By Daily Sports on September 26, 2019

Sunday, September 22, 2019 ended for me in a most horrible way as I spoke on phone with a distressed young grassroots footballer who informed me of the news that one popular youth footballer in Benin City had just been shot and killed by unknown gunmen in the polytechnic town of Auchi, north of Benin.

Elijah ‘Ella’ Duru, a very well liked, calm and lively person, was reportedly an innocent victim of an unfortunate cult war that has engulfed Auchi Polytechnic which has now forced the indefinite closure of the institution.

From reports emanating from the town, several lives have been lost as young men apply their trigger happiness to the snuffing out of human lives with reckless abandon.

I rushed to Facebook immediately after being told of the grim news just to confirm its truth. Lo and behold I saw several posts mourning Ella and then a video of the player’s body, stained in blood, lying on the floor alongside the dead body of another young man as policemen attended to the situation.

A report in the Nigerian Guardian newspaper read: “Police confirmed the arrest of 58 suspects in connection with the mayhems. It was gathered that the fights, which broke out last Wednesday between the Aye and Jurist confraternities following a disagreement over some issues, initially claimed five lives.

“The Guardian further learnt that four persons were hacked to death at Iyakpi, a suburb of Auchi, while one was killed in the town that also houses the administrative headquarters of Etsako West Local Council of the state between Thursday and Sunday nights.

“Among the victims slaughtered on Sunday night at different locations in the community were believed to be one Sikiru Jeliu and another identified as Irale Obas, said to have recently completed the one-year National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) scheme.

“Confirming the development, police spokesman, DSP Chidi Nwanbuzor, said 58 arrests had been made. His words: “For now, it is not wise to tell you that the figure is five, six or seven because we are still gathering information as regards the clash and it could still increase within the next one hour. We have arrested a total of 58 suspects and more are still under search, and as soon as we get them, we shall bring them to justice.” He added that the state commissioner of police, DanMallam Muhammed, had put adequate measure in place to restore sanity in the polytechnic town and its environs.”

Meanwhile, friends, grassroots footballers and coaches have been expressing their shock and grief over the death of Elijah Duru, who was the younger brother of Super Eagles home-based defender and Nigerian Under-23 star Ebube Duru. The messages of tears for the teenager continue to flood in overwhelmingly.

One youth coach in Benin wrote on Facebook: “They have taken an innocent soul. Your killers will never know peace.”

A player wrote: “Oh life is too short. We have lost a great midfielder.”

For me, I have personally lost a very respectful friend in Ella. While I knew him a little way back and admired his midfield creativity, I got much closer to him exactly at this time two years ago when my club Benin Warriors FC were screening for a tournament in the Ikpoba Hill area of Benin City. We were short of numbers at the time we were called for official tournament photos as the heavy Benin City traffic delayed the arrival of some of our players.

Ella, seeing the tough situation we were in, walked up to me and volunteered to play for me in the competition. I quickly asked him to join in the group photos.

The player and boy I knew from that moment was a very respectful individual who listened attentively to my tactical instructions and showed remarkable humility and hunger in trying to understand my demands from a player.

His behaviour in the pitch was always professional as he never liked engaging in arguments or quarrels with teammates or opponents. He was such a quiet soul.

We stayed in touch since then and I was humbled to provide advice to him from time to time as he sought out how he could improve and become a big football star. He really loved the game of football.

I use many times a pidgin expression to greet players and I say: “E go better for you.” Ella enjoyed hearing this and whenever he saw me he would smile and say in a funny way: “E go better for you, coach.” I will so miss him.

“E no go better for your killers, Ella!”

•PHOTO: Slain youth star Elijah Duru

Source Daily Sports

Posted September 26, 2019

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