A grieving mother, Mrs Favour Ayuba, has stirred widespread emotion after a video surfaced online showing her final farewell to her son, Promise Ayuba, who was killed in a recent attack in Jos, Plateau State.
In the viral clip shared on Friday, the heartbroken woman is seen tearfully speaking beside her son’s coffin, expressing the deep pain of losing him during the violent incident.
She revealed that she had not eaten since the Palm Sunday attack on March 29, which claimed the lives of her son and several others in the Angwan Rukuba area of Jos North Local Government Area. The assault reportedly left at least 24 people dead and many others injured, marking yet another episode in the ongoing violence in Plateau communities.
Overcome with grief, Mrs Ayuba, speaking in Hausa, addressed her late son while standing by his coffin. At one point, she brought out a cutlass wrapped in white cloth and placed it inside the coffin, urging him to avenge his death.
“If you want me to forget, my child, avenge yourself. I carried you for nine months and nursed you,” she said through tears.
“Please, wherever they are, find them and avenge your death.”
Her words were punctuated by sobs, capturing the depth of her anguish.
She also noted the painful coincidence that the burial took place on her son’s birthday, adding that despite her sorrow, she would try to stay strong.
“Today is your birthday. I thank God for today, my child. You never liked seeing me cry, and I will try not to weep for you. I haven’t eaten since Sunday,” she said.
She, however, promised to begin eating again despite her grief.
“I beg you, though you are no longer here to prepare meals for me, from today I will eat,” she added.
Drawing strength from scripture, she referenced the biblical story of Gideon, explaining that she named him Promise Gideon Ayuba in hope that he would embody courage and victory.
“I believe in you. Gideon in the Bible went to battle and returned victorious,” she said.