Posted by By Simon Ebegbulem, Benin City on
It was indeed a bizarre story to tell any one. Dr. Esosa Ogbeide-Ihama, a 29- year-old medical doctor mandated her husband Engr. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama who was scheduled to arrive the country from London last Wednesday to ensure that he bought an Arsenal Jersey for their house boy, Monday, before coming back to Benin.
*Moving story of how a17-yr old houseboy killed his master's wife, and raped her corpse thereafter
It was indeed a bizarre story to tell any one. Dr. Esosa Ogbeide-Ihama, a 29- year-old medical doctor mandated her husband Engr. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama who was scheduled to arrive the country from London last Wednesday to ensure that he bought an Arsenal Jersey for their house boy, Monday, before coming back to Benin. And when Omoregie arrived Lagos , at about 5:30am, he went in search of the Jersey while waiting for the 3:30 flight that will fly him to Benin to meet with his family. But ironically, while he was ransacking Lagos in search of where to buy the Arsenal Jersey, his house boy (Monday) whom the Jersey was being bought for, was busy murdering his wife, who was six month-old pregnant. The deceased was said to be expecting a twins.
Besides, the couple are yet to have a baby, and expectations were high that the twins would bring more happiness to the family. But unfortunately, a wicked house boy destroyed all they laboured for.
The incident which occurred at about 11am that Wednesday threw the entire residents of the Government Reservation Area (GRA) in Benin City into panic. The question is what would have warranted a 17-year-old house boy murdering an innocent pregnant woman who had earlier asked her husband to buy an Arsenal Jersey for the house boy. And the worst is that not only did he use the kitchen knife to snuff life out of her, he also feasted on her body by making love to her after committing the dastard act.
Though the suspect claimed that the gateman, Mohammed whom according to him assisted him in carrying the deceased's body from the parlour to hid her under the bed in her bedroom, also had a taste of her. But Mohammed denied the allegation, claiming that he never knew that his madam was dead until he was brought to the State CID. The suspect claimed that he murdered the deceased out of provocation after she allegedly beat her up because the noodles which he was cooking got burnt.
However, the whole incident is still a mystery because according to the husband of the deceased, the deceased lost all the blood in her body but the blood found in the house was not commensurate with the quantity of blood she lost. The question now is what happened to the blood? Was it a ritual killing? And if it was who are those behind this dastardly act? These are the questions the Edo State Commissioner for Police, Mr. Bala Hassan and his police pathologists must tell the world after the investigations.
For Mr. Omoregie who looked totally devastated when Saturday Vanguard visited the residence, it was all regrets, anguish and sorrow. According to him, the deceased was supposed to have traveled to the United States last weekend but he prevailed on her to wait until he came back from this trip. He described the deceased as a born again Christian and one who would not hurt a fly. One can hardly hear him because he lacked the strength to even talk. He declared that what befell him was some thing he would never wish his enemy. For close to two hours that Saturday Vanguard was with him, he looked dazed and frightening. You could see the wreckage in him as he gathered strength to narrate the story.
However, as the mission to unravel the motive behind the murder of this beautiful medical doctor gathers momentum, three persons, the house boy (Monday Okon), the gateman (Mohammed) and the agent who brought Monday to the couple (Moses), are all in the police net. The State Police Commissioner disclosed also that police pathologists and forensic experts from Lagos had arrived the city to assist the police in finding out how many people carried out the murder and had sex with her.
According to him, that would assist the police unravel whether there was somebody that came from out side to participate in the murder and walked away after it or that the gateman and the agent were involved. He asserted that the police was convinced that the 17-year-old house boy would not have carried out the crime alone.
Saturday Vanguard spoke to the actors and the deceased's husband who narrated the pathetic story of the life and death of his wife. The story is quite pathetic but it could be a lesson to all of us. Excerpts:
Mr. Ogbeide-Ihama, deceased's husband:
I was not in the country. I just got into the country that same day from England and I spoke to my wife at about 6am that Wednesday morning because my flight arrived about 5:30am that morning and the first person I spoke with was my wife. So she said she wanted to pray that she would call me back. She called me at 8:00 clock and I called at almost 10:00.I was to leave with the 3:30 flight to Benin , that was all I knew about it before I heard of what happened. Eventually I flew in to Benin and it was all blood in my house.
