Mrs Happiness Chidi, a widow in Ofeh community in Omuma Local Government Area of Rivers State, narrates to BIODUN BUSARI how her husband, Isaiah Chidi, was hacked to death by his kinsman
Who was the late Isaiah Chidi to you?
He was my husband.
Where do you stay?
I live in Ofeh community in Omuma Local Government Area of Rivers State.
What did your husband do for a living?
He was a pastor at The Apostolic Church.
Who was the relative who killed your brother?
He was my husband’s brother who lives in the compound. They were not siblings, but by tradition, they were brothers in the family lineage. They were kinsmen. My husband’s killer was Chiwendu Nwalozie. They lived in the same compound inherited from their fathers.
How long had both lived together?
They had lived together for many years before I even got married to my husband. The compound was an inheritance from their fathers.
What happened on the day your husband’s relative killed him?
It was on Thursday, February 12, 2026. I gave my husband his breakfast early in the morning before I headed to my farm because I’m an oil palm farmer and merchant. I left my husband in good condition.
In the afternoon, my husband called to send greetings to me. But in the evening, as I was still working on the farm, my two daughters came to the farm weeping profusely. I was shocked to see them. They broke the news that Nwalozie had killed their father.
They were crying, so I thought I didn’t hear them well. It looked like a joke. I asked them again, and they both chorused, ‘Our father is dead.’ That was how I ran to our compound, only to find my husband in a pool of his blood.
How was he murdered?
He was hacked to death with a cutlass. His relative, whom they referred to themselves as brothers, hacked him to death with a cutlass. He was almost dismembered. The machete wounds were in all parts of his body, including the arms, legs, and chest.
My husband was almost lifeless. He was helpless. I groaned in pain when I saw him. He looked like he was still living for me at that moment, so I cried for help and took him to a nearby hospital.
The doctor told me that he couldn’t save him and directed me to another hospital.
My husband gave up the ghost on the road before I could get to the second hospital. It was an experience I don’t want to recount (sobs).
Where did your husband’s relative meet him to perpetrate this evil?
He hid somewhere around the compound before he suddenly appeared and hacked him to death.
Was there any quarrel between the two of them before the incident?
My husband was a pastor. He didn’t fight or quarrel with outsiders, let alone his brothers. He had never told me that he was fighting with someone before.
How did you know it was Nwalozie who killed your husband?
He ran away. He disappeared into thin air. The whole community was looking for him and couldn’t find him. He was later caught in Abia State and taken to the police station.
How about his family?
He lived alone. His wife and children had abandoned him. They accused him of violence. The wife ran away with the children. This happened last year.
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