Jealous Husband Kills One-Year-old Son, Burns Wife

Blood they say is thicker than water, but this saying meant nothing to  37-year-old Henry Nnadi, who in a rage, powered by suspicion and jealousy reportedly murdered his one-year-old son, Ebuka, and also burnt his wife, Mercy, with a hot pressing iron after beating her severely during the recent Easter celebration.

Sandwiched between Harrison and Lateef Aregbe Street, the suspect had murdered sleep at their residence at No. 3 Lambe Iluyomade Street along Ago Palace Way, Okota, when he cudgelled the innocent boy to death and cruelly marked his wife with a hot pressing iron.

Nnadi had accused the wife of sleeping with his own father, an allegation the accused vehemently refuted. When THISDAY chanced upon the suspect’s aged father Wednesday, he quickly refuted the allegation. One of the neighbours said Nnadi’s accusation of infidelity reached the point where he doubted the paternity of his own son.

While Mercy is still battling for her life at New Evolution Hospital, Opposite Kingston Jo eatery in Okota, where she was rushed to by concerned neighbours, THISDAY gathered that the police have stepped up investigation into the case.

On that fateful Sunday, neighbours had been rudely jolted from the Easter celebration by the piteous cries for help emanating from the suspect’s wife. But their doors were locked. Neighbours had to break in only to find the visibly scarred victim, who had been tied to some piece of furniture in the house.

While the victim was rescued alive, it was however late for the couple’s one-year-old son as he was lying in a pool of his own blood. Neighbours who spoke on condition of anonymity said Nnadi  had killed the boy by hitting his head on the ground, after tying the wife to a chair before inflicting scars on her body with the hot iron.

When THISDAY visited the hospital Wednesday, the victim was lying on the bed wearing a stoic mien despite the third degree burns on all parts of her body. But despite the excruciating pian she was going through, she said she had left the matter for God to judge.

She said: “I am tired of talking about this issue. All I want to do is get well and leave this hospital for a new life. When I am better, our both families will sit down and talk about the issue but I have made up my mind to leave him. Let him go ahead with his life while I do so with mine. If government decides to prosecute him, fine but if not, I leave all in God’s hand since He is aware before anything happens.”

When asked if she had an affair with her father-in-law as alleged by the husband, she swore she was innocent of the allegation.

She said: “I swear I do not know how he got that idea. You saw my father-in-law, he is an old man and I am not that kind of person.”

The mention of her son was obviously a low subject with her as the mere questioning of his name brought about violent shudders and spasms prompting the reporter to quickly call the attention of the medical personnel. It was later that THISDAY learnt from the doctor that they had to lie about the condition of her son before she began to respond to treatment.

Reminiscing on the happy days before her marriage turned into a hell hole, Mercy said although they got married in 2010, they had been friends since 1996. She said: “We were friends first and then we fell in love with each other. That was when we decided to get married.”

With marriage, she said she had to drop her job as a hairdresser and veered into petty trading. On the incessant beatings, she said they had become regular customers at the Ago Police Division.

She said: “We used to visit the police station often after series of quarrels where I usually plead with the police to convince my husband to start up a business for me to feed our son. As always, they made him write an undertaking that he would not beat me up again but he always did.

“Instead of giving me money for the upkeep of the family, he would rather spend it on drinks and cigarettes. When I complain, he will say that I am lazy while he slaves to feed us.

“His father and family members are aware of all these things and they do not play with me at all. They have been the ones taking care of me since the incident.”

Speaking to THISDAY, the medical doctor on duty who simply identified himself as Dr. Eze said the victim had third degree burns which would take time to heal. According to him, when she was brought to the hospital, she was paper white which means that her pack cell volume (PCV) was low. He disclosed that she had also lost a lot of blood and body fluids. This he said prompted him to rehydrate her first before carrying out some surgical dressing on her wounds.

He said: “Psychologically she was bad until we cooked up a lie that her son, Ebuka, who was also murdered by the husband, is still alive.” Justifying his actions, the doctor said Mercy bought the news and was recovering speedily with the hope of reuniting with her son when she leaves the hospital.

“Prior to that, she was shouting and behaving like a lunatic. In fact, she was almost going psychotic. She refused to eat. From all deductions, she was very bad psychologically,” he added. On her wounds, he expressed optimism that she would heal with time.

He said: “If a woman notices that the love has gone sour, she should keep away for sometime and monitor whether he has changed. If there is no improvement in the man’s behaviour, she should quit because there is no need to risk her life.”

Referring to Mercy’s case, Eze said because of the constant quarrels between the couples, the neighbours had disregarded her screams as one of those things. He noted that when they went in to rescue her, it was already late. He also lamented the time lapse before she was rushed to the hospital. But for the delay, he said the wounds would not have degenerated.

Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Joseph Jaiyeoba, a superintendent of police, said investigations had kicked off. According to him, the matter would not be swept under the carpet rather the police would ensure that the rule of law triumphs. The matter has since been transferred to the State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba, for further investigations.