Suspect threatened our family from police custody after stabbing my sister to death – Sibling
The deceased
The serene community of Okpagha in the Uhunmwonde Local Government Area of Edo State was thrown into mourning on April 27 as a long-standing feud between two residents degenerated into a fight that claimed the life of a mother of four, Nata Igbinovia.
Residents of the community and the family of the deceased would not have had the premonition that death was lurking as they prepared for the day’s activities.
learnt that the second son of the deceased and an apprentice, Emmanuel Anyali, was contracted by a woman to join a welder for a job at a building next to the home of a neighbour known as ‘Barrister’ and later identified as the suspect.
Emmanuel, who was helping to lay the foundation rods on top of the building, was later accused of peeping into the kitchen of the Ayos.
The issue snowballed into a crisis as Ayo was said to have ordered Emmanuel down from the building where he was working and told him never to return. Eyewitnesses said not satisfied with seeing Emmanuel walk away quietly from the building, the suspect’s wife slapped Emmanuel twice and the young boy retaliated, drawing the ire of the entire Ayo family who descended on Emmanuel.
At that point, Nata who saw what was happening from her balcony in the house opposite Ayo’s building rushed down to shield her son from further punishment.
Our correspondent learnt that it was while she was protecting her son that she got stabbed by Ayo three times in her ribs while Ayo’s son was said to have hit her on the back with an axe while she was struggling for her life.
The suspect was later said to have been arrested and moved to the homicide section at the force headquarters over the death of the 38-year-old woman, while his son is currently at large.
An elder sister of the deceased, Blessing Ode, told on Thursday that Ayo once had her sister arrested by the police before the table turned against him when he was discovered to be parading himself as a lawyer that he was not.
She said, “My sister called me (and told me) that she would be coming to my house on Sunday, and that I should prepare food for her; I told her that I would do that. But not up to 20 minutes after the call, my other sister, Joy, called to tell me that the barrister (the name residents called Ayo) stabbed our sister in her ribs during a fight.
“I told her I was on my way to Nata’s house but before I could leave my house, she called me again that the man brought many people who were throwing stones into my sister’s house and that they couldn’t come out of the house. I then told her to wait and that I would call the police to accompany me to the area. As I was about to go to the police station, my late sister’s son called again urging me to come immediately because she was dead. I rushed to the place only to see her corpse.”
– Sibling
She also accused Ayo of making unsuccessful advances at her sister which made him angrier.
“The barrister had been having issues with my sister. He first dragged her to the Oko police station where he made a report that she sold hard drugs which was found to be false and he was detained because the police discovered that he was pretending to be a lawyer.
“My sister wrote a statement that if anything happened to her and her children, the suspect should be arrested,” she added.
Ode accused the suspect’s wife of assaulting her late sister’s son without provocation.
She said, “The issues that led to my sister’s death was that one of the contractors who was working at a building close to her house called my sister’s son, Emmanuel, to come and join him in his welding work since he is an apprentice welder. While on top of the building doing his work, the wife of the suspect told my sister’s son to come down from the house, accusing him of looking into her kitchen and the food she was cooking.
“The contractor told him to go home to avoid a quarrel and as he was going home, his (the suspect’s) wife came out of her house and slapped him twice before Emmanuel retaliated. Then six children of the barrister came and joined their mother and father in beating my sister’s son.”
She disclosed to our correspondent that her sister was stabbed while she was trying to protect her son.
“This man had been making advances at my sister but she rebuffed all his moves. He had thought that he could start having a relationship with her because her husband is based in Qatar. After our sister was confirmed dead at the hospital, we decided to go and drop the corpse at his (the suspect’s) house but before we reached there, the house was already on fire so we took her (remains) to a mortuary.
The sister of the deceased said while Nata’s husband had been informed about her death, the grieving family wanted justice to prevail.
“We want justice for our sister,” she said.
“We reported to the police and they have asked us to go and do the autopsy while the investigation is ongoing. We want the police to know that he (the suspect) is still threatening us from their custody; he said we would replace his destroyed house with two new ones” the grieving woman added.
Emmanuel, who lamented the death of her mother, denied the allegation of the suspect’s wife.
He said, “I am a student and an apprentice welder. On Saturday, April 27, one woman contacted me for a job in her building close to the suspect’s house. As we were working, the wife of the suspect came and accused me of looking at the food she was cooking in the kitchen, and we told her that we were only working and not interested in her food.
“But she kept shouting that we were watching her cooking till her husband came out of the house and instructed the woman to send us away, which the woman did. As I was going home, the wife of the suspect came out of the house and started insulting my mother. When I told her to stop insulting my mother, she slapped me once and I told her not to slap me again. It was when she slapped me the second time that I retaliated. Then the man, his wife and their children started beating me,” he told
– Son
Emmanuel also alleged that his mother was stabbed with a dagger by the suspect.
He explained, “The suspect rushed back into the house and came out with a kitchen knife and used it to cut my mum in the hand and my mother used the stick in her hand to block the knife which fell from his hand. As the kitchen knife fell from his hand, he rushed back inside and came out with a dagger and stabbed my mum in her ribs while the (suspect’s) son hit her with an axe. We rushed her to hospital where she was confirmed dead.
“We are four siblings and the man has made us motherless children. All I want now is justice for my mother. My mother is not a troublemaker; she took care of everybody, including strangers, and that is why we always have many people in our house.
A younger sister to the deceased, Beauty Elvis, described her as one who did not like discrimination.
“The deceased was the mother of everybody. She didn’t discriminate, she fed everyone that came to her house and because of her good nature, children always flocked to her house.
“If you requested anything from her, she would give it to you unless she didn’t have it. I will miss my sister so much. She has left a vacuum difficult to fill,” she added.
Our correspondent further gathered that the youth who destroyed the suspect’s house were angered by the action of the suspect over what they described as a minor issue.
One of the youths in the neighbourhood, who did not want his name in print, said, “How can a man kill a woman because of a little issue? I am not in support of violence but it serves him right and this will serve as a deterrent to other people with evil intentions.”
Our correspondent could not reach the suspect for comments as he was in police custody while his home was deserted after it was destroyed by the angry youths.
However, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Edo State Police Command, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, while confirming the arrest of the suspect, stated that he would be charged in court as soon as the investigation was concluded.
“I can confirm to you that the suspect has been arrested and is in the homicide department at the state force headquarters. The police are on the trail of the son and he will be arrested soon,” the PPRO added.
