Iphie’s voice silenced forever

THE gruesome murder of famous Rhythm 93.7 FM, Port Harcourt on-air personality, Miss Iphie Aggrey-Fynn, has once again brought to the fore the growing case of violent crimes in Aba, Abia State.

Aggrey-Fynn, who described herself as a writer and motivational speaker, was murdered on Monday evening while on a visit to Aba to see her parents and siblings.

A source close to the family disclosed to The Guardian that Iphie, as she was popularly known, was being driven home by an unidentified male friend at about 7:00 p.m. on Monday and just as they arrived Udu Street in Aba North Local Council, where her parents reside, some unknown gunmen attempted to intercept the vehicle.

Sensing that the gunmen had a sinister motive, Iphie’s perceived male friend was said to have made efforts to avoid the gunmen, who were then got infuriated and shot sporadically at the car.

Overwhelmed by the persistent booming gunfire, the driver of the car was forced to park and the gunmen who had scared residents of the street indoors, walked up to the man and took him away to an unknown destination.

The source explained that after about 30 minutes, some residents of the streets, who were courageous enough to come out of their homes, went to Iphie’s friend’s car and found her lying in her pool of blood.

Some residents of the street, who easily identified her, immediately rushed her to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.

“She was shot by some kidnappers, who came to kidnap the person that was driving her home, I suppose. She was inside the car and the kidnappers stormed the place. They shot sporadically at the car and one of the bullets struck her from at the back of her head and so she fell inside the car and the driver stopped. The kidnappers came, took the driver away and abandoned his car, not even minding if they had killed somebody. Some people on her street tried to rush her to the hospital, but she was already dead before they got to the hospital as she was bleeding profusely from her head,” he said.

The tragic death of Iphie, who graduated from the Department of Linguistics and Communication Studies, Abia State University, Uturu in 2005, has left her parents, siblings, friends, colleagues and acquaintances in grief.

When The Guardian visited Rhythm 93.7 Station where she used to anchor the popular Rhythm and Soul programme, an atmosphere of perceptible sadness pervaded the entire premises, even as many of her former colleagues could still not fathom why such a tragedy would befall a young lady who was so full of life and had so many dreams of which death was not one.

Mr. Emeka Idaka described Iphie as a very hardworking lady who was also jovial, sociable and indescribably tolerant.

According to him, she was, indeed, full of life that he still could not fathom why this sort of calamity will befall her and her family.

“I cannot point to anyone who was her enemy here.  She was too friendly and good to people. The short period I came to know her, I saw her as somebody who was tolerant, social and she is very outspoken. She was hardworking and multitalented.  If you give her a task, she would perform it excellently. We will really miss her.”

“I received the news of her death with rude shock. I didn’t see it coming. I never knew she would end up like this, because I saw she had so much life.  I never knew she would be cut short like this. I am still shocked. She was a young lady full of life and bright ideas,” he said.

Another colleague of Iphie, who is also heartbroken, is Mrs. Monica Ogwa told The Guardian that she was driving to the office on Tuesday when a colleague called and broke the tragic news to her. She explained that she had been skeptical about the death of Iphie until sources in her family confirmed it.

“She was a gentle and down-to-earth person. I am in the News Department and she was in the Programme’s Department. Anytime I wanted her to read a script for me, I would just go to her and say, “Iphie, I want you to read my intro today and she was always willing to do it. She was always ready to take up challenges. There was a time she met me and said: “Monica I want to be part of the newsroom, too, because I want to be versatile. Truly, she was versatile. The news of her death still remains a rude shock to all of us,” she said.

One of her friends, Mr. Lekan Ige, decried the murder of Iphie for no just cause by the kidnappers. He wondered why the killers could be so callous to cut short the life of such a promising young lady whose programme on radio has impacted positively on the lives of many people.

“Killed for absolutely no reason, such a wonderful personality, easy going and quite intelligent. R.I.P Iphie. You were a blessing to your generation and you made humanity better with your voice and charm. So shocking that you are no more, what a wicked world,” he lamented.

A banker, Mrs. Ifeoma Ogidi, told The Guardian that she had been one of Iphie’s avid listeners, particularly on the programme, ‘Ladies Night Out’ which airs every Thursday night.”

She added that Iphie’s incisive advice on how ladies could easily cope with real life challenges had helped her a lot.  

She then urged security agents and the new government of Abia State to clamp down heavily on criminals that specialize in the kidnapping and abduction of persons for pecuniary reasons.  

“I was an adherent fan of this young lady. Her programmes on radio had really helped me in dealing with some of life’s challenges. I still cannot come to terms with the sad reality that I will no longer hear the beautiful voice of Iphie who brought hope to lives that were in despair. She was a source of inspiration and joy to me and several thousands of her followers. She has left a vacuum that nobody else can fill. Mind you, there was only just Iphie Aggrey-Fynn and there can never be another. I pray the government should bring the culprits to book,” Ogidi said.