If Mrs Nata Igbonovia had a premonition of the fate that would befall her on April 27, she would have stopped his son, Emmanuel Ayanli from working in a building under construction in the neighbourhood.
Mrs Igbonovia, whose husband lives abroad, only went to protect her son from a neighbour, Mr Philip Ayo, who they referred to as Barrister, and his family, but lost her life in the process.
Mr Ayo, the alleged killer of Mrs Igbonovia, was said to be a former councillor representing Ugu ward in Igueben Local Government of Edo State.
It was learnt that the deceased was in her room when she was told that her neighbour and his children were fighting her son. Like every mother, she decided to protect her son but paid a heavy price for it.
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Findings by Daily Trust on Sunday revealed that the late Mrs Igbinovia had been having an issue with her suspected killer after refusing an alleged love advance from him.
It was alleged that during the fight, the deceased was stabbed on her chest by Mr Ayo while his son used axe on her back.
Mrs Igbinovia left four children aged 17, 16, 13 and 9 behind.
Our reporter who visited the house of the suspected killer, located at Evbovoen (Love Power) Street, Opagha community, observed that it was completely razed by an irate youth after the incident.
Narrating how it happened amid tears, the deceased’s son, Emmanuel Anyali, an SSS I student, said he was yet to recover from shock, especially as her mother came to protect him from Ayo and his family.
He said, “I am a student and welder. On April 27, the son of a contractor handling a building construction beside the suspect’s house contacted me to join him in iron work on the building since I am a welder.
“As we were working, the wife of the suspect accused us of looking at the food she was cooking in her kitchen, but we told her that we were working and not interested in her food. But she kept shouting that we were looking at her food and the contractor should disengage us.
“As the woman kept shouting that we were looking at what she was cooking, her husband came out of the house and instructed the contractor to evict us from the job, which he did.
“As I was going home, the suspect’s wife came out of her house and started insulting my mother. When I asked her to stop insulting my mother, she slapped me once and I told her not to slap me again.
“It was when she slapped me twice that I retaliated and the man and his children rushed out of their house and joined their mother in fighting me.”
He explained that it was at that point that her mother came out from the house to defend him, adding, “As the suspect saw my mother coming, he rushed back into the house and came out with a kitchen knife and was about to stab me when my mother used a stick in her hand to block it and it fell from his hand.
“As the kitchen knife fell from his hand, he rushed back inside and came out with a dagger and stabbed my mum, who was already on the ground, on her chest while his son hit her with the axe he was holding.
“I saw my mother gasping for breath and we rushed her to hospital, where she was confirmed dead. While in the hospital, the woman brought some boys and started throwing stones and bottles into their house and went to their store beside the house and vandalised it.
“We are four siblings and the man has made us motherless. All I want now is justice for my mother. My mother was not a troublemaker; she took care of everybody that crossed her part.”
He said his dad was in Qatar, adding that he had not been able to summon courage to overcome the death of his mother.
On her part, Mrs Beauty Elvis, younger sister to the deceased, called on the government to give her justice.
“She was a mother to everyone, she didn’t discriminate. She fed anyone that came to her house. Because of her good nature, children always flocked her house.
If you called her for anything, he would give it out, unless she didn’t have it.
“I will miss my sister in many ways – her kindness, selflessness and listening ear. She has left a vacuum that will be difficult to fill,” she said.
The deceased’s elder sister, Blessing Ude, alleged that she was not killed because of the argument between her son and her killer as there had been a frosty relationship between her and Ayo over love advances.
“Ayo has been having an issue with my sister. He attempted to woo her because her husband in not in the country but she didn’t consent to it. That has been the problem,” she said
She added that because she did not agree to his love advances, he reported her to the police, alleging that my sister was selling Indian hemp.
“He dragged her to Okon Police Station, alleging that she was selling hard drugs, but when my sister narrated her story and the police discovered that he was not a lawyer as he claimed, he was detained.
“My sister told the police that anything that happened to her and her children, he should be held responsible. That is the bad belle he had been having towards my sister,” she alleged.
Mrs Ude said her late sister called her on Friday, saying she was coming to her house on Sunday.
She said, “I said there was no problem, but not up to 20 minutes after we discussed, another sister called me, saying that Barrister stabbed our sister on her chest during a fight.
“I told her that I was on my way to the place, but before I could leave my house, she called me again, saying the man brought people who were throwing stones into the house and that they couldn’t come out. I told her to be patient, adding that I would call the police to accompany me to the area.”
She said she was on her way to the police when her late sister’s son called again, asking her to come immediately, that she was dead.
“I rushed to the hospital, only to meet my sister lifeless. After our sister was confirmed dead at the hospital, we decided to take her corpse to the suspect’s house, but before we reached there, we were informed that his house was already on fire, so we took her to the mortuary, Mrs Ude said.
She said they had informed their sister’s husband of the incident and he was demanding justice for his wife.
“We have reported the matter to the police and they have asked us to go and do the autopsy while investigation is ongoing,” she said.
Also speaking, Mrs Happy Friday, a relative to the late Mrs Igbinovia, who said they would miss their sister’s kind gesture, alleged that Ayo only used the quarrel with her late sister’s son to get to her.
“To avoid quarrel or fight, the contractor handling the building where my sister’s son was working asked him to go home. But because they already had a plan to get to her, the suspect’s wife came off their house and slapped him,” she said.
She alleged that six children of the suspect came and joined their mother and father in beating her sister’s son, adding that it was at that point that her sister came out to save her son, leading to her death.
“It is a big loss to us. She was a very nice person who always wanted to help people. Because of her good nature, children always flocked her house. Once you came to her you would never go back hungry.
She joined others to demand justice for Mrs Igbinovia, alleging that the suspect deliberately killed their sister
The Edo State police command’s spokesperson, Chidi Nwabuzor, said Mr Ayo had been arrested in connection with the alleged murder.
He said investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding the killing of the woman was ongoing.
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