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From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Siblings of Mrs. Wakego Chima, wife of a man simply identified as Chima, want justice for their sister for an alleged brutal attack on her by her husband and his concubine. Wakego barely survived the attack by her husband and lover.
It was alleged that the suspect and his girlfriend attacked Wakego and inflicted machete cuts on her body, particularly her legs.
The victim is battling for her life at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Choba, where she was taken by relatives.
Daily Sun gathered that, if word had not got to the victim’s relatives early, things might have ended up tragically.
The incident occurred on Monday, August 15, in Omerelu community, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, where the couple lived. That fateful day, the victim, a farmer, was said to have confronted her husband on bringing his girlfriend to their matrimonial home.
According to community sources, the husband, an artisan, was infuriated at his wife’s meddlesomeness in his private life. The sources said there was an altercation, which got Chima more infuriated.
According to the sources, the quarrel between husband and wife snowballed into a fight and the girlfriend joined the man to attack his wife.
One of Wakego’s brothers, Anayo Warisi, urged the police to prosecute the husband and his girlfriend for attempting to murder his sister.
In an interview with the reporter, Warisi said the couple had always quarrelled as a result Chima’s promiscuity.
Investigations revealed that the couple had four children but they lost the last two.
Warisi alleged: “We were told that my sister’s husband brought his girlfriend to the house. That morning, when my sister saw them, she asked her husband why he should bring his girlfriend to their house.
“People around said the man became angry and he started beating my sister. The lady he brought home also joined in attacking my sister.
“The neighbours said Chima rushed inside the house, brought out a cutlass and started macheting my sister. Her body is full of machete cuts. The one on her leg is too much.
“When I saw the injuries he inflicted on my sister, throughout that day, my body was full of goose pimples. I could not eat. I’m still wondering what my sister could have done for this man to do this type of thing to her. If I show you the picture, you won’t believe it.”
Warisi disclosed that, because of the degree of machete cuts inflicted on his sister, the first and nearest hospital in Elele, where she was rushed to, rejected her.
According to him, his senior siblings were advised to take her to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Choba, where she was eventually admitted in the emergency ward.
According to the victim’s brother, after her husband had executed his deeds, he fled home, apparently thinking that the woman had died.
“When the information reached us, it was my elder sister and elder brother that rushed down to Omerelu. When they got there, she was in a pool of blood, writhing in pains.
“We are grateful to God that my senior ones got there quite early. Otherwise, it would have been a different story. My senior siblings rushed her to a hospital in Elele. They rejected her, saying that she sustained a high degree of machete cuts.
“From there, my elder sister and brother took her the UPTH. We thank God that the hospital did not reject her. She was admitted and is responding to treatment. What the husband did is really very painful,” he said.
It was gathered that the police arrested Chima’s girlfriend later that day. The ‘lover boy’ was apprehended two days after by the Elele Police Division. It was also gathered that the woman’s husband has been transferred alongside his lover to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID).
Meanwhile, the woman’s relatives have commended the polaice for arresting the suspects. They are demanding justice for their sister, who, though responding to treatment, is still writhing in pain.
Daily Sun learnt that the arrest of the husband followed the orders of the Rivers State Commissioner of Police that he must be caught.
Also, the state police boss, CP Friday Eboka, ordered the case transferred to the SCIID, Port Harcourt.
Meanwhile, the Centre for Basic Rights Protection and Accountability Campaign has called for a thorough investigation into the incident.
Secretary of the group in Rivers State, Mrs. Gladys Oyenmwen, said the law should punish whoever was found culpable. She added that domestic violence under any guise had no place in a civilised society and should not be tolerated, irrespective of who the perpetrator might be.
