Killer of our daughter on the loose – Family of murdered Lagos housewife

Fate, has an uncanny way of affecting human beings. At times, it turns out positive, some other times, it ends negatively. For the families of Late Mrs. Obiageli Anajekwu and Chinyere Onyali, her bosom friend and neighbour, it has been a tragic tale of woes and untold suffering.

To the foster family of late Obiageli, they are not only contending with the traumatic effect of losing their loved daughter under painful circumstances in her matrimonial home but, are more saddened that investigations into the circumstances that surrounded her agonising death may be stalled by the police.

Worse still, late Obiageli’s bosom friend and her husband in whose house she died after she was allegedly manhandled by her own husband, have been made to suffer untold hardship. The couple who are the principal witnesses in the case were not only thrown into police cell after the brutalized woman who ran for succour into their home, slumped and died, but are also living in fear following threats to eliminate them.

In fact, their home was raided by men of the underworld few days after they were granted bail by the police. They were lucky not to be at home when the bandits arrived and ended up carting away a laptop containing pictures of injuries allegedly inflicted on Late Obiageli by her husband.

HOW IT STARTED

late-ObyNarrating how the incident happened, brother to the deceased, Nnamdi Eze told Crime Guard: ‘’We are yet to recover from the brutal murder of my sister, two months after the incident. She died after serial brutal assaults by her husband.

My sister, a 37- years-old graduate of Economics from University of Nigeria, Nsukka, got married to her husband in the year 2002.

‘’After their traditional marriage ceremony and due to his dwindling financial fortunes, the husband travelled back to Brazil where he was based with a promise to his wife that he would return in 2003 when things would have improved.

Unfortunately, he did not return until sometime in 2011, when on his way back through Cameroon, he was arrested, tried and jailed for 3 years over drug related offences.

During his period of imprisonment, his wife was visiting him frequently to take care of his needs. She spent all her life savings estimated at about eight hundred and fifty thousand naira (N850, 000), catering for the needs of her jailed husband until he regained his freedom and returned to Nigeria in 2013.

RETURN FROM JAIL

‘’Upon his return in 2013, he moved with his wife into his personal house at No. 7, Okoye Close, Iyana-oba Estate, Igbo-leri. Sometime in December 2014, after thoroughly beating and inflicting grievous bodily injuries on his wife- a habit he developed shortly after moving in with his wife- he invited his relations and others and claimed that he discovered a charm in her bag. Consequent upon this claim and his decision to send his wife away, a meeting of representatives of both families was called with the community chief of his village, Chief Ezeani and his own father present.

FATHER INTERVENES

‘’Fortunately, his father revealed that the item his son saw in his wife’s bag was prepared by him and given to her for protection against evil attacks by some members of their family, including one of his sons whom he said was notorious in the community for his diabolical ways.

The father of the suspect further explained that he had to prepare the protection after he and his daughter-in-law, Obiageli, had swollen legs which were later treated by a traditional healer who informed them about those responsible and recommended the protective charms in order to ward off further evil attacks.

‘’The suspect’s father further told his son that the charm was not targeted at him or meant to harm him but to protect his wife and himself from evil members of their family and counselled that that should not be enough reason to end their marriage. His father, however, said that if he insisted on sending his wife away, he should set up a Supermarket for her and refund her the money she spent taking care of him while he was in prison in Cameroon.

The suspect agreed to this proposal to set up a business for his wife and give her back the money she spent on him before they would part ways. It was, however, agreed that his wife would remain with him until he fulfilled all the agreements which he said he would do after he had sold his house at No. 7. Okoye Close, Iyana-Oba Estate, Igboneri.

BATTERING AND ESCAPE FROM GOLGOTHA

‘’While the deceased was still waiting for her husband to set up the business for her and pay her back the money as agreed, the suspect on January 19, 2015 battered her, aided by his friend one Polycarp. He tore his wife’s clothes and threw her out by 1.00 am with her property leaving her with injuries all over her body, head and around her neck.

The victim ran to her friend’s house, one Chinyere Onyali and narrated to her how her husband had repeatedly beaten her for days and inflicted injuries and sometimes resulting to her being hospitalised. Her friend, seeing her condition, with the many injuries on her body, advised her to report the case to the police and she lodged a report of the incident at Adolf Police Station.

FAILED INTERVENTION

‘’Further, on the advice of her friend’s husband she also reported the incident to one Mazi Okonkwo who hails from her husband’s community, Igbo-Ukwu Anambra and living in the same area. Efforts by Mazi Okonkwo to intervene and resolve the problem was rebuffed by the suspect who even refused to attend any meeting to discuss the matter. Instead, he continued to issue threats that he would kill her if he set his eyes on her. The police did not intervene until she died two days later on the 21st January 2015 at her friend’s house.’’

…AND THE WOMAN DIED

The brother continued; ‘’My dear sister, Obiageli slumped in her friend’s house and when her friend called her (Obiageli’s) husband to inform him that his wife had slumped, he said he did not know her and that it was not his business if she died.

Thereafter, the victim’s friend called her husband, Theo Onyali and informed him about the development and he immediately went and reported at the police station leading to the eventual arrest the suspect on February 23, 2015 after he had been on the run. The victim’s friend and her husband were also detained by the police officer but were released after they paid some money for bail.

POLICE INVESTIGATION TARDY AND SLOW

‘’Our pain is that Police investigation has been very slow and tardy, making family members suspect that we may not get justice after all. The police have demanded and received various sums of money from members of my family for embalming and autopsy but are yet to charge the matter to court. We also requested for police protection for the primary witnesses who are under threat by the suspect who has continued to threaten them should they testify against him.

Severally while at the Ojo Divisional Police Station, the suspect, threatened the prime witnesses, his late wife’s friend, Onyali Chinyere and her Husband, Theo Onyali. After they were released on bail, armed men stormed their house located on 20, Okonkwo Street, Igboleri, Iyanaba Estate. They did not meet them at home and they made away with a laptop containing pictorial evidence of injuries on late Obiageli Anajekwu inflicted on her by her husband. The suspect also threatened one of his brothers-in-law, Chukwuma Ezeh.

PRINCIPAL WITNESSES YET TO BE INVITED

‘’We are worried that the police are yet to invite and interview or interrogate the principal witnesses in this case including the suspect’s father, same for the chief of his community who lives in the neighbourhood and whose efforts to intervene in the matter were rebuffed by the suspect before the death of his wife after he made further threat to kill his wife if he set his eyes on her.

Frankly, we suspect that the police may compromise investigation, hide the truth and deny us justice because of the tardiness in their investigation. There seems a deliberate attempt by the police to stall the investigation due to the influence of the suspect who boasts that he belongs to a powerful group alleged to be a gang of criminals. The suspect has been boasting that nothing will come out of police investigation.

APPEAL TO POLICE BOSS

‘’We have been advised by human right groups that under the currently circumstance, only a Coroner’s Inquiry into her death will be free from interference and influence peddling and will unravel the truth and ensure justice is done. We are therefore, calling on the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Kayode Aderanti and the Inspector- General of police, Suleman Abba, to intervene and ensure that my late sister gets justice even in death