Gary Frist
NewsRescue– Headlines in Nigerian papers today is the story of a 46-year-old unemployed man, who on October 7, at Agbado in Ogun state of Nigeria was arrested for allegedly killing his wife by throwing her into a pit latrine over a domestic misunderstanding. That’s a raw dudu pit!
This is just the latest case in the chronic saga of Nigerians killing their wives at home and abroad.
The many spontaneous killings, unlike honor killings which are most rampant in Nations around the world, from Asia to South America, can more accurately be considered as crimes of passion, but some disturbingly are executed with scary premeditation and careful planning.
NewsRescue investigated the trends and distribution of these murders and found some thought and discussion provoking trends.
Pit Latrine: Traditional non water toilet
Nigeria with a population of 150 million, is Africa’s most populous nation. The country has over 500 ethnic groups, but of these, the three largest and loudest, are the Hausa’s up North, The Yoruba’s in the South west and the Igbo’s in the south east.
Cases of wife murder like the one above are almost exclusively relegated to the southern ethnic groups, with the Igbo’s being culprit in 9 in 10 cases.
What makes this sad habit so common among the Igbo’s has been a topic of hot debate for many years in Nigerian internet fora. Some have attributed the problem to an Igbo culture that places a humongous bride price on women, and after the men cough out fortunes to marry, they tend to regard their spouses as ‘property’, they have bought, hence having a very low tolerance during domestic conflict.
A commentator reacting passionately, said, ‘only people who do not know God will do such’, they have abandoned God, this is why!’
We are unable to test and correlate religion type or the lack of it with crime in general and domestic violence and spousal murder in particular.
John Onwuka in orange prison jumpsuit
In an internet article in 2008, “Nigerian Men Are Killing Their Wives in America now, ” on a popular Nigerian blog, the Linda Ikeji blog, several Nigerians, almost exclusively Igbo were listed, with pictures, for murdering their wives in America.
The names included Kelechi Charles Emeruwa, Theophilus Ojukwu, Johnny Omorogieva, John Onwuka and Michael Collins Iheme. Nigerians reportedly have peculiar names that allow easy, near accurate identification by ethnicity. The men ranged from 40-50 years and the typical story was a man who brought his wife to the United States, she trained as a nurse, made good money, and later either separated or feeling belittled, the man suddenly went to her abode and killed her crudely.
After coming across a shocking article on a Nigerian forum, NigerianVillageSquare, we ran an internet search to see the 2012 rates of wife killings and check for any trends in occurrence.
Without question, the United States has some of the highest results for ‘man kills wife’, several cases every month.
When we narrowed our search to ‘Nigeria man kills wife’, we found several incidences of Nigerian episodes and these still presented with the popular ethnic trend of being almost exclusively relegated to the Igbo south eastern ethnic group.
Nigeria Major Ethnic Groups : BBC
The realities for the women are sad and frightening to imagine. Domestic violence data indicates that murders are a tiny fraction and minute glimpse at the actual scale of domestic violence within societies. To each domestic murder case reported, there are 100s more non lethal spouse battering episodes.
We at NewsRescue hope that our publication will prompt active discussion into the possible social or cultural etiology of this abusive pathology and energize women protective agencies to study any cultural causes of the levels of violence seen, with aim at possibly addressing them and protecting the thousands of victims.
Here is a collection of recent cases of Nigerians killing their wives this 2012. Two cases are reportedly Yoruba, the rest are the Igbo group of Nigeria:
Mathias Eze, Ex-commissioner Kills Wife Over Stew
When Mathias Eze of Umu-Aji village in Umuida, and Patricia Ossai of Imufu, both in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State got married, little did Patricia know that her heartthrob would end her sojourn on earth in the most gruesome manner 16 years after their marital union.
But on Saturday, July 21, 2012, Mathias, a former Commissioner in the Enugu State Independent Electoral (ENSIEC), tragically ended the union that had produced six lovely children with an alleged gunshot over his wife’s failure to prepare stewed rice for the day’s supper.
