For having the effrontery to retaliate when her husband slapped her, the woman received the second slap that sent her to the great beyond.
But the 36-year husband, Onyekachi Anele, is currently cooling his heels in the custody of Imo State Police Command.
Already, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Taiwo Lakanu, has not only ordered the transfer of the matter to the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, but has equally directed that a thorough investigation be carried out into the circumstances that led to the woman’s death.
Vanguard investigations revealed that Anele and his late wife, Chikodi, were residents of Obiniezena in Owerri North Local Government Area, before the tragedy struck.
Anele, who had two children with his late wife, blamed the incident on the alleged effrontery of his spouse in insulting him over N100. He said: “When she insulted me over N100, I got angry and slapped her.
But she immediately retaliated. I was shocked by her effrontery. I slapped her a second time. She fell down and fainted.” While answering a question, the suspect who had since become very sober, said that he loved his wife and had no intention of killing her.
He said: “I love my wife. I had no intention to kill her. It was a little misunderstanding and annoyance that prompted me to slap her and she died.” The suspect recounted that his late wife had a son by another man before their marriage and that they had been living together peacefully and have two children. He added that their first baby, a girl, is four years old; while the second child, a boy, is just a year old.
Meanwhile, the leadership of Imo Women Network has appealed to the police to ensure speedy investigation and justice in the matter. The Coordinator-General of the group, Dr. Joyce Soroibe, lamented over what she called “the increasing rate of domestic violence in Nigeria.”
According to her, “if the perpetrators of domestic violence are adequately punished, others who are in the habit of beating their wives will definitely learn a lesson or two. However, if nothing is done to punish a perpetrator, more women may be slapped to death in the state.”
