A 34-year-old commercial motorcycle operator, James Nworah, has allegedly killed his wife, Jennifer, at Nkpor in the Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The tragedy, Southern City News gathered, happened on Wednesday at their residence at No 2 Umudioka Street, Ngbuka.
A resident of the area, Emeke Okafor, told our correspondent on Thursday that the suspect, a native of Izzi in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, allegedly became mentally unstable after the Anambra State Government banned okada operations in the area.
Okafor said, “The suspect, a father of five children, was among the okada operators whose means of livelihood was affected as a result of the recent ban on commercial motorcycle operation in the area.
“Since then he has been demonstrating aggression and continually threatening to kill anybody who dared provoke him. About a week ago, his late wife told some people that her husband had been aggressive to members of the family, saying that he would avenge the anger of the okada ban on any of them.”
He said the 30-year-old woman, who was a food vendor, had been living peacefully with her husband until lately.
“The wife and her children had gone to bed at about 2am after preparing the pap they would sell at dawn when the husband suddenly came in and hit her on the head with a pestle,” he added.
When Southern City News visited the place on Thursday, sympathisers were seen discussing the incident.
It was gathered that the suspect had called one of his brothers to inform him that he had killed his wife before he was arrested.
Reacting to the development, the Chairman of Nigerian Red Cross Society, Idemili North chapter, Mr Uchenna Tagbo, decried the rate of aggression in society.
Tagbo counselled members of the public to be prayerful and to reorder their priorities.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr Haruna Mohammed, confirmed the incident.
He said the suspect had been arrested, adding that he would be charged to court after investigations.
“The scene of crime was visited by police detectives attached to the Ogidi Division and the corpse of the victim had been deposited at the Iyienu Mortuary for autopsy after it was certified dead by a medical doctor,” he said.