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Jonathan Lead Dignatories To Achebe';s Burial
Written By CKN NIGERIA on Friday, 24 May 2013 | 7:01 am
President Goodluck Jonathan and his Ghanaian counterpart,
President John Mahama, Thursday led an assemblage of personalities to Ogidi,
Anambra State, to bid goodbye to one of Africa’s foremost authors, late Prof.
Chinua Achebe, whose remains were interred in the town.
Achebe
died on March 21 in Boston, the United States at the age of 82.
His remains were lowered into the ground at about 4:30pm at his Ikenga Ogidi country home.
His remains were lowered into the ground at about 4:30pm at his Ikenga Ogidi country home.
Besides Jonathan and Mahama, other
mourners at the funeral included representatives of various presidents and
heads of government in Africa and across the world, members of the diplomatic
missions in Nigeria as well as Governors Theodore Orji (Abia), Emmanuel
Uduaghan (Delta), Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Sullivan
Chime (Enugu) and Martin Elechi of (Ebonyi).
Others included Second Republic
Vice-President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme; Coordinating Minister for the Economy and
Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Minister of State for Foreign
Affairs, Prof. Viola Onwuliri; and Rev. Canon Andrew Wheeler who represented
the Archbishop of Canterbury.
House of Representatives Deputy
Speaker, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, led the National Assembly delegation to the
funeral, which was also witnessed by a former Commonwealth Secretary General,
Chief Emeka Anyaoku, and traditional rulers from the South-east.
Earlier in the day, Jonathan had
arrived in Ogidi in a Nigerian Air Force helicopter marked NAF573 at about
11:30 am in company with his Ghanaian counterpart, amidst tight security, at
St. Philips’ Anglican Church for the service that preceded the funeral.
The president told the mourners at
the church service, presided over by the Anglican Bishop of Aba, Most Rev.
Ikechi Nwosu, who represented the Primate of Church of Nigeria (Anglican
Communion), Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, that he had come to appreciate God for
creating somebody like Achebe in Ogidi, the heart of Igboland.
He used the occasion to urge
Nigerians to work with other stakeholders, irrespective of their status
to work on the nation’s tarnished value system as a mark of honour to the
late Achebe who succinctly reflected this in his literary works.
He said he and Mahama would rebuild
the Ogidi Primary School, which the deceased attended, and name it after him.
Describing the late
Achebe as a great philosopher, Jonathan said: " In 1983, Achebe
wrote the "Trouble with Nigeria and told us that there is nothing wrong
with the air we breath in Nigeria, nothing wrong with our soil, nor the
water we drink, or is there anything wrong with our forest. The problem
is with the political leadership.
"Achebe depicted Nigeria as a
cesspool of corruption and misrule. Public servants helped themselves freely on
the nation's wealth. Elections were blatantly rigged, even as subsequent
national census was outrageously stage-managed.
"Judges and magistrates were
manipulated by the politicians in power. Politicians themselves were pawns of
foreign business interests. The social malaise in Nigerian society was
political corruption. The structure of Nigeria was such that there was an
inbuilt power struggle among the ethnic groups and those who were in power
wanted to remain in power and the simplest and easiest way to retain it was to
appeal to tribal sentiments.
"That time, may be only about 40
per cent of the present political office holders were relevant then and
most of them were not even born by 1958 when Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart.
"I read the Things Fall Apart in 1972, when I was in the secondary school.
One thing about the book is the title itself. Achebe made references to our
colonial history and clash of culture.
But he emphasised that the
colonialists put a knife in the things that held us together, which is our own
value system. Achebe is simply saying that we have lost our value system and we
had fallen apart.
"And for those of us who by the
grace of God and the will of Nigerians are holding political offices today, we
should ask ourselves, have we changed from that?”
The President, therefore, urged
politicians to work with business moguls, the religious leaders as well as
other class of Nigerians to ensure that those legacies which had created the
rots in the system are changed in honour of the late Achebe and for the good of
future children.
"And one thing for those of you
who have read these books that I would like to appreciate Achebe for, is
that he was critical about our elections, but one thing he appreciated was that
the 2011 elections recorded some significant improvements.
"If
we can fix our electoral process and we politicians believe that this is our
country, we do not have any other country than Nigeria, we will work
together, so that we can have a country that our grandchildren will write that
there is a country."
Mahama, on his part, described Achebe as a man he greatly admired, and an icon of African literature who shaped his formative years in literature through his epic writings, especially “Things Fall Apart”.
