A mother of two, Mrs. Oyinyechi Chinaka, is
recuperating after she was reportedly stabbed several times by
her neighbour (names withheld) in Mushin area of Lagos.
Mrs Chinaka was rushed
to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, but
she lost her seven months pregnancy.
The victim’s agony
began after she allegedly caught the neighbour stealing money from her purse and, not wanting the woman to
expose him at number 11, Anjorin Street, Mushin, Lagos, the suspect
was said to have stabbed Mrs. Chinaka with a kitchen knife
severally on her stomach ,arm and neck and left
her to bleed to death .
The mother of two could
have died but for the timely intervention of neighbours who went
looking for her and called for help after they saw her lying in her room in a
pool of blood.
While neighbours were
at a loss about what happened to her, the assailant
went about as if nothing happened until he was found out by his elder brother
and he confessed to stabbing Mrs. Chinaka .
The victim, who spoke
to Sunday Vanguard on her hospital bed, narrated, “ I was at home that fateful
day when my children came to me in the kitchen where I was cooking to say
electricity had been restored, and that I should come to the living room to
play a cartoon video, called Power Ranger, for them. I left what I was doing
and went to operate the television for them. But to my
astonishment, I saw the neighbour in my room. He was going through my purse to
steal money. I caught him red handed. He was shocked .I said, ‘ So, you are the
one stealing all the money that has been missing in this compound’. I was
shocked because I trusted him and we had never quarrelled before. I usually
left my children with him and he entered my house the way he
liked, but for him to be stealing was shocking to me. As I was still talking to
him, he ran out of the room and before I knew what was happening, he came
back with a kitchen knife and told me that he will stab me with it. I thought
he was joking but to my shock, he moved close and, as I attempted to escape, he
held me and started stabbing me with the knife . He stabbed me until I lost
consciousness. I did not know what happened next. I only found myself in
hospital and, after surgery, I was revived. My husband told me that I was
stabbed and would have died but for God’s mercy. I could not feel my baby
anymore. I was seven months pregnant but my baby was not kicking”.
Mr. Henry , Mrs
Chinaka’s brother- in-law, explained the trouble the family went
through to get medical help for her.
“ When we heard that
she was stabbed, the family rallied round and rushed her to LUTH. Doctors told
us that she had to use the only ICU machine but a lot of people
were on queue to use it. We ran helter skelter to look for money to deposit for
her treatment. We had to deposit N500,000 and we have spent more than a million
naira on her treatment but nobody knew who stabbed her and she was on
life support machine for months . Unknown to us, the assailant’s elder
brother had reported him to the police at the Olosan Police Station and the
police had charged him to court for attempted murder without
carrying out thorough investigation nor did they visit the woman in
the hospital” , Henry said. “ We have been prevailing on the police to
include the case of murder in the charge against the assailant because
the woman lost her seven months old pregnancy due to the stabbing. The baby is
in the mortuary but the DPO of the Olosan Police Station and
the IPO are not ready to cooperate with us as they went on to charge the boy to
court without hearing from the family of the victim. We are appealing to the
police to revisit the case and amend the charge to include murder.
We want justice to be done.”
A human rights
activist, Mr. Ishola Agbodemu, urged the police to get justice for the
victim, especially in the light of the lost pregnancy.
“If she had not been
stabbed and made to go through such a terrible experience, she would have given
birth to a child by now. The child’s murder should not be
overlooked by the police”, Agbodemu said.
In his statement to the
police, the suspect said he was pushed by an evil spirit to stab Mrs. Chinaka.
“I went to her house to
steal money. She caught me but a spirit told me to stab her, so I went to the
kitchen and took the knife and stabbed her with it. I stabbed her because I did
not want her to reveal to other neighbours that I am a thief. I fled the house
when I saw blood gushing out. It was my brother who exposed me. He saw a cut
wound on my hand and he questioned me where I got it. I had to confess to him
that I used knife to stab Mrs Chinaka. My elder brother took me to the Olosan
police station and I was arrested”.
Why should they refuse to name him he is not the victim he is the criminal please name we could all know his name ( it is a sad story Lucky we thank God u are life for the little one . I wish u quick recovery .
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