Captain Hadizah Lantana Odoh: How Nigerian Airways’ first female pilot was tragically murdered by her domestic staff

This latest cases of violence against women and unprosecuted killings across the country brings back the ugly memory of the gruesome murder of Captain Hadiza Lantana Oboh in 1998. 22 years after her murder, none of her killers have been prosecuted.

Late Oboh was the first and only female pilot of the Nigerian Airways’ (now defunct) in its over four decades of operation before it was grounded in 2003.

She was a young and promising pilot who was murdered in the most inhumane manner and hidden in a septic tank by those she hired as domestic to protect her home and assist her. Her death revalidates the popular Yoruba adage that says “Bi ikú ilé ò pani, t’òde ò lè pani”, which means it will be impossible for death to strike if it has no insider conspirator to aid its mission.

She was a victim of greed, jealousy and even after her unfortunate death, the society, which owed her just one debt of ensuring she gets justice, failed her. Her killers, though arrested, jumped bail and were never seen up till now, 22 years after the heinous crime.

Oboh’s story and other past events have shown that Nigerians who are enraged over the increasing cases of rape and killings of young women without justice have a good reason to be angry. The Nigerian justice system has a way of silencing the victim while the evil ones walk freely.

While many accounts said she was murdered on February 8, 1988, other platforms claimed she was murdered on January 10, 1998 after returning from one of her trips.

Before her death, Oboh was reputed to have checked out as a Flight Officer (F/O) aboard a Boeing 737 of the Nigeria Airways in 1984 and by 1989, she was already a well-established pilot rsing to become Senior Flight Officer and was a shining light in the industry throughout the 1990s.

Although information about her private life are scanty, Oboh was born in 1959 and was a flourishing pilot. She was single and lived alone with her domestic staff at her residence in Bourdillon, Ikoyi, Lagos. Her domestic staff identified simply as Abdullahi who was the chief plotter of her death could be said to be the custodian of the house due to the nature of Oboh’s job as a regular traveller. Abdullahi had initially been fired but was re-employed to take over from Peter Eche (hire after him) who took permission to travel to his village in Makurdi, Benue State. Like Abdullahi, Peter also lived in the ‘boys’ quarters’ apartment designated for domestic staff.

The Murder:

On her arrival from one of her trips on the day she was killed, Oboh was said to be in the kitchen preparing food when tragedy struck. Just like many victims of rape whose attackers are mostly close relatives, the men Oboh entrusted her life with – Abdullahi the security guard, Itoro Akpan her driver, and Peter conspired to kill her and loot her belongings.

Abdullahi was said to have pounced on her with a rope which he used to strangle her before slitting her throat. Thereafter, they dumped her corpse in the septic tank which they immediately covered.

The Looting and arrest:

After killing Oboh, the three men started living in opulence, looting and selling her belongings, they vacated the ‘boys’ quarters’ and started living in her apartment. Every visitor who checked on Oboh were turned back at the gate with one message “madam is not around’. It was not the era of social media and mobile phones, only few people had cellular that time, so they could not contact Oboh to know her whereabouts, they had assumed she had embarked on her usual trips outside the country as a pilot.

A police officer who observed some unusual movement in the house launched an investigation into the activities of the domestic staff. Peter, Itoro, and one Denise Osama (who received the loots) were arrested except Abdullahi who initially vanished but was later arrested after a manhunt. The men were being investigated for theft and illegal removal of property before police discovered that they had killed Oboh and dumped her remains in a septic tank.

While the four suspects were standing trial for conspiracy, armed robbery and murder before a Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos, a High Court was said to have ordered the release of two suspects on bail with two guarantors.

Following widespread outrage, like we are witnessing now, the Ministry of Justice advised that the suspect be rearrainged for murder, armed robbery and conspiracy. Attempt to re-arrest the suspects who had been granted bail was futile, they absconded, their guarantors were also said to have submitted pseudo names and fictitious addresses to the court to secure their bail.

The case went under the drain without any trace of the suspects. 22 years after, the judicial system is yet to honour the memory of the dead with the only debt it owed her – justice. As it was in 1998, so it is now, many victims of extrajudicial killings, murder and other criminal acts are waiting endlessly for justice while the judicial system appear to be toothless. This is why there have been increasing calls on the government to take actions that will rekindle the hope of the masses in the judiciary as the hope of the masses where speedy justice is assured.