Missing Abuja Business Woman: Still Many Unanswered Questions (1)

Destiny Ugorji
The last is yet to be heard about a certain Abuja-based lady, Charity Aiyedogbon, who is believed to have gone missing for some time now.

Charity, popularly known as ‘Chacha’, was declared missing on social media by her Facebook friends. She is said to have been missing since the 10^th of May, 2016 and family, friends and Security Agencies are said to be working round the clock to unravel the mystery behind her sudden disappearance.

Different schools of thought have made speculations on the possibilities regarding the whereabouts of the 44-year-old mother of four, who is better known as Deepdeal Chacha Dehammer.

First, a Maryland-based lawyer, Emeka Ugwuonye said he has evidence that the missing Charity was dead, directly accusing her erstwhile husband, David Aiyedogbon of having a hand in her disappearance. He posted this on his Facebook group, The Due Process Advocate.

Reacting to Ugwuonye’s allegation, former husband of the missing lady, Mr David Aiyedogbon washed his hands over the disappearance of the woman and wrote his accuser, through his lawyers, demanding an apology, failure which he would seek legal redress.

The letter titled: “Defamation of the character of David Aiyedogbon; demand for apology,” signed by his lawyer, Obiora Ilo and made available to newsmen, expressly states: “It is our instruction to demand an unqualified apology from you to our client through our chambers for the defamatory publications you have made of and concerning our client.”

Also, addressing newsmen in Abuja, Mr. Aiyedogbon, a retired civil servant called on the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris to thoroughly investigate the allegation against him, describing it as “cruel, criminal and untrue”, stressing that his estranged wife Charity left their matrimonial home on 28^th May, 2014, noting that since then, he had neither heard from her, nor had any dealings with her.

He said, since his former wife left his house in 2014, she had petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission-ICPC, alleging that he had property in London and across the country, as well as billions of Naira in several accounts and in different banks in the country, urging the anti-graft agency to seize the property and freeze the accounts.

Mr. Aiyedogbon said the ICPC investigated the allegations and has not found anything against him.

“Since June 2014, I have not had anything to do with Charity, heard or had any form of communication with her. No member of Charity’s family has informed me of Charity’s disappearing or death, as alleged by Emeka Ugwuonye. The father, who had not spoken with me since 2014 called me a few days ago to ask after the children and he didn’t mention to me that his daughter Charity was missing or dead. So, I do not know where the lawyer is getting his facts.”

Explaining the circumstances that led to the disagreement between him and his former wife, Aiyedogbon said his estranged wife Charity left their home in May 2014 following a request for a huge amount of money from him and that his inability to provide the money led to her departure.

While the controversy lasted, a Civil Society Oranisation, Coalition against Crime (CAC) called on Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris to arrest the Maryland/Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Ugwuonye to explain his role in the disappearance of Charity Aiyedogbon.

National Coordinator of the group, Harrison Pepple, made the call while addressing newsmen in Abuja, arguing that Mr. Ugwuonye had some questions to answer.

Hear him: “…Charity Aiyedogbon is said to have been missing since the 11^th of May, 2016 and one Emeka Ugwuonye, a Lagos-based lawyer claims he has evidence that the woman is dead and was murdered. He also posted a photograph of a dead person, some parts of whose body were dismembered. In one of his posts, he wrote, and I quote him: “I now have overwhelming evidence that Mr. David Aiyedogbon killed his wife, Chacha….” How can Police be looking for a missing person and someone says he has a clue and he has not been invited or arrested for explanations”?

“In another post, Ugwuonye said, and I quote: “this is the headless and dismembered body of Charity Aiyedogbon (posting a corpse on his Facebook handle). DPA has been able to identify this as her body within the limits of resources at our disposal.”

Following the intervention by the Civil Society Organisation, the Police eventually arrested Mr. Ugwuonye and later released him on bail.

Meanwhile, several questions remain unanswered. First, what kind of life has the missing woman lived since she left her husband’s house? A look at her Facebook profile, ‘’Deepdeal Chacha Dehammer’’ suggests something less than decent.

