A 38-year old woman, Mrs Njideka Ikechukwu, has allegedly killed her husband, Uchenna, by pouring petrol and setting him on fire for having the guts to engage her lover, Silas Orji, previously in a public fight.
The incident happened at Umueze Community, Aba town, Abia State, where they reside.
The suspects, Njideka and her lover, Silas, have been arrested and handed over to the Police for prosecution over the dastardly act.
With the help of her lover, she reportedly poured petrol on the victim while he was sleeping around 3 am on Thursday. The deceased was said to have been burnt beyond recognition and eventually died.
According to one of their neighbours, late Uchenna returned from work at about 7 pm from his mechanic workshop and had dinner before watching TV till around 1 am before he went to sleep.
However, at about 3 am in the morning, his wife, Njideka together with her boyfriend, Silas Orji, 30, sneaked into Ikechukwu’s room where he was sleeping on the bed. Njideka reportedly took a jug filled with petrol which she sprinkled on his mouth and around the bed before Silas lit a match stick and fled the spot.
The fire that erupted later spread across the house and Ikechukwu was burnt while still sleeping. The neighbours informed the Police about the incident after which a team of Police and officials of the forensic science laboratory reached the spot for inspection.
The suspects were said to have fled and went to hide in an old uncompleted building located 10 kilometres away from the village. But they were caught through the tracing of the footprints made in the sand dunes from the incident site.
The neighbours told the Police that Njideka got married to Uchenna Ikechukwu, a resident of Isiala Ngwa village, 20 years ago but the couple used to have frequent fights in the house which the deceased had built for the family to live.
Njideka’s boyfriend, Silas, who is an apprentice under her husband, was said to have been engaged in a fierce fight with the late Uchenna two days before the incident.
The Police source said that the suspects will be charged to Court for murder which attracts life imprisonment if they are tried and found guilty for the alleged offence.
