Linus Oota, Lafia
It sounds like a tale out of the blues. A strange story only possible in the never- never land. But alas, the story is real as only reality can be.
A man and woman met and fell in love and got married along the line, with a vow never to leave each other until death does them part. But somewhere in the middle of the otherwise happy union, the problem of infertility crept in and, not surprisingly, put a sharp knife on the thread of love and hope that held the couple together as the woman’s best friend became pregnant for her husband in a not-too-pleasant circumstance.
Hell hath no fury like a woman so jilted. In a bid to even the score, the woman poisoned her husband so that both she and her betraying friend could lose the man. “Let it be neither mine nor hers,” one of the harlots involved in child paternity claim with her partner was said to have told King Solomon in the Bible. That appeared to be the philosophy behind the woman’s decision to poison her husband.
But while friends and foes battled to save the man’s life in a hospital, tragedy raised the ante to the second power. Like a bolt from the blue, the woman in the eye of the storm, got involved in a fatal accident, under inexplicable circumstance, while trying to escape for her dear life, after realizing the danger she was in. But tragedy raised the ante to the third power when the following day, her best friend, who was on her way to see the father of her unborn baby, after learning of the evil perpetrated by her aggrieved friend also got involved in a fatal accident.
Making of the tragedy
Tragedy of the Shakespearian proportion and propensity! That’s what everybody is now calling the story of the 47-years-old Titus Akoon, a staff of Lafia Local Government Area, living on Makurdi Road, Lafia, Nasarawa State, his wife, Judith Audu, a native of Igala from Kogi State and her best friend, Doose Tyover, a Tiv from Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State.
December 2018 marked exactly 10 years Titus and Judith were married but without a child to cement the union. All their efforts to get a solution to the problem both medically and spiritually ended up in failures. In walked Judith’s best friend, Doose, into the ugly marital picture. She and Doose had attended the same secondary school. The bond between the two friends was said to have grown stronger when both of them secured admission into the College of Education, Katsina Ala, to read for the National Certificate in Education (NCE).
As a matter of fact, that was where Judith met her husband, Titus. But to her embarrassment and later chagrin, Judith discovered that Doose is pregnant for her husband. This painful discovery made her decide to terminate his life through food poisoning. Afraid that her own life too might go for it, if the man succumbs to death, in the course of treatment, she decided to escape. But she could not go too far with that plan as she, in mysterious circumstance, lost her life in a fatal accident that occurred while she was travelling to Lokoja, on Friday, March 20, 2019, in a bid to run for her dear life.
But as it were, tragedy was not yet done with the family, the following day, March 30, 2019, Doose who was coming to Lafia from Makurdi, to check on the health of the father of her unborn baby, also died in a fatal accident that, altogether, claimed four lives. She had embarked on the trip with her brother and his friend, but the two survived. Surprisingly, before embarking on what later unfortunately turned out to be for her a journey of no return, Judith, her aggrieved friend, spoke with our correspondent in an exclusive chat, in Lafia.
Judith’s sorrowful story
“I have been married for about 10 years now, though I am still praying for a fruit of the womb,” she said with sadness in her voice as she sought to explain why she embarked on the revenge mission as well as how Doose got impregnated by her husband. “I thought I had a happy marriage till I realized that I have been living in a fool’s paradise. The issue now is that my best friend is currently pregnant for my husband,” she announced with a heavy sigh.
“I have been friends with Doose from childhood in Makurdi and we were
so close that people thought we were actually sisters, though she is Tiv while I am Igala by tribe. We went to the same secondary school and graduated from the same College of Education in Katsina Ala. Our friendship was such that after we finished our wedding and relocated to Lafia, she kept visiting us regularly. But one thing with Doose is that she finds it very difficult to keep a steady relationship. I believe this is why she has not gotten a husband till now.
“Late last year, she got a private job offer as a desk officer with one of the NGOs in the state and naturally, she had to stay with us before she could get her own accommodation. I was so happy to have her live with us. I was even happier when she and my husband hit it off right away. Little did I know there was something else brewing between them.”
Judith who is a private secondary schoolteacher in Lafia said the closeness between Doose and her husband grew and at a point, “I became suspicious and told my husband I was no longer comfortable with it. But he swore that he was only being nice to her. Three or four months later, I noticed that Doose was becoming fatter, lazy and throwing up all the time. But when I expressed my concern, she assured me that she was only suffering from malaria bouts and would soon be okay. She later got a better offer in Makurdi and went back. But while there, she told her close friend about her pregnancy for my husband. I confronted my husband with the hint, but he vehemently denied it.
But the cover was blown when I read a text message sent into his phone by Doose demanding money from him to go for a medical checkup as well as to register for antenatal care. This time around I confronted him with the iron-cast evidence and he confessed that actually Doose was pregnant for him and that he intended for her to have the baby since I am yet to bear a child for him. He said was he was beginning to lose patience. When I protested the cheating on me, he said if I was not comfortable with that, I should excuse him.”
Looking into the reporter’s eyes, she said: “I felt betrayed by my friend and my husband. I could not control my emotions. Quickly, the devil began to suggest in my mind to eliminate him through food poisoning. So I bought local insecticide, otapiapia, and mixed it with his food. I reasoned that since he wants me to excuse him, he should be the one to excuse himself from this planet. He did not want my happiness and he was also not polite about it. I felt that he should also not live to see his baby from Doose. If it were another lady, I would not have felt as angry. But I don’t think I should fold my hands and see Doose take over my home. But since my husband allowed it, I felt that the unexpected should happen: I would be a widow but her child will have no father.”
Doose’s ill-fated ‘rescue mission’
Interestingly too, before Doose embarked on the ill-fated journey, our correspondent got her to tell her own side of the sordid story through her phone number supplied by Titus. “Yes, I am pregnant for Mr. Titus,” she said in confirmation of Judith’s allegation against her. “He asked me for it and considering the fact that he is the only surviving son of his late parents, I gave in to his demand. More so, I am no longer getting younger without a husband. It is quite unfortunate but that is the position. I don’t have any intention of hijacking her husband from her as she was thinking. I only intend to deliver the baby for him and go my way. I pray that nothing happens to him in the hospital. I will find time to come over.”
Titus curses wife, wishes for death
At the hospital where doctors were battling to save the man’s life, he regrets that the woman could not fulfill that last wish of hers and he puts the blame squarely on his wife whom he now regards as the very embodiment of everything evil. “I did that to have a child,” he said while trying to explain how the so-called infidelity and betrayal of trust he is now being accused of came about. “Ten solid years of marriage without a child is not an easy task. I want the doctors to allow me to die so that I can join my unborn child. I don’t deserve to live again,” he sobbed on learning about the two tragic deaths.
But of the two women in his life involved in such tragic death, it is the wife that he has the harshest words for, noting that she will not find peace in her grave. “I may not be right but that was the only available option to test my virility as a man, to know where the problem lies. It was easy for me to ask her to abort it, but looking at my condition, I couldn’t gamble with such as it may be the last opportunity for me to have a child.” Looking up, he said: “May God forgive my sins and grant my unborn child and the mother eternal rest.”