Mr. George Okoye, an Anambra native from Ogbunike in the Oyi Local Government Area, killed his younger brother's wife over a protracted dispute over property ownership.
In order to beat his brother and his wife, Mrs. Nkiru Okoye, who later passed away from the beating, Okoye allegedly took his wife and kids inside the compound of his brother, Mr. Emenike Okoye.
Emenike was beaten, but she managed to survive. She is currently recovering in a hospital with a broken hand, a fractured waist, and an injured eye.
The ill man, who spoke to media from his hospital bed, described the incident that resulted in the death of his wife, 40, on July 19 in tears, claiming that his brother and the goons they sent only left him because they believed he had passed away.
The whereabouts of the victim's wife, Mrs. Uzonna Okoye, twin girls, and son, Somtochukwu Okoye, who also took part in the assault, remain unknown despite the fact that the suspect, Mr. George Okoye, has been detained and is in police custody.
When telling the tale of his wife's passing, Mr. Emenike Okoye said, "We did nothing. Around 7 or 8 in the morning, George and his wife, Uzonna, their son, Somtochukwu, and their twin daughters broke into my home. My wife was preparing the kids for school and to travel home for a meeting in Abba, Njikoka Local Government Area, where she is from, and I was getting ready for work. They defeated us, knocked us out, and then they fled. Later, after my kids had left for school, they came back carrying some people and potentially hazardous weapons, such an axe. My wife was slain by being beaten with an axe and a chair after being carried outside the house. She died when she fell. They smashed my hand with an axe as they pulled me outside and hit me with the axe all over my body till I passed out when I fought their attempt to bring me outside as well.
"You can see where my eyes were sliced. They left me, believing I had passed away as well. However, God enabled me to awaken later. Our neighbourhood watch group was notified of the occurrence, and they drove me to the hospital.
The father of five pleaded for assistance as well as for justice against his older brother, who the family claims has been at odds with them for years over the land.
"George has claimed to be our landlord ever since our mother, Mrs. Adaoba Okoye, was alive. He is not our firstborn child, but he argues with all of us constantly and claims possession of the entire compound.
“I used to live and work abroad, but I eventually came back when my employer went out of business. Our latest two were born in Ogbunike, while our first three were born abroad. My wife is not involved in any of this. Why would you kill her in vain? Trouble started when we got home. Our mother and our eldest brother passed away as a result of the catastrophe. Our property was divided, with him taking the lion's portion, after he reported us to the kinfolk. Without objecting, I took mine. Later, he began asserting claims against my home.
"He complained about me to our relatives, but it was resolved in my favour. He didn't agree and persisted in bothering me. He even reported me to the cops after I installed a tiny boundary fence, he bemoaned.
Tochukwu Ikenga, the PPRO for the Anambra State Police, confirmed that he was aware of the occurrence and that an inquiry had already started and was still ongoing.
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