BY AGNES NWORIE, ABAKALIKI
An Ebonyi State High Court sitting in Abakaliki has discharged and acquitted a man, Mathew Njoku, who was accused of killing his wife for money ritual.
The court presided over by Justice Chris Ezeh ruled that the prosecution could not prove the murder case beyond reasonable doubt.
Njoku had lost his wife, Nwakaego, during childbirth at their apartment at number 1, Chinedu Ogah Avenue in Abakaliki in 2019 and was thereafter, accused by his in-laws of compelling his deceased wife to give birth at home despite complications.
The in-laws alleged that Njoku wanted his wife to give birth at home in order to use the placenta of the new born baby for money ritual.
In an interview with The Point correspondent after the court judgement, Njoku’s counsel, Johnson Odey thanked the court for vindicating the widower to take care of his children, disclosing that his client could not have killed the wife because they got married when they both had nothing as teenagers.
On her part, the prosecuting counsel, Grace Chima, expressed dissatisfaction over the judgement, saying the judgement would be appealed.
Bemoaning the judgement, elder sister to the deceased mother of three, Njideka Nwali insisted that Nwakaego died shortly after giving birth without any medical support following complications in their apartment under the husband and househelp’s watch having lost so much blood since her appeal to the husband to take her to hospital fell on deaf ears.
She claimed that the deceased sister, through her restaurant business, sponsored Njoku through the university up to Law School in Abuja where he allegedly came in contact with people who promised to show him the way to riches if he would be able to bring the placenta of a newborn baby.
According to Nwali, “among all my siblings, I am the closest to Nwakaego. She told me when her husband’s movements and attitude towards her changed, which was after the Abuja Law School. I came severally to talk to him but I always met his absence and his phone then was always said to be switched off. I always advised her on how to be a good mother and wife not knowing that the game was up. I never knew the change of attitude would lead to death of anyone. I thought he was planning to get another wife. My sister always had terrible dreams about the husband and I was calming her down, not knowing the dreams were clear revelations. It was after my sister’s death that their neighbours started saying all they observed about the man’s strange behaviours.
“Even their then 12 years old house help said her madam was pleading to be taken to the hospital when the labour prolonged but Njoku refused, rather he locked up everywhere, raised volume of their radio and entertained himself with some bottles of beer while my sister bled and died slowly in pains. She also told us that as soon as the placenta fell out, Njoku grabbed and tied it in a nylon bag and headed to his room in excitement. What other evidence or proof does this judge want from us? she asked rhetorically.
