Man kills only son, burns wife with hot pressing iron

While waiting for the Easter celebration to commence properly last Sunday, residents of Lambe Street, Ago-Palace Way, Okota area of Lagos State were jolted from sleep, following loud painful cries from a neighbour’s apartment at 3, Lambe Street.

They rushed into the apartment only to realize that the scream was that of a woman who was being brutalized by her husband over claims that she was flirting with his own father. To their chagrin, they also found the lifeless body of their one-year-old male child lying in a pool of blood.

CONFUSION as police arrive: Confused, some of the neighbours quickly rushed out and contacted the police at Ago-Okota Division on sighting the corpse. On arriving the scene, detectives arrested the man and rushed the woman to a nearby hospital. The wife, who was simply identified as Mrs. Nnamdi, is currently lying unconscious in an hospital. The husband allegedly used hot pressing iron to inflict wounds all over her body.

Scene of incident, 3, Lambe Street, Ago-Okota, Lagos

A neighbour who spoke with Crime Alert said the man, identified as Mr. Henry Nnamdi, had alleged that the wife was sleeping with his own father and that the only child they had was not his biological child. A neighbour who craved for anonymity told Crime Alert: “The man killed his baby boy by hitting his head on the ground. The day was still dark when we started hearing screams from their apartment. Some of us who came out of our apartments following the screams contemplated whether to go in or not, but while we were still doing this, the screams intensified and the woman started shouting that he was using hot pressing iron on her. We then forced the door open. When we got in, we found the woman tied to a chair and their baby was lying dead on the floor. Those who couldn’t stand the sight ran out and contacted the police.”

Allegation of infidelity: Police sources said the incident blew open after the man allegedly tortured the wife following a quarrel over alleged infidelity on the part of the woman. The man allegedly held the woman hostage in their bed room, tied her to a chair and plugged a pressing iron which he used to run over all her body including her private part.

Swift arrival of policemen

Screams from the woman attracted the attention of neighbours who quickly alerted the police at Ago-Okota Station. A team of policemen swiftly arrived the scene and arrested the man after which they rushed the woman to a nearby hospital where doctors are battling to revive her from unconsciousness.

Father dumbfounded: Eyewitness account said the father of the man who quickly rushed to the police station on hearing the news was dumbfounded when he was told that the son perpetrated the heinous act over allegations that he, the father, was sleeping with the son’s wife. At this point, the visibly shocked man lamented publicly that it is a taboo for him to indulge in that kind of act, stating that he had severally in the past warned the son to stop maltreating the wife. He reportedly disclosed further that the wife had run to his house several times to escape being brutalized by the husband and each time, he would not only rebuke his son but provide money for his family so that there would be peace.

At the time of this report, the wife of the man whom hospital sources said may have suffered first degree burns, was still lying unconscious in a private hospital at Ago-Palace way, while her husband is in police cell.

 A neighbour reacts: Efforts made to speak with the father of the suspect were not successful as the man was said to had left the police station in tears, agonizing openly the fate that befell members of his family. But a neighbour at their 3, Lambe Street, apartment corroborated claims of the man’s father stating that the father had been mediating between the son and his wife for a long time.

According to the man who simply identified himself as Papa Ginika, “I am going to allow the man’s father, whenever you meet him, to tell you the character of his son because he knows him very well. But, on the allegation that the father was sleeping with his wife, Henry was only trying to rope the man into this mess.

“I know that man very well and I can vouch for him. He can not sleep with his son’s wife for any reason. But I know that the son’s grievance is that his father has not been supporting him each time he maltreated his wife. He normally comes here to abuse his son and ask him to stop beating the wife.

Too many  quarrels

“They got married only two years ago and I really don’t know what actually went wrong in that marriage. But I discovered that the man and his wife have been having too many quarrels and his father has been coming to settle the crisis. I really don’t know what got into Henry’s head the day he did that. I see no reason why he would kill his only child that I usually see crawl around the compound with other kids. And since this incident occurred, I have been trying to erase the picture of the woman carrying her child. When I saw the dead child, I was the one looking for a jute bag (Ghana-Must Go) to carry the corpse for burial.”

Concerted efforts made to speak with the suspect inside the cell failed as the police insisted that he could only speak when the case gets to SCID, Panti. When Crime Alert visited the hospital where the woman was admitted, doctors said she was still unconscious and advised that the police should authorize all visitations. It was also not possible to trace the father of the suspect as he was said to have gone back to his own house.

Police reacts

Confirming the incident, Lagos State Police spokesman, Joseph Jaiyaoba told Crime Alert that the suspect will be transferred to the State Criminal Investigations Department, SCID, Panti, today for further investigations assuring that justice must prevail at the end of the day.