- Three days after allegedly killing his mother, man commits suicide in Ebonyi
From Obinna Odogwu, Abakaliki
For the extended family of Chief Ezeogo Okeeda in Agbaja community, Abakaliki Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, death has dealt a devasting blow on them. This followed the controversial death of one of his five wives, Mary, and her son, Ekene on July 26 and 29 respectively. At the moment, the family is mourning even as their about 80-year-old father, Okeeda, remains unconsoled.
Mary, who was about 62 years old, has varying stories surrounding her untimely death. At first, she was allegedly beaten to death by her 27-year-old son, Ekene, who allegedly suffered some degree of insanity.
Ekene, a welder, was said to have pushed down his mother when the deceased tried to separate him and his younger sister during a scuffle. But another version has it that she died out of prolonged ailment called uterine prolapse. But while the family was yet to recover from the shock occasioned by the demise of Mary, another sad story was that the accused person, Ekene had committed suicide.
Some of his family members who spoke to Saturday Sun narrated that Ekene drank some poisonous pesticides in his apartment. One of his brothers, Chidi Ezeogo, told our reporter that Ekene had informed him before his death that he was being accused wrongly of killing their mother; hence, he decided to take his own life.
According to our source: “It happened that after our mother died, nobody saw Ekene. We were all looking for him. Few days later, someone called me and told me that they saw him in his house lying flat on the ground. When I got there, with tears, I carried him and headed for the police station to report.
“On our way, he started vomiting. He managed to whisper that he drank pesticide to terminate his life. I had to move him straight to the hospital. I told him point blank that he had taken the wrong decision; that if he dies as a result he would be going to hellfire.
“He told me that he took the action because he was being accused of wrongfully killing our mother. He said that he did not kill our mother. I gave him palm oil to see if he could vomit the poisonous liquid he drank. He was also given some drugs but he gave up the ghost later in the midnight. I feel bitter that I lost my mother and younger brother within three days.”
Another relation, Evangelist Chinedu Sunday, told Saturday Sun that the deceased had reported at the Central Police Station when he received the news of his mother’s death. He, however, fled when the police moved to arrest him and ended up in his house where he drank pesticide.
“Ekene called me and asked me if it was true that our mother had died. I said yes. I later learnt that he reported at the police station. But when police wanted to arrest him, he fled. He called his elder brother to pick his motorcycle from the police station. What we later heard was that he drank pesticide” he said.
Another brother, Lawrence Ezeogo, a medical doctor, told Saturday Sun that the deceased had in the past complained of how some ‘evil spirits’ often spoke to him. “Ekene has some degree of psychosis. He was treated for pyschosis recently. In April, he was sent to his elder brother who lives in Nnewi, Anambra State where he was treated and later to Lagos where another brother of his lives.
“But when he came back, he told me that he was yet to recover; that most times when he slept, he felt that someone was talking to him. And these are critical signs of psychosis”, he explained.
When our reporter visited their residence at No 29 Agbaja Road, another brother of his, Mr Onyema Ezeogo, told Saturday Sun that the late woman was manhandled by her son and caused her serious injury which led to her death. He alleged that the deceased used to abuse her son, a situation which infuriated him to act wildly.
“I learnt that Ekene beat his mother, Mary, and marched her. May be she sustained injury which resulted in rushing her to the hospital. The mother used to abuse him but on that day, the boy was very furious. I don’t know what started the trouble that day” he alleged.
But this account was punctured by the woman’s daughter who declined to disclose her name to Saturday Sun. She narrated that her mother had wanted to intervene in a fight in the family before her problem was triggered.
Hear her: “Our mother wanted to intervene, he ignored her. He didn’t beat or touch her. You know when something happens like this, people would exaggerate to the story. Truth is that the woman was suffering an ailment for a long time but didn’t disclose that to anyone. So it has eaten deep into her body system” she added.
Meanwhile, the deceased’s stepson, Dr Lawrence Ezeogo, the Chief Medical Director of St. Agatha’s Clinic, Agbaja, explained that although Ekene has some questions to answer, his mother died of uterine prolapse.
“What actually happened was that the woman was sick. She had uterine prolapse for so long a time. The story was that Ekene was beating his younger sister and the mother wanted to intervene. So, Ekene pushed her aside and she fell, hitting her buttocks on the ground.
“During her treatment, it was discovered that the deceased was suffering from uterus prolapse for years but has been hiding the ailment. So the prolapse now started giving her pains. She was rushed to this hospital where we did our best to manage her. We later referred her to another hospital.
“The doctor there said she needed blood transfusion as she was not strong. We got two pints of blood and transfused her. However, she earlier had a case of constipation and as a result couldn’t pass stool. The constipation reoccurred. She stayed for a day without passing stool.
“But at two o’clock (2 am) in the night, she became unconscious. We did everything possible and gave all the drugs we could but eventually, the woman passed on.”
Dr Ezeogo, who is the first of the 37 children in his extended family, explained that prolapse is the coming down of the uterus through the vagina. One of the major causes of prolapse, according to him, is giving birth to so many children. “There are other causes but any lifestyle or behaviour that exerts pressure on the womb increases the chances of prolapse” he added.
The body of the deceased has since been deposited in the mortuary at the Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki just as the Central Police Station, Abakaliki has been alerted on the development.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Jude Madu, who said he was yet to be briefed on the incident.