The Ebonyi State Police Command has arrested a 45-year-old woman identified as Mrs. Chioma Ibina, for reportedly clubbing her 75-year-old mother in-law identified as Mrs. Ibina to death.
According to eyewitnesses, Chioma clubbed her mother in-law with a pestle in an accident which occurred on Friday night in Ebyia Unuhu in Abakaliki Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
Mr. Maduabuchi Ibina son of the deceased, who is equally the husband of the suspect, said that some of the family members, on the fateful day, noticed some unusual noise like that of a wheelbarrow at about 12 midnight, and the noise reportedly attracted one of his stepmothers, who opened her door to find out what was wrong.
“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” he said.
According to him, before he could recover from the shock, Chioma had already escaped from the scene of the incident.
“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” he added.
The aggrieved husband further disclosed that at the police station, his wife claimed she was hypnotized while she slept, leading to her picking up a pestle and hitting 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.”
Punch reported that the State Police Spokesperson, Lovet Odah, confirmed the incident, stating that the suspect has been arrested and was now in police custody.