Mahama, on his part, described Achebe as a man he greatly admired, and an icon of African literature who shaped his formative years in literature through his epic writings, especially “Things Fall Apart”.
He said Achebe would be remembered as
a writer, a visionary and a politician who made it possible for so many young
Africans to also fulfil their destinies.
Onwuliri had earlier presented books
of tributes from about 25 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa
where her ministry opened condolence registers to enable people pay tributes to
the deceased.
The president, she said, acknowledged
that Achebe did so much to present Nigeria’s image positively before the world,
adding that he was a special person who made a great difference in the world
around him.
“Achebe was a Diaspora Nigerian par
excellence who showed the world that you can go to a village school in Ogidi
and become a star. We can’t throw away our educational system, but we should
join hands to make it better,” she added.
Anyaoku in his brief remark said
Achebe did much through his writings to boost the confidence of Africans in
their cultures.
According to him, through the themes
of his books, he let the world realise that Africans had cultures and
traditions before the advent of the colonialists, which had stood the test of
time.
In his sermon titled: “Prof. Chinua
Achebe: A parable to the Nigerian nation,” drawn from the book of Mathew 13:3
and 34, Nwosu said Achebe had through his writings shown that life from the
beginning to the end was a parable.
“Are we really burying Achebe? If we
lower him to the grave now, what happens to Things Fall Apart and his other
books, including There Was a Country? There are really people that can’t be
buried,” he said.
“Achebe is not canvassing for votes
to be governor or president. But look at the crowd from far and near. If the
Lord had made a leader, nothing will change it,” he added.
The Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter
Obi, who described the late Achebe as a great African that lived, thanked
Jonathan for showing rare leadership in the country, stressing that if it were
before, a sitting president would not bother to attend Achebe’s funeral because
he rejected national honours’ offer.
He assured the president that the
love he had shown Igbos is like depositing in a bank account and that the bank
would have enough money to pay on the day of withdrawal.
One of the late author’s children,
Ikechi, who spoke on behalf of the family, thanked the president, the governors
and others who shared in the family’s grief following the passage of Achebe.
He specifically thanked Jonathan for
being the first person to send his condolences to the family after the death of
their father and for attending the funeral.
He also expressed gratitude to Obi,
whom he said took the burial as a personal assignment, as he recalled Obi's
visit to the family in Boston soon after Achebe died as well as the many late
night meetings with him to prepare for the burial.
London Terror Attackers Are British Born Nigerians
British authorities believe that two men accused of
hacking a soldier to death on a London street in revenge for wars in Muslim
countries are British of Nigerian descent, a source close to the investigation
told Reuters on Thursday.
Local
media named one of the two suspects as British-born, 28-year-old Londoner
Michael Adebolajo and said police raided homes of relatives in the city and
near the town of Lincoln. Both men involved in Wednesday’s attack appeared to
have converted to Islam from Christian backgrounds, media said.
Adebolajo
and the other man, who may have been born abroad, are both in custody in
hospitals after being shot by police.
As
security experts highlighted the risk to Western cities of “lone wolf” attacks
– similar to last month’s Boston Marathon bombing – by local people radicalized
over the Internet.
Prime
Minister David Cameron held an emergency meeting of his intelligence chiefs to
assess the response to what he called a “terrorist” attack; it was the first
deadly strike in mainland Britain since local Islamists killed dozens in London
in 2005.
“We
will never give in to terror or terrorism in any of its forms,” Cameron said
outside his Downing Street office.
“This
was not just an attack on Britain and on the British way of life, it was also a
betrayal of Islam and of the Muslim communities who give so much to our
country. There is nothing in Islam that justifies this truly dreadful act.”
He
noted that security sources have said both suspects had been known to
intelligence services and said there would in due course be a routine review of
how intelligence had been handled.
One
source close to the inquiry said the apparently local backgrounds of the
suspects in a multicultural metropolis – nearly 40 percent of all Londoners
were born abroad – and the simplicity of the attack made such incidents hard to
prevent.
“Apart
from being horribly barbaric, this was relatively straightforward to carry
out,” the source said. “This was quite low-tech and that is frankly pretty
challenging.”
Man Gets Death Sentence For Stealing A Car In Benue
A High Court sitting in Makurdi, the Benue State capital,
has sentenced a middle-aged man, one Tersoo Terna, to death by hanging
for stealing a Toyota Hilux Jeep belonging to a clergyman.
Justice Adam
Onum, on Thursday, convicted the robber for criminal conspiracy and armed
robbery.
