In April 1972, a young man named Stanley Enekwe was
convicted of armed robbery and he was to be shot to death. The place was Ajali,
near Awka in the East-Central State (presently in Anambra State). Enekwe’s
public execution was scheduled but something really spectacular happened.
In those days, families and relatives usually avoided the
scene of public execution because they the accused had brought overwhelming
shame to their name and disgraced the family. However, that was not the case
with Stanley Enweke’s father. He was not only at the execution ground, but he
was there with his son to the very last. Enweke’s father murmured these words
to him: “Fear not, the Lord is waiting to receive you.” Many villagers trooped
out to proclaim his innocence on the day of his execution.
Enekwe was said to be an ex-soldier of the Biafran Army and
came back to Ajali after the Nigerian Civil War with one of the official
vehicles which he was accused of stealing. The case against him started
immediately after the war and dragged on to the day that he was killed.
Most people avoided him as they were also afraid of being
victimized, so his father stood by him and boldly came to the execution to show
that he believed him.
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