A man named Matthew James, a resident of the Idekan farm settlement in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, killed his 55-year-old wife, Etim Mary, on suspicion of having an extramarital affair.
It was gathered that the incident occurred approximately at 8:00 p.m. on Sunday.
According to reports from multiple community and police sources, the defendant, who is currently in police custody, committed the crime after fearing his late wife was having an adulterous affair with another guy in the neighbourhood.
An eyewitness, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said police officers from the Ijebu-Igbo Division apprehended the culprit.
The eyewitness further revealed that the suspect claimed he and the deceased woman had a “blood covenant” not to betray each other.
The source said, “They had a blood covenant that they would not leave each other. He suspected the wife was having an extramarital affair. The woman had been married before she met James. He married her when the woman was already ageing. She had grown up with children before James married her.
“James is claiming they both had a blood covenant not to leave each other for any reason. He just returned one morning with a machete and hacked the woman to death. He didn’t run away after committing the crime. He just stood beside her after.”
Speaking on the horrifying incident, state police spokesperson Omolola Odutola revealed that the wife was pronounced dead by the attending doctor after being transported to the hospital by other locals.
She said, “She was found lying in the pool of her blood just in front of the house about 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. She had deep cuts on her forehead, shoulders, and other parts of her body. The husband was found with the blood-soaked machete he was believed to have used to commit the crime.
“The body was taken to a general hospital in Ijebu-Igbo, where she was certified dead by a doctor on duty. Her corpse has been deposited at the Alayangbe Private Mortuary in Oke-Agbo, Ijebu-Igbo, for the autopsy.
“We will move the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Abeokuta as soon as the preliminary investigation is concluded.”
