Son testifies as man beats wife to death over N2,000 demand in Edo

A 45-year-old man, John Christopher, on Saturday allegedly beat his 39-year-old wife, Isoken, to death over a disagreement on a N2,000 loan he requested from the deceased.

The incident, which occurred at No. 1 Anigboro Street, off Agbontaen Street, Uselu, Benin City, threw the neighbourhood into confusion.

The man was said to have pounced on Isoken for denying him the loan.

The eldest child of the deceased mother of three, Augustine, said his mother was in good health before the incident.

The 13-year-old boy explained that his father, who is a menial worker with a waste management company in Benin, always beats his mother at the slightest provocation.

According to him, the events that led to his mother’s death started with a phone call from his father to the deceased requesting a loan of N2,000.

Augustine explained “Following the call, my father came home around 9pm and started beating her and accused her of always embarrassing him each time he requested money. After the beating, I was trying to give my mother paracetamol and water she requested when my father took the water and drug from me and threw them away.

“It was after then she went out to bathe and lie down outside. My father locked us (children) inside the room and went out to beat my mother, who was already weak, where she was lying. That was when neighbours came and rushed her to two different hospitals, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.”

A neighbour to the deceased, Mrs Florence Obahiagbon, said it was the noise from the beating that brought her and others outside.

She stated, “On getting outside, we met the man beating his wife as usual and we tried to revive her by pouring water on her, because she was weak by then. We rushed her to two hospitals in the neighbourhood, and both pronounced her dead on arrival.

“We invited vigilantes and they responded swiftly and got hold of the husband, who was trying to flee after committing the crime.”

Obahiagbon said the deceased was hale and hearty before the incident as they both attended the same party earlier in the day, where she participated in serving guests.

She described the deceased as a hard working woman, who operated a fashion shop in a caravan in front of their rented room and parlour residence.

The state police spokesman, SP Kontongs Bello, said Christopher had been arrested and currently at the Textile Mill Police Station and would be transferred to the command headquarters for further investigation.

He said, “The man was said to have asked his wife to lend him some money she made at a burial. When she refused, he was alleged to have beaten her, which led to his wife’s death. He will be brought to the command headquarters on Monday (today) for investigation.”

PUNCH