The robber,
according to the state prosecuting counsel, Mrs Jean Abba Ewurum, had told the
court that the convict and three others now at large, conspired, attacked and
robbed one Reverend Peter Azuana of NKST at Mkar in Gboko Local
Government Area of Benue State in May 2012.
During the
trial, the complainant provided six witnesses, while the vehicle’s
document was tendered, including a bag containing an expended bullet
shell, four jean trousers, one singlet, a tooth brush and two identity cards
all recovered from the convict were submitted as exhibits.
The convict
also called on two witnesses; his wife and brother who gave evidence in
defence.
In his
judgment, the trial judge,who highlighted all evidences before him, said
that a case of criminal conspiracy was established against the offender and
accordingly sentenced him to death by hanging.
The judge
rebuffed the plea of leniency by the counsel for the convict, Mrs C
K Umburga
Governors' Forum Election Holds Today
A new chairman for the Nigeria
Governors’ Forum will be elected on Friday (today) by the 36 state chief
executives in the country.
This is coming as the governors of 19
northern states were unable to take a decision on who they should support among
those jostling for the position.
The inability of the governors to
reach a compromise was said to have been responsible for the failure of the
northern governors, under the aegis of the Northern States Governors’ Forum, to
meet in Abuja on Thursday.
It was learnt that the governors
would now meet on Friday before the election to see if they would be able to
find some common ground.
While some were said to be rooting
for the incumbent, who is also the Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi
Amaechi, some others were said to be supporting the Governor of Katsina State,
Alhaji Ibrahim Shema, or the latest entrant to the race, Governor Isa Yuguda of
Bauchi State.
It was however learnt that the
governors from the zone who do not belong to the Peoples Democratic Party were
said to have made their position known that they would support Amaechi for the
job.
A northern governor, who spoke on
condition of anonymity said, “We are at a crossroads. This is a trying period
for us in the region.
“Some of our colleagues are saying we
should not allow anyone to dictate to us while the others are saying we should
support one of our own for the job.
“Those in the opposition parties are
saying that the Forum does not belong to the Peoples Democratic Party alone.
“Even in the PDP, we could not agree
on who to support. That was why we did not meet, but we hope to meet on
Friday.”
The governor said a majority of his
colleagues from the region believed that both Shema and Yuguda were being
foisted on the Forum by external forces.
In the meantime, investigations by
our correspondent in Abuja on Thursday indicated that there might be more
chairmanship aspirants than expected.
Sources at the secretariat of the
Forum said there might be more aspirants for the position of the chairman.
A source said that some governors had
called to say that they were on their way to file their nomination papers for
the office.
The source said, “The race for the
chairmanship of the Forum is interesting, because this is the first time the
office is attracting so much attention.
“Already, both Amaechi and Shema have
filed their papers, and some have called to say that they are on their way. We
are waiting for them.
“Before now, there was no much
publicity and acrimony on who would lead the Forum. But now that has changed.”
The source, who declined to name
those “on their way” to file nomination forms, however said there would be no
rancour after the election.
Woman Arrested For Selling Neighbour's Child After Selling Her Own Unborn Baby
It was a case of the bizarre yesterday
when a 23-year-old pregnant woman caused a stir at the Lagos State Police Command
headquarters after she confessed that she had sold her unborn baby for
N200,000, in advance.
The suspect, Adaeze Mba, who was
arrested for conniving with her husband to sell their neighbour’s four-year-old
son for N400, 000, said it was poverty that pushed them to crime.
She confessed that she and her
husband, Chibueze, had sold two other children for N700, 000.
She said, “In March 2013, my
neighbour’s son, Stanley Ezeaka, was following me about in the compound at Jakande
Estate and it was at that time that my husband received a phone call from his
partner that she needed a child for sale. My husband then suggested that we
took Stanley even though he was a bit old.
“We travelled to Imo State the
following morning and sold him for N400, 000 after which we relocated to
Calabar.”
When asked why she took to crime and
how she would feel if someone bought her own children, she said, “I am seven
months pregnant and as I speak to you, my husband has already sold our unborn baby
for N200, 000.
“I was against it but he convinced me
to agree to it, saying he had already collected the money.”
When asked about the other children
she and her husband had sold, she said, “The male child was sold at N400,000
while the female child, who was two months old but is now over a year old, was
sold at N300,000.”
Chibueze on his part, said he went
into the business last year. He said he had sold ‘only’ three children to his
business partner, Benedicta Ogbonna, and maintained that the children were in
turn sold to caring parents and not ritual killers.
