Father who killed wife, son may have been frustrated –landlady speaks

JOY ANYIM

What would make a man kill his wife, son and then commit sucide? This is the puzzle residents of Borokini, Aga-Ikorodu, are still trying to solve, following the death of Enifeh Akupa Omomo, his wife and son.

On Friday, 24 May, residents and neighbours at No. 12, Eruga Street, Borokini, Aga-Ikorodu, had woken up to the gory sight of Omomo, who had strangled his six-year-old son, Precious Omomo, stabbed his wife, Faith Omomo, and committed suicide by hanging himself with a rope tied to the ceiling fan in his room.

While some of the residents alleged a long time battle of infidelity, others were of the opinion that the 42-year-old Omomo, who was also called Baba Efe, might have been another victim of depression.

The Nigerian Xpress visited the scene of the crime, three days after the incident, to ascertain what would have made Omomo take such a negative decision.

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Although  getting to the area was a bit difficult, as most of the commercial motorcyclists in the area said they were not familiar with the address, when the correspondent told the motorcyclists her mission, it became easy.

One of the motorcyclists, who said Omomo was one of them at the park in Ikorodu, condemned the act, saying that nothing could justify such act of wickedness by the deceased.

“Omomo is one of our colleagues here. He was a very quiet man. Though we were not friends, I knew him from a distance. He was not the troublesome type, as he had never been involved in any trouble here before. That was why we were shocked on Friday when we heard he had killed himself, his wife and son. Based on what we heard, his close neighbours said he had been accusing his wife of infidelity but for me, that is not enough reason for any man to kill his wife, an innocent child and himself. He could have just divorced her and they would part ways in peace. There are plenty of women out there, looking for a man to marry them, why would you kill yourself because of a woman? For me, it was cowardice of him to have done this,” said the cyclist ,who pleaded anonymity.

The street, leading to Eruga where the deceased had lived with his family was, however, deserted. To be sure of the exact house, the cyclist had stopped at two different houses to ask of the actual house where the incident happened.

A man who stood in front of a bungalow was asked for the direction to the late Omomo’s house. He declined to give direction, saying: “I don’t know the place, you people should leave me alone.”

The house where Omomo lived was not fenced. It had a bungalow in front and a  face-me-I-face-you apartments at the back.

The landlady occupied the front building, while she rented out the apartments at the back. There were two graves and a shop in front of the house.

The compound was quiet, as other tenants have fled the house, following the incident. Only a young girl of about 18, Alimo, who was the landlady’s daughter, was around.

Iya Alimo, as the landlady simply wished to be called, gave this story about the incident.

“Baba Efe was married to Faith. They had three children. They were my tenants for three years. They had two girls and a boy, who was the last child. He was a motorcyclist, while the wife was doing menial jobs for people, such as laundry, sweeping.

“The couple was peace loving until about a year ago when Omomo accused his wife of infidelity. He told us his son, who is the last child, was not his son.

“He said his wife had sexual relationship with his brother. He said the son was not his, but his brother’s. We were all surprised then and felt Omomo was accusing the woman wrongly. Precious looked like him, when you see the two of them walking, you need not ask who the father of the boy was.

Still defending the murdered wife, Iya Alimo continued, “Faith was not that kind of woman; she was hardworking. For the three years she and her husband lived in my house, I never noticed any suspicious movement.  They really fought that period but with family intervention and neighbours’ efforts, the tension was doused although the relationship was not so cordial afterwards.”

The landlady further revealed that Omomo might have been frustrated, owing to life challenges, hence the urge to take his life and those of whom he felt added to his sorrow.

 She said: “A few months ago, Omomo’s motorcycle became faulty; he did not have the resources to repair it. He had stopped going to work and his children had also stopped going to school. The family was managing with the little thing the wife was earning from her menial job.

“But they never complained. They seemed happy regardless of the financial challenge. Maybe because he could not get help, so he had to go this extreme. Before this incident, he had become unusually quiet, he would sometimes sit on his own, I would always console him that all will be well in good time.”

Telling how it all happened, Iya Alimo added: “That night, before the incident, Baba Efe was outside till 11:30pm. They ate together and he sat by one of the grave sides outside. He sat alone there.

“It frightened me when on Friday morning at  about 6:30am, one of my tenants shouted and called me ‘mama, mama’. I went to the other side for tenants to know what had happened.

“On getting there, I saw people gathered in front of Omomo’s room. I forced my way through them and saw his wife on the ground with blood, gushing out from her neck. He stabbed the wife with a kitchen knife.

“I also saw the son, lying lifeless on their three-sitter chair; he strangled him as his neck was twisted to the side. I asked the neighbours where is Baba Efe, and they pointed to the ceiling; he had hanged himself with a rope tired to the ceiling fan.

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“Suprisingly, I really don’t know how he did it; he left his two daughters untouched. One of the tenants was telling me that the two older children did not pass the night at the house.

“The tenants said it was the blood in the passage, leading to Omomo’s room that attracted their attention. They said they called them but no response. That they had to force the door open and found them dead.

“We alerted the police and their kinsmen, who live in the area came. The police took their bodies to the morgue. While the family locked the room and left.”

The correspondent walked to the late Omomo’s apartment where his faulty motocycle was parked just by his room. The door to his room was locked while the louvres of the window was left open.

According to Iya Alimo, “ The other tenants have fled the compound. They are still in shock, as to how such could have happened without anyone noticing or hearing anything. I am here because I cannot run away from my house.”

While the incident has being confirmed by the Lagos Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Elkana Bala,  who said Investigation was ongoing, attempts by The Nigerian Xpress to reach any of the relatives of Omomo proved abortive as Iya Alimo, their landlady said she did not know where they live.

The correspondent also nosed around to know if there was any with information on where the two children were kept, but none of those asked knew their whereabouts.