The mother of the woman whose husband was allegedly beaten to death over a loaf of bread, Mrs Cordelia Anene, has appealed to Anambra State Government to urgently intervene on the matter to ensure justice for her daughter.
She said that the police officer handling the case in Enugu State, where the incident was reported to have taken place, has urged her and her family members to drop the case.
Mrs Anene, stated this when the Anambra State Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Mrs Ify Obinabo, invited her to her office in Awka, on Tuesday, to ascertain the true cause of her daughter’s death, late Ogochukwu Anene, who is the indigene of the state.
Tribune Online had earlier reported that the late Ogochukwu Uwadiegwu Anene, a mother of five children (four boys and a girl), was allegedly beaten to death by her husband, Mr Wilson Uwaechina, over a loaf of bread in their residence at Enugu State.
The deceased hailed from Umuokpu village, Awka, Anambra State, but married to her husband who hails from Enugu State.
According to an online notice obtained by our correspondent on Sunday last week, the first son of the deceased who is aged 14, said their father beat their mother to death with a mirror, because she asked him to buy bread for them but he said he had no money.
The son added that his mother decided to use her money to buy one loaf of bread for the children, but the father went into the kitchen and ate the whole bread and when their mother asked him why he finished the bread, he started beating her and it led to her death.
But her husband Mr Uwadiegwu, in an interview with BBC News, denied it, claiming that he’s innocent of the allegation.
He revealed that he had an argument with his wife because of bread but he doesn’t have a hand in her death.
Uwadiegwu, who noted that he didn’t beat Ogochukwu, said he provided the money for the bread but his wife asked for more things he couldn’t afford.
“It was then that my wife began to abuse me, saying all sorts of things. I got angry, and I broke a mirror that injured my wife’s hand at that moment. I beat up my son because he joined his mother to insult me.
“It was only once I hit my wife, and it’s been a long time. I was in the village when they called me to say my wife wasn’t well, I came back home and took her to the hospital where she was later confirmed dead.”It was reported that Ndubisi Uwadiegwu beat his wife, Ogochukwu to death over a loaf of bread.
The deceased brother Chukwuebuka Anene said the incident occurred in December in Enugu State. She asked her husband to give her money to buy bread but the man said he had no money. He said the woman then used her money to buy the bread for the children, only for the husband to finish all. “That led to an argument between the couple which later resulted in a fight. In the process, the man hit his wife with a mirror and beat up his 14-year-old son who was trying to settle the fight.”
She called to complain about feeling unwell while crying on the phone. After examination, Doctors stated that her muscle had torn and that she had internal bleeding, and she was referred to University Teaching Hospital, Enugu State but on getting to the hospital she died.”
Chukwuebuka said Ogochukwu’s husband, Wilson wanted to begin the burial arrangements immediately but the family objected and demanded an autopsy to determine what killed her.
Reacting further, the mother of the slain woman, Mrs Cordelia Anene, insisted that her daughter was killed by her husband.
She explained that late Ogochukwu was beaten by her husband because he ate the loaf of bread she bought for her kids and when she asked for the bread to feed the children, he became furious and pounced on her with a mirror and other objects which left her in bad condition.
Mrs Anene explained that a few days after the beating, her daughter was hospitalized at Niger Foundation Enugu where she was said to be bleeding internally as a result of an injury sustained during the beating.
According to her, the doctors said that after a series of scans had been conducted on her, she was referred to Enugu State University Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Ituku Ozalla.
She lamented that while all these were happening, the said husband was nowhere to be found.
The deceased mother said that although waiting for the result of the autopsy, the officer handling the case in Enugu was urging them to drop the case.
She, therefore, called on the Anambra State Government to come to their aid and give her daughter justice.
Speaking after listening to the mother of the deceased, the Women and Social Welfare Commissioner, Mrs Obinabo stated that since the deceased is from Anambra state, the state government will not keep quiet over the unfortunate incident but will ensure that investigation into the circumstances leading to the cause of death of late Ogochukwu is thoroughly carried out and concluded in record time.
She also said that the state will synergise with the Enugu State government in investigating the case in order to get justice for the deceased.
Mrs Obinabo urged women in abusive marriages to always speak out and seek help instead of staying because of what society will say.
The Commissioner noted that an investigation is currently on to ascertain the true cause of death of the late Ogochukwu Anene, popularly known as Ada Awka.
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