Another issue is the contradiction in the statements credited to those believed to be close to Chacha. She is said to have gone missing on the 10^th of June, 2016, but her lawyer, Barrister Nsikak Udo, handling a fresh suit filed at the Federal High Court, Lokoja on 29^th April, 2016 against 29 respondents, including her biological children and her former husband claimed she (Chacha) came to his house on the 18^th of May, 2016 (eight days after her purported disappearance) and one of his staff accompanied her to Federal High Court, Abuja to sign and deposed to an affidavit in support of the ex-parte motion filed along with the case. How could someone who was declared missing on the 10^th of May reappear on the 18^th and then disappeared again? It sounds like a scene in a Nollywood movie.

Another source of worry is that Chacha posted a photograph on her Facebook profile, where she said she was embarking on a Road trip on the 11^th of May, 2016, a day before her alleged disappearance. The photograph shows that she sat on the passenger’s seat of her car. That was the last she posted on Facebook, using that particular User ID. The question is: who drove her in the car and where were they going?

In addition, a certain young man, whose name is given as Jo, believed to be Chacha’s boyfriend and who brought the key to Charity’s apartment, opened it for the Police investigation and also gave same key to two young men for CCTV installation, over one week after Charity’s disappearance also claimed not to know her where-about. For someone to have the keys to some other person’s residence, it means there is a close relationship. What has he to say about Chacha’s disappearance?

More so, a corpse, said to have been dismembered beyond identification was allegedly seen in Abuja on the 12^th of May and Mr. Ugwuonye claims it is Chacha’s body. The question is: has Chacha’s extended and nuclear family identified the corpse as that of the missing woman or has any DNA or scientific investigation been carried out to certify the true identity of the corpse? In the 21^st century, we cannot be guessing on issues as serious as this. Now, I hear that the body found on 12th May is to be tested for DNA soon. I wonder where Ugwuonye will stand if it is confirmed not to be Chacha's body, or where Udoh will stand if it is confirmed to be Chacha's body. The question here is: why the contradiction, since they are both Chacha’s lawyers?

Furthermore, the missing Chacha has a case of forgery that is yet to be concluded. A suit instituted in a High Court at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT High Court 8) on the 14^th of March, 2016, with suit number CV/1231/16, between Messrs Chibuzor Ogugua and Chigozie Eme (plaintiffs) and Mrs. Charity Aiyedogbon (defendant), made eight prayers to the Court. The last prayer reads: “an order of the Honourable Court directing the defendant to pay the plaintiffs the sum of 200,000,000.00 (Two Hundred Million Naira) as damages for the losses suffered on the ground of the unauthorized and fabricated Valuation Report by the defendant.”

Chacha has four grown-up children. One of them, Juliet Aiyedogbon just had her wedding put off as a result of the controversy surrounding the whereabouts of their mother. They have also chorused on several platforms that their mother was NOT dead, neither have they identified the corpse displayed by Ugwuonye as that of their mother. The missing woman has siblings and parents who have been going about their normal businesses and have neither said their sister was missing or dead, nor joined in the search for her.

Further investigations show that in May 2014, Chacha allegedly went into hiding and was said to have gone missing as well. She left the house willingly on the 28^th of May, 2014. Six days after she left the house, the Police invited a young man, believed to be her boyfriend, Kelvin Tochukwu Emenike for questioning. Emenike also doubles as co-Director in KELICA Nig. Ltd; who then brought her out from where she was hiding, on the 6^th day of her disappearance.

After she was brought out of her hiding, she allegedly filed a suit against the Commissioner of Police, Area Commander, Maitama and her ex-husband, David Aiyedogbon, for infringement on her fundamental right, by bringing her out of where she was hiding. The case was before Hon. Justice Adeniyi of the FCT High Court, with suit number CV/1864/14, filed on the 23^rd of June, 2014.

There is no doubt that both the law enforcement agencies and private investigators are working round the clock to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of Mrs. Charity Aiyedogbon, aka Chacha Dehammer. I am optimistic that they shall yield positive results.

If a woman left her husband’s residence since May 2014 and chose to live a life full of controversy, as could be seen in her posts on Facebook and with multiple court cases; should her ex-husband not be allowed to enjoy some rest? How can her life and whereabouts be on the man’s shoulders? Every club she ‘rocked’, she posted a photograph of its bar on her Facebook wall; moving about with a very expensive car, with all the risks?

As per her whereabouts at the moment, it is a puzzle, the law enforcement agencies must solve.

Only time shall tell!