He said, “One of the children was
born by a mentally challenged woman; so I have committed no crime by selling
the child to people who would take care of her.”
Ogbonna, who bought the three
children from Chibueze and his wife at different times, said she sold children
to bAREEN.
She said, “I am doing this business
for humanitarian reasons and not for monetary gain. I am 35 years old and I
have four children. I can never sell my own children and in fact my husband
does not know I am into this kind of business.
“Chibueze brought Stanley to me and
told me that his mother was a prostitute so he sold him to me at N400, 000. I
then sold Stanley to Mrs. Patricia Anibogwu for N600,000. So far, I have sold
only three children. I buy boys at N400, 000 and girls at N300,000.
“I use the money to take care of
people and also invest it in my business. I sell shoes for a living at Anambra
Wholesale Market.”
Anibogwu, who was the final buyer,
said she thought Ogbonna was an employee of an orphanage. She said she bought
Stanley because she was lonely having lost her husband.
She said amid tears that, “I was
married for 28 years without a child. After my husband died, I decided to adopt
the child because I was lonely. Someone introduced me to Ogbonna. Ogbonna told
me she worked at an orphanage and would sell Stanley to me for N600, 000.
“I used my savings to pay for him and
she brought Stanley to a roadside. I took Stanley home and started taking care
of him like my own child. I changed his name to Uchenna. Ogbonna promised me
that she would give me legal documents later but, unfortunately, I was
arrested.”
The Police Public Relations Officer,
Ngozi Braide, urged parents to be vigilant and also advised childless women to
go through the formal process of adoption rather than buying children.
She said, “In March 2013, one Caleb
Ezeaka reported at Ilemba Hausa Police Division that his son, Stanley, had gone
missing the previous day, adding that he was last seen with his neighbour,
Adaeze Mba. All efforts to reach the neighbour proved abortive as she and her
husband had disappeared and their phones were switched off.
“Through investigations, we traced
them to Calabar and they confessed that they had sold him at N400,000 to one
Benedicta Ogbonna. We traced Ogbonna to Anambra who then said she had sold him
to Patricia Anibogwu for N600,000. So we arrested them all.
“Adaeze and her husband, Chibueze,
confessed that they had sold three children to Ogbonna and they were also
rescued. One of the children was sold when she was three months old and she is
now a year and three months old.”
British Police Arrests London Terror Suspect Nigerian Sibblings
A
woman, said to be Michael Adebolajo’s sister, was taken away by police from an
address in Romford while officers raided a house in Lincolnshire believed to
belong to his dad, nurse Anthony Adebolajo, 56.Pic Of The Day..British Soldier Murderer With Suspected Islamic Terrorist
Terror suspect: Anjem Choudary (right) with Michael Adebolajo (Mujaheed),
28, (circled) at an Islamist demonstration in London in 2007Murdered British Soldier Identified (See Pics)
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The fog over the
identity of the British soldier brutally hacked to death by two Britons, of
Nigerian origin, in Woolwich, London on Wednesday.
He was 25 year-old
Lee Rigby, from Crumpsall in Manchester, who had served in Afghanistan.
He served with the
2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and was killed just yards away
from the Royal Artillery Barracks.
Lieutenant Colonel
Jim Taylor, commanding officer of the Second Fusiliers, led tributes to the
father-of-one today, whom he described as a “dedicated and professional
soldier”.
“He was a real
character within the Second Fusiliers,” Lt Col Taylor said.
“Larger than life, he
was at the heart of our Corps of Drums. An experienced and talented side
drummer and machine gunner, he was a true warrior and served with distinction
in Afghanistan, Germany and Cyprus.
“His ability, talent
and personality made him a natural choice to work in the recruiting group. He
will be sorely missed by everyone in the Second Fusiliers.
“Our thoughts and
prayers are with his family and friends at this incredibly difficult time. Once
a Fusilier, Always a Fusilier.”
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Anxiety Over Sullivan Chime's Absence At Achebe's Burial
Governor Sullivan
Chime of the eastern Nigerian state of Enugu was conspicuously missing on
Thursday at the burial rites for the literary icon, Chinua Achebe in the
neighbouring Anambra state.
The Governor did not
also attend the Church service and the burial in Achebe’s family compound in
Ogidi, setting tongues wagging about his health.
On the same day,
Chime, battling with cancer of the nose, also sent his commissioner for health
to represent him at an event in Nsukka, where the council launched maternal and
new born health week.
