ABAKALIKI—TRAGEDY
struck on Monday at Akpoha community in Afikpo North local government
area of Ebonyi State as a woman (names withheld) allegedly set her
co-wife ablaze over marital acrimony.
The assailant whose name was identified as Ogeri, Vanguard learnt, has already been arrested by the police.
Explaining
the reason for her action, the woman stated that she was surprised and
angry to discover that her husband, after all she had contributed
towards their livelihood, could have the conscience to bring in another
woman into their matrimonial home as her co-wife.
It
was gathered that the victim, who hails from Abomege in Onicha LGA of
the state, was married on Sunday only to meet her death the next day.
Meanwhile,
as a result of the ugly incident, the village had remained in a pensive
state as members of the community, especially women, were seen at
different spots discussing the incident.
An
eyeswitness, who gave his name as Peter Imo, told Vanguard that the
victim was set ablaze by her co-wife around 3.45pm on Monday when she
was taking a nap in the afternoon.
He
said nobody knew that she (first wife) had made plans on how to kill
her co-wife, adding that when she noticed that her co-wife was sleeping
on the fateful day, she quickly locked the doors and windows of their
apartment and set fire on the building.
He
said: “So when we started seeing smoke and someone shouting for help
from the building, we rushed and put out the fire from the building,
then rescued the woman and took her to a nearby native doctor, only to
discover that she was already dead.”
Contacted,
the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Ebonyi State Police Command,
ASP John Eluu, confirmed the incident, adding that both the first wife
and her husband were being interrogated to ascertain the motive behind
the killing of the victim.
Vanguard Nigeria
