Mary was widowed less than four months ago. She woke up last Saturday and bade farewell to her family, and left for her place of work as a street sweeper along the Aba-Port Harcourt way. At about 5:00 a.m., she had been brutally murdered.
Opposite the Pleasure Park, an unknown driver made sure she did not return home. He sent her to the great beyond.
Now, the Police has commenced investigations; the State government, like her distraught family, is in mourning and asking anyone who witnessed the hit and run incident to come forward with information. Any information.
Meanwhile, Sole Administrator of the Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA), Bro. Felix Obuah has described the death of late Mary Udong James, while performing her duties as tragic and very unfortunate.
He stated this when officials of the Agency paid a condolence visit to the family of the victim at her residence in Rukpakolusi in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area on Friday, regretted that the woman lost her life less than four months after the demise of her husband.
Represented by the Director of Administration, Mr. Ian Abraham Gobo, Obuah told the family that even though the late road cleaner had passed on, her service to the Agency was very well appreciated.
Gobo, accompanied to the shanty where Mrs. Udong lived with five of her children, by Personal Assistant to the Sole Administrator, Mr. Ike Anslem Chukwu and his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Pastor Jerry Needam,described as heinous, the act of killing a human being and running away.
He called for amendment of the laws to give stiffer punishment to offenders, even as he prayed that God protect and provide for the children the widow left behind.
He wondered why incidents of hit and run driving would still occur in Port Harcourt when the government has provided street lights in all major streets in the City.
He noted that the development accounted for the reduction in incidences of accidents involving road sweepers at wee hours.
Obuah appealed to drivers to be cautious, particularly in the early hours of the morning, urging them to look out for road sweepers who usually put on reflective vests while on duty.
He further appealed to members of the public to assist police in their investigation by obliging information that could lead to the arrest of the runaway driver.
“Even though the incident happened around 5 a.m., it is possible that someone may have witnessed the tragic event”, he said.