- Killers remain unknown three years after
Three years after the late Army General, Hassan Ahmed, was shot dead by gunmen, his two wives have been at loggerheads over his property.
Recall that the senior army officer was attacked by gunmen who emerged from the bush at a bridge around Ahoko village, along the Abuja-Lokoja road about 7:34 pm on July 15, 2021.
It was reported that the deceased officer was travelling alongside his sister inside a Toyota Hilux van with an unmarked army plate number when the gunmen, who were hiding inside the bush beside the edges of the bridge, suddenly opened fire upon sighting the Hilux van conveying the late General.
The lifeless body of the General was later found at the scene of the attack after his attackers opened fire on him.
The remains of the former Provost Marshall, Major General Hassan Ahmed were laid to rest after his murder at a military cemetery in Abuja, amidst tears from family members and associates.
However, three years after his assassination, his killers are yet to be arrested despite assurances by the Police and Army authorities.
Notwithstanding, his two wives and the deceased’s family have been battling themselves over the estate of the late military officer.
The bickering over the deceased’s landed property worsened after late General Ahmed’s family members claimed that the deceased had divorced his younger wife identified as Promise Delema months before he was attacked and killed.
Delema, however, denied being divorced, saying if she was divorced, the deceased would not have enrolled the daughter she has for him into the scholarship programme offered by the Nigerian Army when he was alive.
The Point gathered that no fewer than four different court cases have been instituted by both Delema and the General’s family and his first wife over his inheritance.
Sources said that trouble started after Delema left the apartment the deceased rented for her and moved into a mansion the late military officer built, against the wishes of the deceased’s first wife, Hajia Talatu and his family members.
All efforts to make Delema pack out of the mansion have been futile as she claimed that the late General built the mansion for her and her daughter.
She accused her late husband’s family of threatening to grab the property her late husband left for her.
Dismissing Delema’s claims on a radio programme monitored by The Point in Abuja, the immediate younger brother to the late General, Abiso Ahmed, maintained that General Ahmed married Delema in 2015 but cut ties with her in 2017.
Abiso said Delema’s divorce was confirmed by Hassan Ahmed’s mother when the Military Pension Board wanted to share the deceased’s pension.
Corroborating Abiso’s claims, the late General’s friend, identified as Alhaji Yisa, insisted that the murdered military officer informed him of his divorce to Delema before his death, adding that the deceased was never happy with Delema when he was alive.
Both Talatu and Abiso said they never expected Delema to clinch the mansion, of which they paid N15.7 million to one Sergeant Ogundele, Hasan Ahmed’s staff sergeant, which he claimed was the money he used in putting up the mansion in contention.
He said the sergeant claimed that he was using his private money to build the mansion for the late officer, of which was not known to members of the family.
According to Abiso, the sum of N26 million was paid to Delema’s daughter by the military as her share of Hassan Ahmed’s pension, adding that she still dragged the family to court and also seized the building.
“My friend did inform me that he divorced Delema. He was never happy with her. He used to weep whenever he visited me in my office because of Delema. When he built the house, he told me that only himself, Sergeant Ogundele and myself knew about it. So, after my friend’s family paid Sergeant Ogundele the sum of N15.7million he claimed as the money Hassan owed him over the mansion and other things, we asked him to give the family keys to the house. We didn’t see Sergeant Ogundele again until he told us that Delema had packed into the apartment. I was surprised because what my friend told me was that only three of us were aware of the building. So, Delema should fear God and say the truth,” Yisa said.
Meanwhile, a renowned human rights activist has promised to assist in mediating the issue between the family.
