The Abia State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has paraded a 45-year-old married man for allegedly killing his mistress on the suspicion that she was dating another lover.
The suspect, Nwokeoma Ohuaba, a native of Akpama Ugba in Osisioma Local Government Area of the state, was said to have been infuriated by the victim’s alleged infidelity as he caught her with another man during an unscheduled visit.
He was said to have hit her in the head with a piece of iron during an altercation that ensued when he attempted to confront her. The intruder was said to have fled for his dear life in the process.
The Public Relations Officer, NSCDC, Abia State Command, Victor Ogbonnaya, who paraded the suspect on behalf of the state Commandant, Andy Dateer, said the arrest was made following a tip off.
He gave the victim’s name as Charity Onwutaebe, a widow and mother of three children to her late husband.
The NSCDC spokesperson said the victim was accused by the suspect of attacking him first but she could not withstand his superior response. She was said to have collapsed after they fought each other.
She later died in a hospital in Obingwa, where the suspect had hurriedly rushed her to, claiming she had home accident.
According to NSCDC, when the suspect noticed that the victim might not survive, “he disappeared and refused to come for her. But the hospital management tricked him by telling him that she had recovered and needed provisions and food. When he came, he was arrested.”
Ogbonnaya said the suspect would be handed over to the Police for further investigations and prosecution.
The suspect, in an interview with journalists, claimed that the deceased was his wife and not his concubine, as alleged by the NSCDC. He added that he married her after the death of his first wife.
Ohuaba explained that they (himself and the deceased) were quarrelling over a phone when she first hit him with an iron but “when I retaliated with the same iron, she collapsed.”
The suspect also denied absconding, saying he only went to mobilise for funds after making an initial deposit of N5, 000 out the N10, 000 bill he was asked to pay; but upon his return, the victim had died.