On Sunday, May 12, at precisely 1:32 am, Loveline Imaobong an X (Formerly Twitter) user also known as ‘celebritylekpa’, shared a distressing post revealing the death of one Chidi, a content creator/skitmaker in Abuja.
The image of the deceased accompanied Imaobong’s post. The tone of the post suggested that the deceased was likely a stranger to her, and it was important for those who knew him to approach the police station for further information.
The post said, “The guy in the picture is lying lifeless in the mortuary, he was attacked by Fulani men. Any lead to his family members would be appreciated. They should please go to Mpape’s new police station, Berger Quarry. Please repost till it gets to them.”
The information felt out of sync with many who had proof of an existing relationship between Imaobong and Chidi. By relationship, mutual followers on the microblogging Application pointed out instances when both individuals had interactions and exchanged pleasantries on X.
Checks on Imaobong’s X handle, now locked (THE WHISTLER followed her before the lock) and inaccessible to non-followers, showed the likelihood of such a relationship — she is a cinematographer and Chidi is a content creator/skit marker.
When Nigerians began to probe Imaobong on the cause of his death, her responses were rather suspicious.
For instance, when asked if Chidi was alone when the suspected herdsmen attacked, she said, “No, 6 of us were attacked and he died in the process. We’re currently looking for information on any of his family members.”
Also, when asked why she alienated herself from the shared information despite being among the attacked victims and being at the said police station after the incident, she said:
“I am the victim, I almost lost my life and that of my child, you came here yesterday, you listened to what happened and you came here to tweet lies? Were you there when the incident happened? The police are aware of this tweet, so please come forward if you have any information.”
When also asked for her phone number to enable those concerned to contact her on the matter, she replied to the question saying, “Our phone was collected. Drop his brother’s number so the police can reach out to him…. The herdsmen collected all 6 of us phones (sic).”
The mysteries surrounding Chidi’s death raise questions begging for answers as reactions from Nigerians on X, suggest that it was suspicious for a group of six people to have been attacked and one was killed.
The unknown identities of the other victims involved in the incident as well as the deposit of the deceased body in the Maitama mortuary without the family member’s knowledge or approval, raised eyebrows.
At the time Imaobong shared the information on Sunday, THE WHISTLER gathered from Chidi’s acquaintances, via DMs on X that the family in Lagos State was yet to be abreast of their son’s death.
While Nigerians on X, have demanded a thorough investigation into the death of the deceased, many of Chidi’s associates described him to have a calm personality. He was said to have recently relocated from Lagos to Abuja for “solace”.
Others claimed that being attacked by suspected herdsmen in the Mpape area of the FCT, was unsettling as the deceased was considered an indoor person, and would rarely be found in such an environment as Mpape, recorded to have witnessed pockets of criminality activities.
Imaobong, according to various reactions should be summoned by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command as a major suspect.
The FCT Command, when contacted said they had been updated on the matter, and an investigation was ongoing. The spokesperson of the command, Josephine Adeh said the public would be duly informed upon the conclusion of the investigation.
Abuja Content Creator’s Death Raises Questions Police Are Trying To Answer is first published on The Whistler Newspaper