There, Chime’s
representative, Dr. Fidelis Ugwu conveyed the Governor’s message, calling on
mothers to take immunisation of their children more seriously.
Chime also urged
traditional rulers and other stakeholders to assist the state to achieve its
objectives in child immunisation and maternal health care.
“Mothers are advised to
take their children of between one year and five years to the nearest health
centres for free treatment and gifts from today till five days the week will
last.
“As traditional
rulers of your communities, always ensure that information on immunisation gets
to every part of your community.
“With healthy
children and mothers, we will have healthy and productive nation,’’ he said
Chime commended the
Chairman of the local government, Mr Tony Ugwu, for employing more than 200
health workers as well as distributing free drugs to health centres in the
area.
“It is in line with
the state’s vision to ensure that adequate health care is provided for all
residents. With adequate health care, infant and maternal mortality will be
reduced to the minimum.
“The aim of the week
is to ensure that mothers and children who are the most vulnerable groups are
given adequate attention,” he said.
The UNICEF Assistant
Representative in Enugu State, Mr Charles Nzuki, said the week was endorsed by
the National Council on Health at Asaba three years ago, with the aim of
delivering an integrated high impact maternal, new born and child
interventions.
He said UNICEF was
delighted with the high level of commitment shown by the state in delivering
robust health services for children, mothers and pregnant women in the state.
“The overall goal is
to provide access to prevention and promotion of healthcare for mothers, new
born and pregnant women,” he said
Some 500 pregnant and
nursing mothers from different areas attended the ceremony at the Government
Field, Nsukka
Airtel/Huwai/Microsoft Unveil New Smart Phone
Written By CKN NIGERIA on Thursday, 23 May 2013 | 9:44 pm
Nigerians are back on
the groove with the launch of the new smart phone Huwai4Africa by Leading
global and communications technology company, Hauwei Nigeria.
The first window launch
was put together by Microsoft and Nigeria’s foremost gsm network Airtel
Nigeria, at an elaborate event at the corporate headquarters of the Company in Lagos
today.
The event which also had other stakeholders in the industry was attended by the who is who in the industry.
The Managing Director, Hauwei Nigeria, Tony Liang, said the new device is specifically created for Africa by Microsoft, making it first window smart phone in the world.
He added that it has a visually iconic design and comes in an array of bold colours including blue, red, black and white.
The product which is
expected to become the market leader in telephoning in Nigeria is expected to
rejuvenate and stimulate the ever growing gsm competition in the country which recently
witnessed the launch of the mobile phone portability scheme.
Airtel over the years
has been a pioneering organization in the telecom sector of the Nigerian economy
which stimulating and user friendly products for every consumer.
Nigerians Condemn/Reject Murderer Of British Soldier As Its Own
After a barrage of condemnation
that trailed the murder of a British Soldier yesterday and the purported insinuation
that one of the murders is a Nigerian, most Nigerians are fighting back
rejecting the murderer as one of its own.
This is the message
that has been making the rounds in the social medium since the incident was
reported.
“Nigerians all over the world should speak out and condemn the
be-heading of a citizen yesterday in UK. The be-heading was done by a British
citizen and not a Nigerian as speculated, his name does not confirm his
nationality. This lunatic was born in the United Kingdom, never been to
nigeria, issued a birth certificate in the UK and held a British passport.
Suddenly he is now a Nigerian?......This guy is not a Nigerian-British born
Michael 'Mujahid' Adeboloja with an accomplice yesterday beheaded a British
Soldier on a street in Woolwich, London.Because he is not Gabriel Agbonlahor
playing for Aston Villa and Three Lions, or Andrew Osagie, UK's reigning 800m
champion, or Lawrence Okoye, British Discus Record Holder (68.24m), or Abiodun
oyepitan, British Olympic Silver and Gold Medalist, or Christine Ohuruogu,
Beijing Olympic British Gold Medalist, or Eniola Aluko, British Olympic Female
Football star, or Temi Fagbenle British Olympic Basketball queen, or several
other thousands of British citizens with Nigerian connection who are making the
country proud, it is being made to look like Nigeria has "shown itself
again" in the action of that British boy who beheaded a soldier yesterday.
Nigeria should just be left out of this. Pls pass on to educate the ignorant
ones”
Airtel Chief Marketing Officer Resigns
Mr. Olu Akanmu, the Chief Marketing Officer of Airtel Networks Limited, has resigned his appointment with the company to pursue other interests-with effect from Wednesday, May 22, 2013.
