According to Daily Trust Newspaper online, a tragic incident occured in Edo State as the police have arrested a 21-year-old man named Salami Anedu for allegedly killing his wife, Esther Friday, following a dispute over food. The incident was reported to the police on August 29th by a concerned individual who informed them that Salami Anedu had used a stick to fatally injure his wife within their residence in Ugbekpe Community, Edo State, during a family-related argument.
According to the police spokesperson, the suspect assaulted his wife with a wooden object during the dispute, resulting in her tragic death. In response to the report, the police swiftly apprehended the suspect and transferred the deceased’s body to the mortuary at Fugar General Hospital. The case has now been referred to the homicide division of the state’s criminal investigation department in Benin for a thorough investigation.
In a statement to journalists, the suspect denied killing his wife, asserting that it was her brothers who initiated the violence by coming to his house armed with sticks. He claimed that the argument began over food when his wife refused to let him eat the rice she had cooked. The situation escalated, leading to the tragic events that unfolded.
In the young man’s words, “I did not kill my wife, it was her brothers that came to beat me with wood, and this happened after she cooked rice and she said I should not eat from the food. I went to cook yam and egg on my own, she said I can’t eat the food. As I was eating the food, she started quarrelling with me and threatened to bring his brother to my house and beat me up. She left. I initially believed she was joking, but she returned with two of her brothers, armed with sticks, and they initiated a physical altercation with me. Subsequently, my wife decided to spend the night at my mother’s house. To my astonishment, I was later apprehended by the vigilante, accused of killing my wife.
He further said, “I want to make it clear that I did not kill my wife, nor did I strike her with a wooden object. It was her brother who entered my residence with a wooden weapon, but because I had a confrontation with them, they wrongfully accused me of causing her death. It’s important to note that my wife was already ill prior to these events.”
