51-year-old woman kills husband with machete, claims self-defence

The Rivers State Police Command on Thursday said it arrested a 51-year-old woman, Gladys Amadi, from Chokocho, in the Etche Local Government Area of the state for allegedly killing her husband, Napoleon Amadi, with a machete.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Nnamdi Omoni, disclosed this while parading the suspect before journalists at the State Criminal Investigation Department in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

Omoni said Gladys, who admitted to committing the crime, was arrested on October 8, 2021.

He said, “It is a case of murder of one Napoleon Amadi. The local police swung into action and did their preliminary investigation.

“The investigation compass led to the arrest of the woman and others. After intense interrogation, she opened up that she actually killed her husband; that she quarrelled with the man that evening and the man brought out a machete to cut her, but that she was able to get the machete from the man and killed him with it.

“She gave him several machete cuts in his forehead, which led to his death.”

The police spokesman said investigation revealed that after killing the victim, Gladys washed away the bloodstains on the machete in a bid to conceal the crime.

Omoni, a Superintendent of Police, said the suspect would be charged to court at the end of investigation.

He advised members of the public, especially families, to resolve conflicts amicably rather than resort to violence.

“No reasonable injury on her. When the heinous act was committed, she tried to clean up the scene by even washing the machete and hiding it. But it took the assiduity of our men to get to know where the machete was kept.

“They went and recovered it, though after her confession anyway. So, we are investigating.

“The scene of the crime has been sealed. At the end of our investigation, she will be charged to court,” Omoni said.

Speaking to journalists, Gladys said she acted in self-defence, adding that her husband wanted to kill her with the machete after an argument.

The suspect said she raised the alarm during the argument, but no one responded.

She alleged that her husband had threatened to kill her and their two children for ritual purposes, adding that they had been married for over 35 years.

Gladys noted that all her complaints to his family on how he maltreated her, did not yield any fruit.

She said, “That Thursday night when my husband returned, he was telling me about a letter sent to him that he would soon die.

“He said to me, ‘Gladys, today my cup is full.’ That he was going to use my two children for rituals and after using them, he would use me also for rituals.

“I said, ‘Daddy, what have I done? Look at what is on the ground.’ He said he would slaughter me that night.”

The suspect said she mustered courage during a fight that ensued between them and took the machete from him.

(The PUNCH)