Mr. Akanmu led the marketing function
at a crucial time in the life of our organization and brought his over two
decades of marketing experience and a rich knowledge of the telecommunications
market to bear on his role as our CMO.
Airtel in a statement sent to CKN
Nigeria today and signed by it’s Vice President Corporate Communications Mr
Emeka Oparah said it wishes Mr Akanmu the very best in his future endeavours.
A replacement for him will be
announced shortly.
How My Wife Stabbed Herself..Man Accused Of Killing His Banker Wife
The man accused of killing his Banker wife ,Akolade Arowolo, yesterday,
told an Ikeja High Court how he struggled with his slain wife while he was
allegedly attacked with a knife by the deceased.
Akolade, who was led in evidence on his defence by his lawyer,
told the court that nothing could have made him to kill the deceased, because
of the love he had for her.
“I am not that kind of person, I loved her so much and I also love
my daughter Olamide too,” Akolade said.
He gave his testimony before Justice Lateefat Okunnu.
Giving his account on what happened on the fateful day, Akolade
said he received a call from his father on his birthday around 10 a.m. and
several other calls before he left home for the bank to cash some money for the
birthday celebration.
Arowolo said on his way home, he met his mechanic whom he had
called earlier to fix the shaft of his Honda Accord car, to allow him and his
late wife pick up their daughter, Olamide, from his in-laws’ house.
According to him, on getting home, he knocked at the door and his
wife opened, dressed up as against their earlier discussions to stay
in-doors to watch Big Brother Africa show.
Arowolo said this led to some disagreements between the two
of them, where he reminded her of all what she said about determination to be a
good housewife.
Akolade said: “From today you have made up your mind to be the
best of wives and that you will no longer quarrel with me or leave the house
again, that in particular no matter the differences we have you will never
leave the house again and that I can help you to control your anger and I
promised to do that.”
Akolade said instead of listening to him, his late wife slapped
him and immediately his wife’s father, George Oyakhire’s call came in and she
picked the call and told him that he should tell Akolade to leave her alone.
He added that after some time, he went to meet one Mama Hanna
Alaka, their neighbour, over what his wife did, and pondered that something
must have been wrong with her.
Akolade said he saw his wife with a knife, but did not know what
she wanted to do with it.
He said: “Omo (his wife) used to take alcohol, some wine and
Smirnoff ice and she had taken some before I left home in celebration of my
birthday.”
Emphasizing the love he had for the late wife, he said: “I loved
my wife so much not to want to see her hurt. And that’s why I did all I could
to ensure we stayed together. I loved my wife and my daughter, Olamide so
much.”
He also said he tried to protect the woman and himself which led
to his jumping out of their staircase.
He said: “As a result of what happened on that day, I could
equally have died from the injuries I sustained and the risk I took jumping
from a four-storey building trying to save her from death. I still have a lot
of medical challenges as a result of the injuries I sustained,” he said.
He said he was caught unawares and he tried everything he could to
avoid the stabs and took the knife from her, adding that she didn’t give him
any reason for her actions that day but only continued to lash out at him.
“I was trying to regain my balance and was shouting; “Omo, what’s
wrong with you. But rather than answer me, she was shouting, I will kill you
and kill myself. While I was trying to calm her, she came at my navel and I had
no choice than to disarm her.
“The knife had cut my right palm into almost two and I had other
cuts. I was bleeding all over and we were struggling for the knife until we
fell down on the bed, the struggle continued and in the process, I sustained
other lacerations and the knife dropped from her hand.
“I then asked, Omo what’s
all these? And she said she was sorry. I told her to be calm while I get help
but the door was locked and the key was not there. I kept asking Omo, where’s
the key and she was pointing at some places and I was scattering everywhere to
locate the key.
“I didn’t see the key. What came to my mind was to break down the
door, I ran to the kitchen, took a long spoon, hammer and knife but when I couldn’t
get it opened, in annoyance I threw the things on the floor and jumped from the
verandah.”
He added that it was at that point that his mechanic brought his
car and he entered it and went to the nearest police station to get help,
adding that he didn’t get there before he saw some policemen but while talking
to them, a car hit him and he lost consciousness.
Akolade added that a good Samaritan took him from the place on a
commercial motorcycle but he couldn’t say what happened as he woke up next day on
the dump site of a public school.
Speaking on his wife’s reaction, Akolade stated that she was
either drunk, mentally sick or hypnotised.
“Her actions and behaviour were not consistent with the wife I
left at home wearing my boxers and a see through top.
Justice Okunnu adjourned the matter till September 17, 2013 for
adoption of written addresses.
