I’m ready to die for the love of my wife. It is unfortunate that I
can no longer be there to fight him. I’m finished”, says man who
slaughtered another to protect his wife.
At the age of 22, Wasiu Kadiru thought he had it all, especially when
he won the love of a woman of his dream, Barakat, whom he described as
the most beautiful gift of God in his life. Little did he know that the
passion he had for her would destroy his life in the nearest future.
Trouble started barely a year into their marriage, when he discovered
that he was about to lose his wife, Barakat to his best friend, Tunji
Bello with whom she had been entangled in a secret romance, Sun news reports.
Moved by rage caused by a possible loss of his wife to his friend,
Wasiu allegedly slaughtered another man simply identified as Segun on
the last Eid-el-kabir day (October 4) who he claimed conspired with Tunji to snatch his wife, Barakat.
After the reality dawned on him,
Wasiu fled their base in Eredo community, Epe Local Government Area of
Lagos and went into hiding till he was recently fished out by
operatives of the Special Anti Robbery Squad, at the Lagos Police
Command, Ikeja.
Sad and yet to come to terms with the consequence of his action, Wasiu in police custody, SAID it was the love that he had for Barakat that made him deadly jealous.
“I could not live with the fact that my friend snatched my wife from me.
To make matters worse, he would always remind me of my loss. I can’t
believe that I am now known and tagged a murderer. In fact, my eyes
opened as soon as I stabbed that man,” he said.
Going down memory lane, Wasiu narrated that he met his wife, Barakat
in Ikorodu while he was on a visit to the town. “She is black and very
beautiful. She was actually selling recharge cards by the roadside.
Pretending I wanted to buy a card, I chatted her up and we became
friends. I visited her severally till she agreed to be my friend after
six months of wait. The delay in convincing her, made me to fall so much
more in love with her. She later got pregnant and I quickly visited her
home and paid her bride price.
“All was well till I relocated her to Epe. To make ends meet, I would
travel down to Lagos Island to hustle and return by weekend with
goodies for my family. I introduced Tunji to my wife and he assured
that he would take care of her while I was away. I never knew that he
had plans.”
According to Wasiu, he found it hard to believe when he started
hearing rumours that his friend had taken over his wife who just gave
birth. “I did not believe it but when I confronted her, she confirmed
that Tunji was toasting her but denied that they had an affair. Since
she was a nursing mother, I thought it was not possible. Days before the
Ileya festival (Muslim celebration), I gave my wife N1500 to
make her hair and another N1500 to take our child to Ikorodu for
treatment. He had rashes and my mother-in-law requested that the baby
should be brought to her.
“I was shocked when I called her mother and she told me that Barakat
was yet to get to Ikorodu. When she finally picked my call, she claimed
that she had gone to see a friend. It was then that I realised that
Tunji was not also in town. I don’t need a soothsayer to tell me where
she was. When she finally returned a day to Ileya, she said
that she was with Tunji. I was heartbroken but my rage took over my soul
when Tunji saw me the next day and dared me. He said that he would not
only have sex with my wife but will marry her as his second wife. I was
mad and tried to control myself from killing him.”
Determined to toe the path of peace, Wasiu claimed that he reported
the matter to the elders of the village but Tunji refused to stay away
from his wife. “It was just a waste of time and energy because the
matter became worse”, he added.
On the day of the incident, Wasiu specifically asked God to help him
erase the thoughts of Barakat from his mind but he never knew the
reverse would be the case. “I was devastated and my emotions badly hurt.
While we were preparing the ram that would be eaten, Tunji came on a
bike with one heavily built man. They kept driving past me making jest
of me. I had to draw the attention of Baba Ade (his uncle) to their
behaviour. He advised me to drag one of them to him, so that he would
ask the person what the issues were. I heeded his warning and tried to
drag Segun to see Baba Ade. He gave me a sickening blow on the head, it
was so painful that I picked up the knife that they used to slaughter
the ram and stabbed him. My initial plan was to give him a mark that he
would not forget but I mistakenly stabbed him on the neck and he bled
profusely. I knew he would die and the community might set me on fire,
so I ran into the bush and escaped to Lagos Island”, Wasiu further
narrated.
When reminded that he might be hanged or sentenced to life
imprisonment for murder, Wasiu burst into tears and said: “Tunji has
succeeded in taking over my wife, whom I love so much. I am ready to die
for the love of my wife. It is unfortunate that I can no longer be
there to fight him. I am finished”.
Last Monday, when Saturday Sun visited Eredo community, in
Epe Local Government Area where the incident happened, Tunji was seen
hanging out with some of his friends during which he was arrested by
SARS operatives who had been trailing him. He told Saturday Sun that
it was not his fault that Barakat chose to start a relationship with
him. “I met her last year and never knew that she was married to my
former friend. That time, she was heavily pregnant. She complained
bitterly that her husband was not taking care of her and her unborn
child. I started assisting her before I knew that Wasiu is the husband.
When she gave birth, she continued the friendship since I was still
giving her money. I don’t know how Wasiu got to know about our affair.
The truth is that if Barakat still likes him, she would not come back to
me after she had been warned severally.
“I never knew that he would go as far as killing someone because of
her. I thank God that I was not close by. It was my dear friend, Segun
that was killed. He decided to kill him because he thought that I was
making mockery of him.”
When asked where Barakat was, Tunji alleged that he relocated her to
Ijebu Ode where he rented a room apartment for her. “Ijebu Ode is close
by and I normally go there to work. I kept her there for her own good
since her husband will be sent to jail for the rest of his life.”
When contacted on Wasiu’s claims on what happened on the day of the
incident, Baba Ade, who was mentioned as an eyewitness, said that he
and others made efforts to convince Tunji to stay away from his friend’s
wife. “I am not Wasiu’s father or blood relation but I took him as my
own son. I was in the house preparing to go to the mosque when I heard
people shouting outside that Wasiu had killed someone. It happened at
the spot where some young men were assisting me to kill ram for the last
muslim festival,” Baba Ade said, pointing at a spot around his house.
He lamented that it was the fear of losing Barakat to another man
that led to the ugly incident. “I have been aware since the inception
of this marriage that Tunji had been meddling in that relationship. He
is not from this area; it was Wasiu that introduced him to his wife. I
even pleaded with Wasiu to report the matter to the village head, Olotu,
but he could not resolve the matter.
“This issue dragged on till Barakat who is a nursing mother, got
pregnant for Tunji. She aborted the baby. It got to a point that she
eloped with Tunji. I even advised Wasiu as an elder to let go. It was
during the recent Ileya festival when Tunji was deliberately
jeering at him that Wasiu came to me and I advised him to drag one of
them to me if they repeated it. Minutes later, I heard people shouting
that Wasiu had killed someone.
“I don’t know why he decided to waste his life in such a way. As a
Muslim, he is entitled to at least four wives. Why didn’t he choose
another woman? It’s unfortunate,” Baba Ade said.
Confirming the incident, Lagos State police command spokesman, DSP
Kenneth Nwosu said that investigation was still ongoing and that Wasiu
would be charged to court at the end of investigation.
