One Chioma Ibina (45) has allegedly killed her mother-in-law, identified simply as Mrs. Ibina (75,) by hitting her on the head with a pestle and then blame the devil for her dastard act.
The tragedy happened last Friday night in Ebyia Unuhu in Abakaliki Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
The son of the deceased and husband of the suspect, Maduabuchi Ibina, told newsmen that some of the family members, on the fateful day, noticed some unusual noise like that of a wheelbarrow at about 12 midnight.
According to him, the noise attracted one of his stepmothers, who opened her door to find out what was wrong.
Mr. Ibina narrated, “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.”
By the time the stepmother and the neighbour had time to recover from the shock after observing what happened, the suspect (Chioma) had escaped, he added.
“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.”
Mr. Ibina stated how his wife cried and cried at the Police Station, claiming that she was hypnotised while she slept. According to the suspect, this made her to pick up a pestle and hit the mother-in-law twice in her room.
“My wife told us that the same spirit directed her to carry wheelbarrow, which she did before family members came to the scene.”
The Ebonyi State Police Public Relations Officer, Lovet Odah, confirmed the incident and the arrest of the suspect.
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