The father of the deceased, Elder Alphonsus Ossai, now a shadow of himself, told Sunday Sun the tale of his daughter’s forced death as was narrated to him by the late Patricia’s 15-year-old daughter, Uju, who witnessed the incident that night. Read more…
Nigeria: Man Kills Wife in Imo
By Johnkennedy Uzoma, 2 September 2012
Owerri — Tragedy occurred yesterday Ihitta Ogada in Emekuku community of Owerri North local government area of Imo State when an aged man identified as Mr Vitalis Okere killed his wife and escaped.
The suspect according to information available to Sunday Trust immediately ran to unknown place after the incident to avoid being mobbed by angry youths. According to information, youths of the community on hearing the ugly incident attempted to lynch the man but were prevented by some villagers.
The suspect according to sources hails from Mbaise and is a father of three with two wives.
It was said the deceased was the second wife. The first wife died many years back.
The remains of the deceased have been deposited in an unknown mortuary while the youth of the community are calling for justice.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr Vitalis Onugu confirmed the incident saying investigations to unravel the circumstances had commenced. He told Sunday Trust that the investigation would enable the command to get to the remote causes of the ugly incident.
SCANDAL: Top Nollywood Actor Kills Wife…Confesses In Kuje Prison
Rich Oganiru
Story by Nigeriafilms.com Last Updated: Thursday, August 30, 2012
According to what National Enquirer magazine reported, Rich Oganiru`s name might not really ring a bell again but he`s one of Nollywood`s very good actors and stakeholders. In fact, he prides himself as one of the pioneering members of the Actors Guild of Nigeria and has starred in over 300 movies.
Please look at his pictures again if you`re still in doubt because he`s presently battling a murder scandal for his alleged involvement in the complicity leading to the death of a very rich Abuja based multimillionaire businesswoman believed to be his wife.
The deceased, National Enquirer gathered reliably is not his first wife, the first wife also died mysteriously years back and he was in a very poor state of life before he met the Abuja based multimillionaire who transformed his life in a matter of months. Read More…
Igbo Man Kills His Wife In Ghana – ModernGhana
Wonders, they say, shall never ceased. Despite the all the effort of the Federal Government to redeemed the badly smashed image of Nigerians across the sea, a 26-year-old Nigerian man, Nathaniel Udama Edu, is being held by the Mile 7 Police at Achimota in Accra, for the suspected murder of his girlfriend, Matilda Asante, 19, a senior high school graduate at South Afankor in the early hours of Monday.
The body of the deceased was found in the neighbourhood, wrapped in a bed sheet and her legs tied, while her head was covered in a black polythene bag.
Narrating the incident in Accra, the Crime Officer of the Mile 7 Police Station, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Mr Henry Agbeve, said around 7:30am last Monday the body of the deceased was found on the compound of an adjoining house in the Ga West municipality, lying in a supine position.
According to him preliminary investigations conducted indicated that the body was thrown into that house after the act with the legs tied, the head covered with a polythene bag and the rest of her body wrapped in a bedsheets. Read More…
Nigeria: Man,62, Remanded for Alleged Murder of Wife
By Batholomew Madukwe, 22 August 2012
A 62 year-old man, Christian Agbaga has been remanded in prison custody by a Yaba Magistrate court, the alleged murder of his wife following her purported refusal to grant him sex in the night.
Wife of the accused, Regina Agbaga, was said to have been strangled by her husband at their 10, Ligali Street, Ajegunle, Lagos home. She allegedly held her neck on their matrimonial bed. The accused (Agbaga) is facing a murder charge under section 221 of the Criminal Code Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011.
Refusing to the plea of the accused, the presiding Magistrate, Mrs. S. K. Matepo, ordered that he should be remanded in prison custody at Kirikiri, Lagos and urged the prosecutor to duplicate his file for the DPP’s advice. The matter was adjourned till 15 October for the DPP’s report. Read More...
