by Iyobosa Omorogie
Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Udeh, a couple living in Benin, have called on the government to bring justice on their neighbours who allegedly killed their children.
On Wednesday last week at Okha II community, located along Benin-Sapele Road in Ikpoba-Okha local government area , a 50-year-old man, identified as Mike Okezie reportedly attacked Oliver’s children, using a machete on them one after the other. Two two of the children – 3-year-old Favour Oliver and 9-month-old, Destiny Oliver, both died.
While two others others – Gift Oliver, 7 and Goodness Oliver, 5 – sustained severe injuries and are currently receiving treatment at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH).
Giving an account of the incident, 30-year-old Udeh, who is also the father of the children said he was on a journey when he was called and informed that Mike Okeze had killed two of his children.
According to Udeh, the killer wanted to kill his wife too but she escaped to go and call people, which caused Mike had fled into the bush. We are still looking for him.
“I did not have any quarrel with the man. He said my children obstruct him on the road outside. He pushed one of them down as I was informed by my wife. He doesn’t like seeing my children. As I travelled, he now attacked them and killed two,” he said.
Mother of the children, who also gave an account of the incident said; It was three days ago, my children were playing and an Ibo man living in our compound questioned why my children ran passed the front of his room. He used wheelbarrow to block the road.
“I went to beg him to forgive the children but he said my husband and I are sending the children to insult him. He jumped up and held me by neck. He took cutlass and pursued me. I ran away.
“My six children were inside. He used the cutlass on them. He killed two and two grownups escaped through the window. He killed my baby of nine months and the other three years old. They were both boys.”
“I tried to enter the room and by the time I got there I saw that he sliced my baby’s throat and cut my other son on the head. He cut off my girl’s hand and cut the other girl on the nose. He escaped through the window and ran into the bush,” she said.
The victim’s parents called on the government to find the man and kill him just as he killed my children. They also They also called on good spirited Nigerians to assist them settle the hospital bills for the two daughters that are still receiving medical care in the hospital as he barely survives on subsistence farming.
Chinyere revealed that the issue with Okezie started three years ago when the suspect brought a chameleon home from the farm and smoked it in her kitchen, but husband threw it away after warning her of condoning such familiarity.
It was learnt that three days later, after the incident, Udeh’s children were sick. And since then, they have been on his watch list.