The remains of my wife was found under the bed. I am sure you can see how my world is now. But I just give God the glory because in every thing we must give thanks to God. My wife was a strong Christian to the core. She married God and I know that she is in heaven. Whoever may have been part of this if my wife has the opportunity to wake up for a minute she will ask that we should forgive them, that is the truth. That is the woman I married. So I think I will leave every thing in the hands of God. No body can console me because you do not know how I feel but God will console me.
Confessions have been made by the house boy in the police station and the knife that was used and where they hid it, they have confessed and the police has recovered that. And the police is doing their best I must commend them and I think that the next stage is what was their motive and how many people were involved because it was not what one person did. All those involved I am sure that our Nigeria police will do their best to unravel the whole truth behind these mysteries. My wife cannot come back but we can only learn a lesson from it. So when the motive is unraveled, so many people can learn from it so that such occurrences cannot happen because this is an incident that I cannot even wish my enemy. But we thank God all the same.
How long has the house help been with you?
Since January this year, and our relationship has been very cordial. We live like a family and my wife treated them like her children. I spoke with all of them on Saturday while I was in England and the boy (suspect) made a demand for me to buy Arsenal jersey for him, and my wife made sure that I bought the Arsenal jersey by telling me that I will not enter this house if I did not come with it; that it was me that made the boy like Arsenal football club because I am an Arsenal fan. That shows the kind of relationship we had with them. Because we have a house boy and a girl. The little girl told me her request which I also got and this is not the first time I am traveling, we always get them what they want. But the girl was away to school on the day of this incident.
We learnt that some body came to the house after the incident, who was that person?
Yes, a member of our church. The man came because he was meant to go on a church assignment with my wife. But when he got here he said that the security man opened the gate and he was ringing the bell and nobody was answering which was very unusual. He was calling Monday, and Monday did not answer. He now called my wife on GSM and her phone was saying switched off. So he now checked for the gate man, the Mallam now said that madam dey inside.
He said what about Monday he said Monday is inside too. And when he was talking incidentally Monday just walked in with his brother who is the agent that brought him. And he said where are you coming from, that was where Monday started putting up the initial false story that he went to buy mineral. And we thank God that even the agent that brought him here, there were blood stains on his sleepers. So Monday will have to unravel those that helped him carry out this action and by the grace of God the motive behind it will be unraveled.
What did you wife do?
She was an optometrist. She used to work in England, for a while in Central hospital but she was six months pregnant and I did not want her to work. She was due to leave for the United States last week end. She was just waiting for me to come so she can go. She has stayed off work since the pregnancy.
This is a mystery no one can unravel. I do not know how to explain how I feel because you cannot understand. But the fire that burns in me, God will turn it to happiness. I must have testimony to give. When, I do not know. But I believe because God is God he will not forget me. My wife lost all the blood in her body but the quantity of the blood I saw in my house is not equivalent with the blood my wife lost. So the question now is what happened to the blood? I believe that is what the police will help us unravel.
Edo State Police Commissioner, Bala Hassan:
On the third of October 2007, at about 11am a medical doctor by name Esosa Ogbeide-Ihama was brutally murdered in her residence in GRA Benin City. Arrest was made and some of the suspects arrested have confessed to the crime. The house boy, Monday Okon has confessed that he was the one who stabbed the deceased. His reason was that she did not give him food which was quite flimsy. But having killed her, her body was dragged to the bedroom and hidden under the bed. This gave us the clue that he did not do it alone because a boy of seventeen cannot reasonably kill a woman and drag the body, especially when we were told that she was six months pregnant.
He has indicted the gateman, Mohammed Idris who also is going through interrogation. He said Mohammed assisted him in dragging the corpse into the room whereby Mohammed removed her dresses and unlawfully had sexual intercourse with her and he (Monday) joined in doing the same. But all these will be confirmed by investigations. Our pathologists will assist us in getting the actual motive and the number of people that murdered this young woman. The investigations have not been concluded even though we got confessional statements to the murder, we want to tidy up the criminal accomplices of the young man and also find the motive behind the killing.
Are you saying they made love to her after killing her or before?
Monday Okon confessed that after killing her, he came out and told Mohammed that he had killed madam. So they dragged her under the bed to hide her. In the process of hiding her Monday alleged that Mohammed removed his trouser and slept with madam before him, (Monday) slept with madam too. But all these confessional statements were made by Okon. But Mohammed denied the allegation that he did not sleep with the madam that he did not even know that madam has been killed until when the Police and people started coming there.