Man kills son, mutilates wife over alleged infidelity
April 20, 2012 by Eniola Akinkuotu
A washerman, Henry Nnamdi, has allegedly killed his one-year-old son, Chukwuebuka, in order to spite his wife, whom he accused of having an extra-marital affair.
PUNCH Metro learnt that Henry also used a hot pressing iron to burn his wife, Mercy, and stabbed her repeatedly in order to force her to confess to the allegation.
A police source said 40-year-old Henry had been suspecting that his wife was having an amorous relationship with his father for a while.
Our correspondent learnt that on Easter Sunday around 2am, Mercy turned down her husband’s request for sex resulting in an argument between the couple.
A reliable police source told PUNCH Metro, “Henry and his wife live together in a room with their only child at 3, Lambe Street, Ago Palace Way, Lagos.
“The suspect had been suspicious of his wife’s movement and on that very day, he came back home late in the evening and was ironing his customers’ clothes on the floor while his wife and son were on the bed.
“His wife and son were both naked because the room was poorly ventilated. Henry then told his wife he wanted to have sex with her but she refused.
“Henry was infuriated by her refusal and saw it as a confirmation of his suspicion. He grabbed the pressing iron and started inflicting burns all over Mercy’s body, including her private part, asking her to confess.”
PUNCH Metro learnt that the suspect immediately grabbed his son and fled. However, the corpse of his son was later found in the compound. Read More…
Nigeria: Jealous Husband Sets Wife On Fire for Accepting Wine From Another Man At Party
By Bartholomew Madukwe, 26 September 2012Love is said to be the fire of life that neither consumes nor purifies; but for 35-year-old Janeth Odehgbe, hers was a different case as she has been set on fire by her husband following disagreement over her collecting a cup of wine from another man during a party they both attended.
Recounting her ordeal in the hand of her 39-year-old husband, Mr Kehinde Adesanmoye, Janeth told Crime Alert that on September 11, 2012 around 10 pm, her husband poured petrol on her as she was preparing Indomie noodles for a customer and fire caught her immediately. She was nearly consumed by the fire but for passers-by that rescued her.
She said, “I saw him coming towards me, as he got nearer, he ordered my customer to leave and as I tried to run for my dear life, he poured petrol on me and fire caught up with me immediately. Passers-by rescued me and ran after him to fight him, but immediately they noticed it was him, they all went to their various homes. Then some of them took me to the Police station and from there I was taken to Peaceful Convalescent Center, Alhaji Obe Street, Ejigbo Lagos.”
Janeth, who hails from Isoko area of Delta state and earns her living from selling cooked Indomie along Ikotun roundabout, claimed she was illegally married to Adesanmoye (popularly called Ogunlade) after divorcing her first husband.
Trouble was said to have started for the duo on September 8, 2012 when Adesanmoye and his wife went for a naming ceremony of a friend who stays beside their residence at 22, Olaoluwa Street, Abaranje, Ikotun. “As we got to the party, my friends who were also present were hailing me, calling me ‘Indomie’, because I was known for selling Indomie. I was invited to sit on the chairs they have organized for friends. Adesanmoye was sitting right beside me. Read More…
Man Kills Wife in the Presence of His 11 Year-old Son… Says he had “Mental Problems”
Posted on Friday, September 7th, 2012 at 1:42 PM
By Adeola Adeyemo
The last time the Nigerian media was agog with news of a man who had allegedly butchered his wife, it was greeted with a loud public outcry.
It was a gruesome sight. Deep knife cuts, blood all over, her gorging eyes… it was all too much too bear. In fact, it won’t be out of place to say that Nigerians have not yet recovered from the shock of Titi Arowolo’s death.
And now, a year later, another case of a wife killer has been uncovered in Enugu state. Graphic pictures of her lifeless body showing deep cuts with blood oozing out have circulated over the internet stirring another outcry.
