference No: FME/PS/396/C1/1/134 and signed by the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, for an initial tenure of five years, and with effect from 14th May, 2020, has been having a running battle with the governing board, led by Mallam Sadiq Abubakar.
Only last week, the late Professor Obioma was said to have been suspended from office by the board and the leadership tussle in the organization led to the deployment of a detachment of armed Policemen and the men of the Department of State Security Service to barricade the entrance gate of the headquarters of the organization along Bida road, Minna, the Niger state capital.
As early as 7:00am on Monday last week Monday, the staff who were resuming from the sallah break, met the security cordon and were subjected to a thorough search before being allowed in.
The entire NECO headquarters in Minna has been thrown into confusion with some of the staff who had earlier reported to the office discussing his death in groups while others hurriedly left the office for home.
The late Godswill Obioma was a professor of Education Measurement and Evaluation. He formally took over the affairs of the Council on Friday, 22nd May, 2020 from the then Acting Registrar, Mallam Abubakar Gana.