The Husband of Late Nkiru Okoye
Kamsi Anayo, Awka
The Police in Anambra State have confirmed the murder of a woman said to be a cousin of award winning novelist, Chimamanda Adichie.
The Network gathered that the cousin, Nkiru was killed by a man, Mr George Okoye from Ogbunike in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra state.
He was alleged to have killed the woman, his younger brother’s wife, over a protracted dispute over property.
Okoye allegedly led his wife and children into her husband’s, (Mr Emenike Okoye) compound to beat him and his wife, the late Mrs Nkiru Okoye.
Mr Okoye was said to have died as a result of the beating.
Emenike who survived with a broken hand, a fractured waist, and an injured eye from the beating is still recuperating in a hospital.
The sick man who spoke to journalists from his hospital bed narrated the incident that led to his 40-year old wife’s death on 19th July in tears.
He said he was only abandoned by his brother and the thugs they brought, because they thought he had died.
Though the suspect, Mr George Okoye has been arrested and currently in the police custody, the whereabouts of his wife, Mrs Uzonna Okoye, his twin daughters and son, Somtochukwu Okoye who participated in the beating were still unknown.
Narrating the story of his wife’s death said, Emenike said, “We did not do anything. I was preparing for work that day, and my wife was preparing the children for school and to also travel home for a meeting in Abba, Njikoka Local Government Area, where she is from, when George and his wife, Uzonna and their son, Somtochukwu and twin daughters invaded my house around 7am to 8am.
“They overpowered us, beat us to stupor, and left. Later when my children have gone to school, they returned with some persons and dangerous weapons, including axe.
“They dragged my wife outside the house, hit and killed her with axe and chair. She fell and died. When I resisted their move to drag me outside too, they broke my hand with an axe, dragged me outside; hitting me with the axe all over my body until I passed out.
“You can see the cut on my eyes. They left me, thinking that I was also dead. But God helped to revive me later. I reported the incident to our local vigilante and they drove me to the hospital.”
The father of five begged for help, and also for justice against his elder brother, who he said has been at logger heads with the family, over the property for several years.
“Right from when our mother (Mrs Adaoba Okoye) was alive, George said he is our landlord. He is not our first born, yet he claims ownership of the entire compound and always fight all of us.
“I lived and worked overseas, but when the company where I was working folded up, I returned home. We had our first three children overseas, and our last two here (Ogbunike).
“My wife has nothing to do with this. Why killing her for nothing? After we returned home trouble started. The crisis led to the death of our mother and our eldest brother.
“He reported us to the kindred, and our property was shared, with him taken the larger part. I took mine without complaining. Later, he started laying claims to my house.
“He reported me to our kindred but it was settled to my favour. He disagreed and kept on troubling me. When I laid dwarf perimeter fence, he pulled it down, and even reported me to the kindred,” he lamented.
The Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO Tochukwu Ikenga, said he was aware of the incident, stating that investigation on the matter had long commenced, and was still ongoing.
Meanwhile the younger brother of late Nkiru, Mr Chidiebele Okelue, said that Abba people would never rest until justice was done.
He appealed to the Commissioner of Police, Inspector General of Police and other security agencies to help in bringing the culprits to book.
Also some members of Ogbunike Daughters Association (Umuada Ogbunike), Mrs Nkechinyeru Nwoye and Ms Ogochukwu Okoye, described the incident as abomination.
They urged the local vigilante and their brothers (male folks of the kindred) to seriously work hard and make sure that the perpetrators of the henious crime didn’t get away with the murder.
They stressed that what they need is justice for Emenike and his late wife.
