The Rivers State Police Command have arrested a 51-year-old woman, Mrs. Gladys Napoleon at Chokocho in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State for allegedly killing her husband, Mr. Napoleon Amadi.
The suspect was arrested on October 8 for allegedly killing Mr. Amadi with a machete.
But Mrs. Napoleon, who was paraded by the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, claimed that she killed the victim in self-defence as her late husband wanted to kill her with the machete over an argument between them.
The mother of two, said to be married for over 35 years, told The Guardian that her husband had earlier threatened to kill her and their two children for ritual purposes.
She claimed that he had raised an alarm during the argument that led to his death, but no one came to the rescue.
The suspect also said she had earlier complained to her husband’s family concerning maltreatment from him but nothing was done.
According to her, before the husband died, efforts made to revive him proved abortive as he was rushed to two hospitals in Igwuruta in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state with the help of her husband’s brothers and some policemen, who were at the checkpoint.
She said: “On Thursday night after my husband returned, he asked me where I went to when he sent me on an errand to amend his trousers and the next thing, he started abusing me that my cup is full and that he will use my two children for ritual and thereafter, he will use me too for ritual.
“He swore that he would use a machete to slaughter me that night and that he was not joking. He locked up our bedroom. I pleaded with him to forgive me if I have offended him in any way. This is not the first time he would behave like this.
“Sometimes, I complained to his people, and when he started misbehaving, nobody would pay attention because they felt I complained too much.
“That particular night he did not allow me to sleep. He brought out the machete and I was dragging it with him, that is how I snatched the knife from him and gave him a cut twice on his skull. He fell on the ground and I held him, while I called for help. He was still breathing when we took him to two hospitals in Igurita and the policemen, who were on duty that night, followed us and came back. It was along the line he died.”
Contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Nnamdi Omoni, said the suspect admitted to having murdered her husband with a machete and was arrested on October 8, 2021.
Omoni said preliminary investigation has it that the suspect after using the machete on the husband’s head washed away bloodstain from it.
He explained that the suspect, Mrs. Napoleon, would be charged to court after proper investigation.
Omoni, however, appealed to the public to use alternative means of conflict resolution rather than resorting to violence.