The Enugu State Police Command, on Thursday September 6th, 2012 paraded Sunday Eze for allegedly butchering his wife with a machete in Nsukka, Enugu State. Read More…
A middle aged man, Peter Odion, has become a guest of the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly killing his wife, Ifeoma Ohalele Odion, for eating his food.
The incident occurred at their residence at 2, Olushola Close, Abule Taylor, Abule Egba, Lagos State.
Chiweiko Ohalele, a sister of the deceased who was living with the couple but was not at home when the tragedy occurred, said: “I was in my village meeting on Sunday afternoon when one of our neighbours called me on phone to meet them at a hospital at Abule Egba over my sister’s condition. When I got there, I met my sister in an unconscious state with blood dripping from her head and face. In fact, she could not neither talk nor recognise me.
I begged the doctor on duty to transfer her to the General Hospital at Ilepo because her condition was very bad. And he obliged; but before she could be attended to at the General Hospital, my sister died. When I confronted her husband who was also in the hospital on what transpired between him and my sister, he said he fought my sister for trying to eat the eba (garri) he made for himself.”
According to her, the suspect claimed that when they returned from church, he told his wife to prepare eba for him and her daughter, but she refused, claiming she had headache. Peter allegedly went ahead and prepared the eba; only for the wife to get up to eat the food.
A fight then broke out between the couple when Peter insisted his wife must not eat the food.
In the course of the fight, Peter pushed her and she hit her head on a hard object inside the room and fainted. He raised an alarm and neighbours assisted him to rush the unconscious woman to the hospital.
“I did not intend to kill her because we have not had any disagreement before the tragic incident happened,” he said. “I pray that God would forgive me.” Read More…
Man accused of killing girlfriend for denying him sex
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Edith Nwokolo, who resided at 94, Mushin Road, opposite Ire-Akari Road Junction, Isolo, Lagos State, was visited by her estranged lover, Amaechi Uchenna, on February 23 around 10pm. By 11pm, Nwokolo had died in mysterious circumstances while Uchenna was still in the apartment. Nwokolo’s family members alleged that the victim was strangled by Uchenna after a failed attempt to rape her. But the police said the cause of her death had not yet been ascertained as they were still awaiting the autopsy report. The suspect is being detained at the Lagos State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba. Read More…
Horror: Man Kills Step-Son ‘for telling wife of his plot to kill her’
A middle-aged man, Robert Anyanwu of Onunwankwo, Umuhuali community in Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State is now in police net for allegedly killing his step-son for revealing to his mother plot by him to murder her.
Anyanwu, 45, was alleged to have slaughtered his step son, Chigozie Anyanwu, a seven-year old primary one pupil, for daring to expose his evil intentions.
The Ebonyi State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Sylvester Igbo, a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) confirmed the incident, when contacted by our reporter.
“It is confirmed that a man killed his son, it is a confirmed story,” he said and noted that the police were investigating the matter.
Sources from Umuhuali community revealed that Anyanwu, on June 15, 2012, hacked the boy down with a machete on their road to the farm and buried him in a shallow grave in the forest.
The source noted that Anyanwu had, prior to the incident, confided in the boy that he was going to kill his mother within the week for undisclosed offences.
Robert warned the boy against revealing the information to anybody, especially his mother. Read More…
Man Kills Girlfriend Over Phone in Calabar
July 11, 2012 in
The 23-year old girl, Miss Roseline Ijeoma Christopher, was allegedly killed by her boyfriend over her phone which he allegedly stole from her room when he was on a visit. Miss Dorothy Bassey, the landlady of 13, Academy Street, Calabar, where Ijeoma and her siblings along with their aged mother live, told P.M.NEWS that Ette and Ijeoma had been in a relationship for a while but Ijeoma’s mother told Ette to stop coming to their house because of his bad behaviour towards her daughter.
However, according to Bassey, against her instruction, Ette kept sneaking in to see Ijeoma, especially at night. Read More…
The man who set his wife ablaze
Sadly, Naomi who was the envy of the single ladies at the wedding is lying in the morgue because her husband allegedly set her ablaze following a quarrel.
