Family wants killers of pregnant woman brought to justice

Family members of a pregnant woman and mother of six, Mrs. Asabe Usman Obaje, who was recently murdered at Odogomu in Ankpa Local Government Area of Kogi State, have cried out to the police to bring her killers to justice. A relative of the deceased, Mr. Paul Obaje, said the woman was returning from Odogomu […]

Family members of a pregnant woman and mother of six, Mrs. Asabe Usman Obaje, who was recently murdered at Odogomu in Ankpa Local Government Area of Kogi State, have cried out to the police to bring her killers to justice.

A relative of the deceased, Mr. Paul Obaje, said the woman was returning from Odogomu to her Ofano village at about 6pm on July 12 when she was waylaid and killed by some criminal elements.

He said the assailants used machetes to kill the woman, adding that one of her legs was severed and her neck slit before she was dumped by the roadside in the pool of her blood.

Obaje described the killing as barbaric and inhuman, adding that the deceased, who was pregnant with twins, died alongside with the unborn babies.

He, however, raised concerns that the police were handling the matter with levity, a situation which forced some members of the family to approach the police to demand for justice over the matter.

Obaje alleged that following the demand for justice, the police raided his family house and arrested some family members: Ismaila Yakubu, Abdullahi Yakubu, Haliru Yakubu, Idris Usman and Yusuf Usman. 

He said the family members were kept at the Ankpa Police Division for three days and released upon the alleged payment of N30,000.   

Obaje, who decried the development, called on the Commissioner of Police to ensure that the culprits in the matter did not escape justice.

When contacted, police spokesman in Kogi State, Mr. Williams Aya, said that the suspects had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Lokoja.

He said it was a case of culpable homicide and the command would not treat it with levity.

Aya said that the suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded. 

On the arrest of the deceased’s family members, Aya said that those arrested had gone to the police and demanded that the suspects arrested should be released to them for ‘jungle justice’.

He, however, said that the allegation that money was collected before releasing them was not true.