A 45-year-old woman identified as Mrs. Chioma Ibina (45 years) has allegedly killed her mother-in-law identified simply as Mrs. Ibina (75 years) by hitting her on the head with a pestle.
The ugly incident occurred last Friday night in Ebyia Unuhu in Abakaliki Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
Narrating the incident before newsmen, the son of the deceased, who is equally the husband of the suspect, Mr. Maduabuchi Ibina, said that some of the family members, on the fateful day, noticed some unusual noise like that of a wheelbarrow at about 12 midnight.
He said that the noise attracted one of his stepmothers, who opened her door to find out what was wrong.
He said, “Neighbours from nearby compound informed her that it was the suspect (Mrs Chioma), who pleaded to use their wheelbarrow that night.
“At that point, one of the neighbours followed my stepmother and they trailed the sound of the wheelbarrow to a point where they sighted Mrs. Chioma displaying suspicious behaviour, which prompted them to question her on what she was doing with a wheelbarrow at 12 midnight.
“They noticed that Chioma’s body was soaked with blood and this gave them more reason to be worried; they then forced themselves into the room and saw my mother in a pool of her own blood with her head crushed with pestle.
He narrated that by the time the stepmother and the neighbour had time to recover from the shock after observing what happened, the suspect (Chioma) had escaped.
Mr. Maduabuchi wondered why his wife would indulge in such a dastardly act as there was no misunderstanding between his mother and her.
“I was not in the house that fateful night the incident occurred; I attended a burial in the village and returned in the morning to learn of this development.
“The next place I saw my wife was at Nkwegu Police Station where she narrated how she committed the crime, attributing it to the handwork of the devil.”
Maduabuchi further disclosed that his wife cried profusely at the Police Station stating that she was hypnotised while she slept, leading to her picking up a pestle and hitting the mother-in-law twice in her room.
He continued, “My wife told us that the same spirit directed her to carry wheelbarrow, which she did before family members came to the scene.”
When contacted, the Ebonyi State Police Public Relations Officer, Lovet Odah, confirmed the incident, stating that the suspect has been arrested and was now in police custody.