By Atia Tilarious Azohnwi & Ikome Christie-noella Eposi in Buea
Rev. Fr. Nougi Alexander Sob, Parish Priest of Sacred Heart Parish Bomaka has been laid to rest at the cemetery of the Regina Pacis Cathedral in Small Soppo Buea. The 45-year-old prelate was buried Friday, August 10, 2018 after an emotion-packed funeral at the esplanade of the Bishop Rogan College Small Soppo, home to the Bishop of the Diocese of Buea.
The funeral ceremony for the late ex-Buea Diocesan Catholic Education Secretary began with funeral masses in the Parishes in Buea Diocese on Wednesday, August 8, 2018, a funeral mass on August 9 and a Requiem Mass on August 10.
In his homily at the tears-filled requiem mass, His Lordship Immanuel Bushu stated that autopsy results point to the fact that Fr. Sob was brutally murdered. “It was not a stray bullet that killed Fr. Sob. He was brutally assassinated by an expert who used a silencer gun and not the case of a stray bullet as it was earlier purported,” +Bushu said.
He prayed for the people who murdered the priest some of whom he said were among the crowd. Apparently in tears, the Bishop said those who killed the prelate should seek forgiveness from God. He reveled that when Fr. Sob was murdered, he was in his car along with two other persons. The whereabouts of the “mysterious two” remains in doubts, but sources say the accounts they painted contradict that of the autopsy.
Bishop Bushu told the perpetrators of the gruesome act to come out plainly and tell the truth as to what really happened rather than feeding people with lies and framed up stories.
He said the news of Father Sob going to Muyuka to go see his mother was all a framed up story as Fr Sob’s mother was in Yaoundé at that time. He reiterated that it was a well planned act by a professional because Fr. Sob was shot twice with a professional gun and not a dane gun as earlier purported. He added that the men who were with father Sob in the car on that faithful day have some truth to tell.
Explaining the tragic and painful circumstances that surrounded the late priest’s death, +Bushu enjoined everyone to commit themselves into serious prayers. “The greatest thing to do at this time is prayer because no own knows who is next.”
He said intense prayers should be done because the problem is not over yet. He urged all to pray for those who have died in the course of the crisis, to protect their loved ones.
“Each death celebration is a message. Father Sob is living a better life with Christ than he was with us here,” said the shepherd of the Diocese of Buea.
“My message is simple. We should all prepare ourselves diligently for death because today it is Fr. Sob…Tomorrow it might be any of us. Let us pray inconsistently for God to protect us and our families” the Bishop concluded.
Drawing his message from the holy Gospel according to John 14:1-12, +Immanuel Bushu told mourners to pray for the peaceful repose of Fr. Sob who was a very excellent priest.
“We all should be prepared to die at anytime because it is a road for us all. No one knows when it’s their time. So to be on the safe side, just be prepared so when it comes, you won’t be surprised,” the Bishop of Buea said.
Family demands justice
A statement from the family of the late prelate, read at the requiem mass, said they want justice to be served and that the truth be made known.
“The Sob’s family is in grief. We are disappointed and sadden because people are playing with the truth. Fr. Sob was brutally assassinated (it was not a stray bullet). The Sob’s family understood the technicality and controversies surrounding the assassination of Rev. Fr. Nougi Alexander Sob. It is clear that in such a controversial situation, the only starting point for an investigation is an autopsy (legal proceedings).
“An autopsy was carried in the presence of a family member, a priest and the relevant authorities concerned. Those representing the diocese are always ignoring the autopsy results. Rather, they are feeding the public with stories that are not founded. No autopsy results said Fr. Sob was a victim of stray bullet. If Catholic panorama says it was a stray bullet, they should present their facts,” a representative of the family fumed.
According to the family, the autopsy results reveal that: “Fr. Sob was targeted; the assassination was carried out by an expert, the bullet was poisoned (such that if Fr. Sob did not die at the scene, he would have been infected and would have died at the hospital); Fr. Sob was shot at a distance of about 20 centimeters.”
They family says it is putting bare the facts of the autopsy for Christians of the Diocese of Buea to judge for themselves if Fr. Sob was victim of a stray bullet.
“The autopsy result was revealed to the Sob’s family that, Fr. Sob was assassinated and the Church must carry out an investigation to establish his killers. We are very disappointed with fake stories being published by individuals…the family wants justice. The church of Christ is a symbol of justice. Let truth and justice speak…the murder of Fr. Sob is a criminal offence and legal proceedings should be followed,” the family insists.
The family wonders why the identity of the boys Fr. Sob was with when he was assassinated remains a guarded secret. They want the duo to be handed over to the appropriate quarters for proper questioning.
The autopsy report was read to the mourners by Rev. Fr. Bernard Asek, Vicar General of the Diocese of Buea.
Rev. Fr. Nougi Alexander Sob: bio-data
Rev. Fr. Nougi Alexander Sob was born in Bangem on August 4, 1973 to the late Sob Paul Zeno, fondly called “Pa Sob” and Mrs.Ngo Noug Anne-Marie Sob who respectively came from the Ndog Mongo Ndom at Babimbi clan in the Bassa country of the Littoral region.
They brought forth Fr. Sob who was the first of seven children, four boys and three girls, five of whom are still alive. Right from childhood, Fr Sob refused to think of anything else rather than priesthood.
Starting his education at the Catholic School Bangem, he was later transferred to St.Joseph Catholic School Muyuka in Class Two till he completed his primary school studies in 1985. He then Proceeded to Bishop Rogan College (BIROCOL), Soppo where he obtained his GCE Ordinary and Advance Level certificates in 1990 and 1992 respectively. In 1992, he moved on in the priesthood field and became a member of the pioneer batch of St. John Mary Vianney Spiritual Formation Centre, Njinikom. Father Sob completed his seminary studies in June 2002 as a layman with two undergraduate degrees in Philosophy and Theology.
He pursued his dreams and was finally ordained Deacon in 2004 and priest on April 2, 2005 (the same day Pope John Paul II died) by the then Bishop of Obala, His Lordship Jerome Owono Mimboe.
He served in several parishes after his ordination and was appointed Education Secretary in 2012 till 2017 when he was transferred to Bomaka as Parish Priest where he served for one year, two weeks and six days before he was brutally assassinated.