What could have led to the murder of a 35-year old woman in her house in Oke-afa, Isolo, Lagos, by unknown assailants who took nothing away from her is a question on the lips of many residents of the area, who are still in shock on the gruesome murder of Mrs. Martha Ifeayinwa Ifewulu.
To the family, the death of Ifeayinwa has left a pill too bitter to swallow, especially on her four children who will now live the rest of their lives without the tender love and care of their mother.
She was cut down in her prime at a very young age when her family needed her love, care and support most, by those who like to see others sorrow and suffer; those who may also be fathers and mothers, who would like to see their own children grow so as to take care of them personally, but will not like to see other parents take care of their children alive.
Monday, December 1, was a day that will remain indelible in the hearts of the family of the Ifewulu’s from Anambra State, as the day their mother, wife, sister, aunty and daughter, Martha Ifeaninwa Ifewulu, the wife of Mr. Ugochukwu Ifewulu, was murdered in cold blood at their residence at No 45, Salau Aliu Street, Oke-afa, Isolo, Lagos.
The late Ifeyinwa, a mother of four children (two boys and two girls) on that fateful Monday morning prepared her children, aged 11, nine, seven and five, to school and they left for school with one of their little cousins around 14 years, and other members of her family left for their various places of business leaving her behind. But on her way out of the house to her shop, tragedy struck; she was murdered right on her staircase on her way out of the house with a sharp object suspected to be broken mirror; and she died in the pool of her own blood on the staircase.
What could have led to this horrible murder is still not clear. Could the late 35 year old woman have involved herself in some unscrupulous dealings that prompted outright death; or could it be that those looking for her husband but could not get him decided to avenge their anger on the wife; or had she offended some wicked people in one way or the other? All these are puzzles waiting for answers from the police.
When Friday Magazine visited the house, the whole place was cool and calm with friends, relatives, neigbours and other sympathisers coming to console Mr. ifewulu on the death of his wife.
But curious to know what might have gone wrong leading to the murder of Mrs. Ifewulu, Friday Magazine learnt that she was only a petty trader, selling provisions at Ago Palace Way in Okota.
Observing Ifeayinwa’s husband showed that the man is a peace-loving and quiet man who is easily accessable and as such has nothing to hide, as the house itself does not have security or guard to keep watch, an indication that the family has no problem with anybody.
Narrating what happened on that fateful day to Friday Magazine, Mr. Ifewulu in a sorrowful mood explained that on that Monday morning, December 1, he left the wife at home to go for a laboratory test at Noble Laboratory at No 140 Okota Road, because he was not feeling well. But after the test around 12 noon, he called the wife to tell her how it went, but her phone rang severally and she did not pick the call.
According to him, “After series of call and no response, I was angry that my wife did not pick my call to know why I was calling; so I decided from there to continue my journey to the office. I suspected she might have been murdered around 10-11. So due to the Apapa hold up, I got to the office in Apapa late around 3 O’colck and shortly after that, I received a call from the wife of one of my tenants down stair that I should come home immediately that something bad has happened. I was so shocked and terrified that I could not drive and I asked one of my cousins to drive me. When I got home around 5 O’clock, I saw many people gathered in the compound and I climbed up stairs and saw my wife laying dead in the pool of her own blood while the chairman of the landlords association of my area has called the police from Ejigbo Police Station. They came and took some pictures and the body was later deposited at the Isolo mortuary.”
Mr. Ifeawulu explained further that her dead body was discovered by her children who came back from school and saw their mother’s car and with excitement believing that their mother was still at home, climbed the stair case up stair to see her, only to find out blood everywhere on the staircase and her lifeless body covered with blood.
It was gathered that it was the 14-year old cousin who discovered the body of the late ifeayinwa on the staircase and prevented the children from going up further and then alerted her aunt’s friend who sells some items around the area.
What a traumatic experience it was for the little children to know that the same lively mother who bade them goodbye in the morning was dead, killed by an unknown assailants!
Mr. Ifewulu stated that “to show that it was a real case of assassin, nothing was taken away from her, because she has locked the door and was coming down with her car key and phones when the killers met her on the stair case and attacked her and killed her on the stair case and went away without arousing any suspicion. Everything that happened played out on the staircase of the two storey building.”
From observation, probably she was killed with a broken mirror on the staircase as a big mirror was shattered, an indication that her attackers broke the mirror and used some parts of it to slash her throat.
Mr. Ifewulu, a clearing agent in Apapa and the owner of the two story building where her wife was murdered, said that he is a peace-loving man and the wife was a good and peaceful woman who did not deserve that kind of treatment from anybody
On the wall around the staircase, patches of blood can be seen, maybe as she struggled with the murders.
For now the case has been transferred from the Ejigbo Police Station to Panti Police Station for further investigations.
When Friday Magazine asked Mr. Ifewulu if prior to the death of his wife she had complained of any serious quarrel or threat to her life from anybody or on his own side if he had been threatened by anybody, he said nothing of such had ever happened, adding that they had lived in the house for years without having any quarrel with anybody.
It is hoped that the police will get to the root of this matter to unravel the mystery behind this dastard act, because if the killers and their collaborators are not found, this may become a common occurrence based on the conviction of the murders that nobody will ever find them out and they will continue to commit more atrocities.
No comments:
Post a Comment