The incident happened on February 10, 2012 at the couple’s four bedroom residence in Ijegun barely three months after the couple exchanged their wedding vows.
Naomi, who narrated how her husband set her ablaze on her hospital bed before she gave up the ghost, said on that fateful day, said Dick, a sailor, came back home late in the night drunk and she challenged him on his drinking habit, which according to her infuriated him as he beat her up and later rushed into the store where they kept petrol for the generating set and poured it on her as she ran into the closet to hide from his beating. Read More…
Topic: Man sets Pregnant wife, children ablaze.
From PETRUS OBI, Enugu Sunday, October 02, 2011
A middle-aged man, Mr Ndubuisi Egeonu, yesterday in Enugu attempted to kill his pregnant wife and his two male children when he locked them up in his barbing shop and set the place on fire.
The incident which happened at about 11: am at No. 61 Mount Street, Idaw River in the Awkunanaw area of Enugu was said to have come as a surprise to both the pregnant woman and neighbours.
Egeonu popularly known as Sagay, and who is now on the run, reportedly arrived his shop that morning and requested the wife to escort him to a filling station to buy fuel.
When they returned he reportedly tried to drag one of his female neighbours from a nearby shop, claiming she was indebted to him. The effort proved futile as neighbours intervened.
An eyewitness who described Egeonu as an erratic character that regularly beat his wife narrated how they were attracted to the container which served as his shop.
“It was when the fire started that we rushed to the shop and heard voices inside that we realized what happened. He actually tied his wife’s hands, poured petrol into the shop, locked the shop and put the place on fire.
“We rushed and broke the door but by then the pregnant woman and her children had been severely burnt.” Read More…
SHOCKER ! PASTOR KILLS WIFE OVER BED GYMNASTICS
Story by AKINNAGBE AKINTOMIDE/NIGERIAFILMS.COM
Last Updated: Saturday, March 24, 2012
A senior Pastor of United Evangelical Church,Rev. Sunday Alfa has murdered his wife,a mother of 4 for refusing him sex.
The wife,Mrs. Rose Alfa was murdered in the Mission House at about 3am in Igojo,Ubali Village near Okene in Kogi State.
We learnt that before the woman gave up the ghost,she had confessed to a Policeman,who was taking her to the hospital that she did no wrong to her pastor husband and that the man came in the night in the room she was sleeping to demand for sex,but she refused because she gave birth to her last baby in October last year through cesarean section and the doctor asked her to abstain from sex for some time.
We gathered that the woman had divorced the pastor and went to Benin City to live with her brother,Mr. Alex Abah.
Four years later,the pastor went to meet the wife relations to beg for forgiveness and pleaded with them to allow his wife come back to him because he had been promoted to Senior Pastor and it was compulsory for him to bring back his wife before they could effect the promotion.
The wife’s relations agreed and allowed her to go back to the husband.
It was during his stay with the wife that the pastor eventually murdered her over sex.
The wife,Mrs. Rose Alfa was murdered in the Mission House at about 3am in Igojo,Ubali Village near Okene in Kogi State.
We learnt that before the woman gave up the ghost,she had confessed to a Policeman,who was taking her to the hospital that she did no wrong to her pastor husband and that the man came in the night in the room she was sleeping to demand for sex,but she refused because she gave birth to her last baby in October last year through cesarean section and the doctor asked her to abstain from sex for some time.
We gathered that the woman had divorced the pastor and went to Benin City to live with her brother,Mr. Alex Abah.
Four years later,the pastor went to meet the wife relations to beg for forgiveness and pleaded with them to allow his wife come back to him because he had been promoted to Senior Pastor and it was compulsory for him to bring back his wife before they could effect the promotion.
The wife’s relations agreed and allowed her to go back to the husband.
It was during his stay with the wife that the pastor eventually murdered her over sex.
