Father of five allegedly kills wife for money ritual

By Evelyn Usman & Faith Ake

A bizarre incident occurred yesterday at Araromi Street in the densely

populated Oshodi area of Lagos, following the killing of a mother of five by

her husband.

The suspect, Sogei Jafairu, who hails from Etsako Central Local Government

Area of Edo state, was suspected to have committed the act for ritual

purpose.



returned home Thursday evening, after spending one week outside. His

unsuspecting wife, Roselyn , who was a trader at Ijora market, prepared food

for members of the family .

But the food was alleged to have been poisoned by her husband, who also

ate with her.

At about 1am, Jafaru was said to have been seen pacing around his one

room and parlour apartment. He was said to have also been sighted licking

some black substance suspected to be concoction to neutralise the poisoned

food he ate with his wife.

Thereafter, he allegedly slit his wife's throat with a knife, while she was

sleeping.

Saturday Vanguard gathered that he attempted to stuff the lifeless body

inside a container when he suddenly started vomiting. One of their children,

Richmond Sogei (16) narrated the incident when Vanguard visited.

He said "My daddy and mummy never ate together since I grew up knowing

them as my parents. We only saw them eating together for the very first time

yesterday (Thursday) .Mummy came back from the market with some drinks

she said we would use to celebrate Children's Day today (yesterday)

"We were surprised when we saw them eating beans and garri from same

plate but concluded that it could be as a result of my kid sister's birthday

that was celebrated same day.We all went to bed without any thought of the

unexpected. But at 3am my daddy woke me up and instructed me to go and

meet my mum in the bedroom. I left the sitting room where I slept with my

aunt and three siblings. As I was going to urinate, I saw daddy vomiting in

the bathroom. I went outside to urinate and when I came back, I saw him

lying down in the bathroom. When I flashed the torchlight, I noticed that he

was vomiting some black substance. He also excreted on himself.

Out of fear, I rushed to wake my aunt up to assist daddy. I also told her to

wake mummy up to come and help daddy but she said that mummy was not

responding. When I went inside and flashed my torchlight at her, I saw that

the bed she laid on was socked with blood. On closer observation, I

discovered a deep cut on her throat and passed out.

"Daddy initially said somebody broke into the room and killed mummy but we

discovered that the gate was locked. Later he said I was the one that killed

my mummy.

How can I kill a mother that has been playing the role of a father to us?. She

was even sponsoring my elder brother, Collins who just gained admission into

the University. She was the bread winner.

Twice, we have been sent packing by our landlords at Michael and Banjoko

streets because daddy could not pay the rent. Why would anyone think of

killing such person? ", he asked, crying.

Vanguard also gathered that the suspect had been beating the deceased

before the incident occurred. On one of the occasions, she had threatened to

quit the marriage.

A relative of the deceased, Feronica Imomoh, revealed that the suspect

accused his wife of infidelity.

She said: "Our family had warned him to stop beating my sister . He does

not have any job, she was the one feeding him and paying the rent. Anytime

she collected gifts from her relatives, he would quarrel with her, accusing her

of sleeping with men. There was a time he took him to our village in Edo

State to swear before a shrine that she was not cheating on him.

Just yesterday (Thursday) he demanded N10, 000 from her. She promised to

raise the money by borrowing from her friends".

Jafaru who attempted to escape was apprehended by sympathisers until the

arrival of policemen from Akinpelu who whisked him away and removed the

corpse.

Meanwhile, all apartments and shops at the two storey building located were

under lock and key, as their occupants have fled, for fear of being arrested by

the police.

When contacted, Deputy Spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command,

Mr. Chukwuma Ozoani, a Deputy Superintendent of Police said that the

suspect had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and

Intelligence Department for further investigation.

He said:"It was a murder case and the husband was suspected to be under

the influence of drug. The case has been transferred to the SCID and

investigation has commenced."