Matthew James shocked residents of Idekan Farm Settlement in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, by killing his 55-year-old wife, Etim Mary, due to suspicions of her having an extramarital affair.
The incident took place around
8 p.m. on Sunday, according to community and police sources. James, now in
police custody, allegedly committed the crime after suspecting his wife of
having an affair with another man in the community.
An eyewitness, who requested
anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said police operatives from the
Ijebu-Igbo Division had taken James into custody. The suspect claimed he and
his late wife had a "blood covenant" not to betray each other.
"They had a blood covenant
that they would not leave each other. He suspected the wife was having an
extramarital affair. The woman had been married before she met James. He
married her when she was already aging. She had grown up with children before
James married her. James is claiming they both had a blood covenant not to
leave each other for any reason. He just returned one morning with a machete
and hacked the woman to death. He didn’t run away after committing the crime.
He just stood beside her after," the source said.
Omolola Odutola, spokesperson
for the state police command, commented on Monday's incident, stating that the
wife was pronounced dead by the attending doctor after being rushed to the
hospital by other residents.
"She was found lying in a
pool of her blood just in front of the house about 5 p.m. on Sunday. She had
deep cuts on her forehead, shoulders, and other parts of her body. The husband
was found with the blood-soaked machete he was believed to have used to commit
the crime. The body was taken to a general hospital in Ijebu-Igbo, where she
was certified dead by a doctor on duty. Her corpse has been deposited at the
Alayangbe Private Mortuary in Oke-Agbo, Ijebu-Igbo, for the autopsy. We will move
the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Abeokuta as soon as
the preliminary investigation is concluded," Odutola said.
In a similar incident in April
in Ekiti, a suspect named Dare Onipede allegedly killed his wife, Arinola,
during a dispute over accusations of her having an extramarital affair. The
suspect allegedly stabbed his wife, the mother of three, to death during the
incident.
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