A Beninoise, Kwenume Ojo, aka Abiodun, has been arrested by
men of the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly killing
her husband, Jimoh Ojo, 32, in the Yaba area of the state.
We learnt that Kwenume put poison in her husband’s soft
drink and forced it down his throat while he slept on the bed.
Our correspondent gathered that the 17-year-old suspect took
the poison from a relative of her boyfriend after she was
forced to marry Jimoh.
The incident happened on Friday on Apolo Street, the Makoko
area of Lagos.
When our correspondent visited the area, he met a crowd of
residents and family members who said the victim’s corpse
had been deposited in a mortuary.
It was learnt that the suspect had been arrested by policemen
from the Adekunle Police Division.
Jimoh’s in-law, Rotimi Akinlagun, explained that the deceased
was retarded, which made it difficult for him to get a wife.
He said his marriage to Kwenume was arranged by the two
families.
He said, “Jimoh was a carpenter. When he was born, he fell
sick and that affected his health as he became retarded.
“When he became mature, we decided to get him a wife. We
started asking around for anybody who could give him a wife.
“Kwenume’s father heard and he contacted Jimoh’s family. He
gave them Kwenume to become Jimoh’s wife. She had no
choice in the matter.”
PUNCH Metro learnt that Kwenume’s father took the decision
to prevent her from marrying her boyfriend, who he did not
like.
The dislike, it was gathered, stemmed from the maltreatment
of Kwenume’s sister, who was married into the boyfriend’s
family.
“She was brought to me and we took her to Jimoh’s
hometown in Yewa, Ogun State. He was going there to make
love with her. After six months, she became pregnant and we
brought her back to Lagos State.
“The couple moved into a new apartment to start a new
family. Their apartment was close to my house so I could
monitor them. Abiodun (Kwenume) was assisting my wife to
sell food at her canteen,” Rotimi added.
Our correspondent learnt that after giving birth to a baby girl,
christened Hannah, the suspect became attracted to her
former boyfriend and she started visiting him.
She was said to have met his elder brother, Wensu, an
herbalist, who allegedly gave her the poison to put in her
hubby’s drink so she could marry the unidentified boyfriend.
Jimoh’s elder sister, Modupe Akinlagun, said the victim had
returned from work on the fateful Friday and visited her shop
to get food.
She said, “He dished the food himself and ate. After eating, I
asked him to go home and rest. When his wife returned from
an errand I sent her, I asked her to also return home with her
baby.
“I was still there when his wife came to call me that he had
slumped in the toilet.
“When we got there, people had surrounded him and were
pouring palm oil into his mouth. He was vomiting the oil and
a white substance. He kept saying, ‘Iya Hannah has killed me,
she opened my mouth and poured drug inside.’
“Iya Hannah (Kwenume) denied Jimoh’s accusation, but he
insisted that she forced the poison down his throat.”
Another relative explained that Kwenume put the poison in a
bottle of drink that the victim had brought home to share with
her.
He said, “They usually shared their food and drinks together.
After he finished eating at the canteen that day, he bought a
bottle of drink and drank half. He took the remaining home to
share with his wife.
“It was when she returned that she put the poison in the
drink. She then forced it down his throat.”
Modupe’s husband said Jimoh died around 11.30pm on
Friday.
He said the community elders took Kwenume aside to press
her for information on where she got the poison.
He said after some time, she confessed to the crime, adding
that she collected the poison from her boyfriend’s brother who
lived in the Sogunro, Iwaya area of the state.
He said, “Around 3am on Saturday, a policeman, together with
some of our people went to get the man.”
The two suspects were said to have been kept till dawn until
a team of policemen from the Adekunle division arrived in six
vans.