The Edo State Police Command has
launched a manhunt for a man who hacked two children to death, severed
the arm of another, while he also tore the nose of another child.
The suspect, Mike Okeze, 50, was said to
have stormed the home of his neighbour ─ Udeh Oliver ─ on Wednesday in
Okha II community, off Old Sapele Road in the Ikpoba-Okha Local
Government Area of Edo State. He allegedly attacked Udeh’s children with
a machete and hacked two of them – Destiny Oliver, (3 years); and
Samson Oliver, (6 years) – to death.
Another of the children, Goodness
Oliver, (4years), had her wrist severed, while eight-year-old Gift
Oliver sustained a deep cut in her nose.
The Edo State Police Command’s
spokesman, Noble Uwoh, told our correspondent on the telephone that the
police had launched a manhunt for the alleged killer and would soon
apprehend him.
He said, “The suspect murdered the two
children in his neighbour’s apartment, following a misunderstanding
between him and the Udehs.
“The man actually had a misunderstanding
with the wife and the man went to her house and murdered a six-year-old
boy and another three-year-old boy.
“The same suspect went ahead to inflict
injuries on two other children of that woman who are currently
undergoing treatment, while two corpses have been deposited in the
mortuary.
“The injured ones are Gift Oliver, eight years, and Goodness Oliver, four years.
“The suspected killer fled the scene,
but investigation is ongoing and efforts are being made to locate and
arrest the man. We have launched a manhunt for him.”
The father of the children, Udeh,
however urged the Edo State Government and the Nigeria Police to fish
out the suspected killer and made him face the law.
Udeh, who hails from Enugu, told our correspondent that his wife, Chinyere Udeh, was Okeze’s initial target.
He added that the wife ran away to get help from neighbours when the assailant descended on the children.
He said, “The man attacked four of my
children with a cutlass. Two died, while the remaining two are at the
University of Benin Teaching Hospital. I have six children. My other two
boys and my wife escaped from the man. The corpses of the two who died
are at the Stella Obasanjo Hospital, Benin.
“It was my wife that he wanted to kill.
But she ran away to call our neighbours. When they arrived at my house,
he ran away into the bush and we have yet to find him.”
The mourning father claimed that the suspect had nurtured hatred for his family.
He said, “I didn’t have any problem with
him. But my wife told me that he hated my children. So, when I
travelled, he attacked my family with a cutlass and killed two of my
children,” he said.
The 30-year-old, who manages a farm for a
living, lamented that he could not afford to pay the hospital bills of
his two daughters, who had both been scheduled to undergo a surgery at
the UBTH.
“I was told that two of my children, who
were injured by the man, would have to undergo some operations. I know
that the cost of the operations will be expensive and I don’t have any
money. I only manage a farm to feed my family.
“I am appealing to the government and
the police to help me fish out my family’s attacker wherever he is and
get to the bottom of the case,” Udeh said.
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