Incredible: Palm Wine Tapper Hacks Wife to Death In Imo Community

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria, News From The State Sunday, September 1st, 2019

From Ignatius Okpara, Owerri Nigeria

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The Umuoduku village in Oboama Autonomous Community, Ezinihitte Mbaise council Area of Imo State, South- East was weekend thrown into shock and wailing, as a palm wine tapper, Mr. Richard Anochirionye alias ‘Okpoka’, hacked his wife to death with a two-by-two plank.

A source in the locality who craved anonymity said that trouble began in the morning hours of Friday when the man had a serious misunderstanding with the wife over a yet-to-be established matter prompting the wife to use a plank to hit the husband repeatedly on his mouth, even as she persistently threatened to kill him.

Following the attack, it was gathered that the man patiently waited till all his male children went out before he reportedly tricked his daughter by sending her on an errand after which he allegedly launched a revenge attack on the wife violently with the plank which he hit on her head.

“He waited until their children were all out of the compound, then he tricked their daughter to go and buy something for him but before she could return, the wife was clubbed to death,” revealed a native who didn’t want his name in print.

The woman was said to be hostile to the man apart from having allegedly brainwashed the children and poisoned their minds towards their father.

However, it would be recalled that in July 2017, the same man, Okpoka was said to have bought 25 litres of petrol with which he reportedly set their family houses ablaze owing to the sale of his motor-cycles by his sons without his knowledge.

One of the burnt houses was a five-room bungalow while the other was a three-bedroom building, according to an indigene of Oboama community, who said that the compound was located directly opposite the Ezinihitte Mbaise local government Area Stadium.

Our correspondent further gathered that before the embattled wine tapper burnt the houses , he went round the village and announced to whoever cares to listen that his children should return his two motor-bikes or else he would take an action that would make front-page news in the Nigerian newspapers.

“He even contacted the village heads – the chiefs and Nzes – and threatened that if the children did not bring back his motor-bikes with which he goes about his palm wine business, he was going to take a very drastic action on them, an action that they would live to tell till the end of their lives,” the source told our reporter.

Reports say that Okpoka had gone on exile to his maternal home since 2017 he allegedly committed the arson. However, after the children erected another building, he returned recently only to club the wife to death with a plank.

Another source disclosed that upon returning from an errand, the daughter saw her mother’s corpse on the ground and raised the alarm which attracted natives who rushed to the scene of the incident and eventually caught the suspect who was quickly handed over to the police.

Okpoka, said to be a former commercial driver who later became a palm wine tapper was said to have been nursing bottled-up anger towards members of his nuclear family since his motor-bikes were sold, according to a native.

Meanwhile, the woman’s corpse has since been deposited in the morgue at a neighbouring community, Ibeku in Aboh Mbaise council Area of the state.

The Imo state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Orlando Ikokwu, when contacted said he would contact the Divisional police Officer DPO of Ezinihitte Police Station to get detailed information on the alleged barbaric act and get back to our Correspondent .

But up till the time of filing this report, the Imo police Spokesman did not call back or respond to calls put across to ho his telephone lines.