His defense was that since he was fasting, there was no way he would have made love with the deceased when fasting there are certain things you do not. But it was a defence. It is after forensic examination we will be able to get a clue from the doctors on how many people slept with her. The person who committed the murder is not in doubt but we want to know those who criminally made love to her after her death before we finally take the matter to court.
What about the agent who brought Monday to the house?
That is one theory we are working on. The suspect did not indict the agent, Moses but it is possible he is covering him up. We are feeling that he took part too apart from the gateman. So it is either him or the gateman, we are checking their alibi. We are centering our investigations on the person who has confessed to the crime, then the person who brought him to work for the madam and the gateman who has been indicted even though he denied he does not know about the matter talkless of having carnal knowledge of the woman after she had died. But investigation is on because in every murder there is a motive. And it is not enough to say that your madam did not give you food you will kill her. And it is not enough to say they killed her so as to have sexual intercourse with her. So these are what must be unraveled.
Monday Okon, the house boy:
How old how you?
I am 17.
Did you go to school?
I finished primary four in my village in Calabar.
When did you start living with your madam?
In January this year.
So what happened that you murdered your madam?
She gave me noodles to cook for her and also told me to fetch water. The noodles now got burnt as I was fetching the water. She called me and said why did I let the noodles get burnt; I told her that I was fetching water and I did not know when it got burnt. But she started beating me. So devil now entered inside me, I now took the kitchen knife and stabbed her in the neck.
Who did it with you?
I killed her alone
Did she die immediately you stabbed her?
Yes. She fell down immediately. I now went outside to call Mohammed (the gateman) who came and assisted me to hide her body under the bed.
What did you tell Mohammed?
I did not tell him any thing I just called him inside the house. He asked me who killed her and I told him that I was the one. He now asked where are we going to put the body, I told him that we will put her under the bed.
Is it true that you and Mohammed had sex with your madam after killing her?
Yes. After we carried her body inside the bedroom, Mohammed removed her cloth and had sex with her and after him I did the same too.
That means you have been having that urge before?
No.
Have you planned to kill her with some people before?
No sir.
We saw a shovel behind the house, were you people planning to bury her there?
No sir. It was Mohammed who brought the shovel. I do not know what he wanted to do with the shovel.
But the same madam you killed asked your oga to buy you Arsenal jersey , what was your relationship with madam and oga?
We are close; oga promised to buy the jersey for me. In fact such thing has never happened to me before; (the) devil just used me that day.
Was your madam maltreating you?
No sir.
Mohammed Idris (gateman):
I was at the gate when he (Monday) came to call me and said where is madam. I told him that madam is inside. He now went out to call his brother (Moses the agent). Then oga's friend came to the gate; I went to open the gate for him. Oga's friend was now ringing the bell but madam was not opening the door. He now asked me: where is madam? I told him that madam was inside. He called madam's phone, it was not going. Then Monday now came in and his brother. They were now speaking Calabar and I do not understand Calabar. Then oga's friend now said he is going to call the Police because he saw Monday's cloth stained with blood in the bush outside the fence. People now started coming into the house and that was when I knew there was a problem.
Monday said both of you dragged madam to her bedroom after he killed her?
It is not true. I never knew that madam was dead because I do not enter inside the house; I always stayed at the gate.
Did you not hear any shout?
I did not hear any thing. It was when they brought me to the Police station here that I heard that madam was dead.
But Monday said you made love to madam?
That is not true. I did not know about madam's death until when I was brought to the police station.
Moses Paul, the agent:
Around 11:14am my brother (Monday) called me and said some body came to the house to visit madam and madam sent him to go and buy mineral for the person. So when he came back he did not see madam and the boy that came to look for madam but he saw blood. But I told him that where I am was very far that he should call oga's friend that is close by there before I will come.
So when I now came I saw oga's friend at the gate and I asked where madam is. He told me he did not see madam but he saw blood in the parlour. He asked Monday to take me to the parlour and we went in and I saw blood every where. I asked him where was madam, he said he did not see madam. Oga's friend now said he was going to call the Police and I supported him and that was it. When I asked him where madam was he did not even tell me the truth that he has killed madam.