THE family of a 55-year-old man, Henry Obatenuh, a trado-medical doctor, has demanded justice for the murder of their father.
Obatenuh was killed and his penis cut off allegedly by one Collins Adodokome and his son in Masaka, Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
Adodokome had accused the deceased of sleeping with his wife.
The suspect, who is now in custody alongside two accomplices, his son and security guard, at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Nasarawa State police command in Lafia, had on Wednesday, in Angwan Tiv, Masaka, hacked Obatenuh to death and cut off his manhood for allegedly having an affair with his wife, Evelyn.
It was gathered that Adodokome had reported Obatenuh to the police and eventually taken him to court some years ago and the deceased was kept in custody for some weeks before being released and asked to sign an undertaken to desist from having any further affair with Evelyn.
According to police sources, the suspect, who is said to be a friend to the victim, confessed to the crime, alleging that his son caught the deceased having sexual intercourse with his wife on his matrimonial bed.
“The wife escaped and Adodokome’s son engaged the late Obatenuh in a fight and he eventually killed him. He later chopped his penis off out of anger,” said one of the sources.
The source disclosed further that Adodokome claimed that the killing had been done before he arrived at the scene and he promptly walked into Masaka Police Station to report the matter.
He said the body of the victim was moved to Uke General Hospital mortuary, even as the police continue with investigation.
But the family of the victim is not convinced with the explanation on the cause of his death.
They are pleading for in-depth investigation by the police to unravel the circumstances surrounding the killing of their father.
Speaking to Saturday Tribune at Obatenuh’s residence in Angwan Tiv in Masaka, the first son of the deceased, Courage Obatenuh, said the family was asking for justice in the murder of their father who he claimed was set up and killed by Adodokome and his son.
“We vehemently speak against the perpetrators of this heinous act and we demand a very thorough investigation by the police so that justice will be truly served,” he said.
Courage, who said was with his father the night before the incident, explained that at about 9.00 p.m., as he was about to serve his father food, he quickly went out after receiving a call.
“As I was about to serve him food, I met him on the phone. He then told me he was going out to get something. He left without eating. I waited for hours for him to return until I slept off,” he stated.
Courage said that the next day, he sensed that something was amiss when he discovered that his father did not return home and his phone line was not connecting. He said as he was about to leave the house to search for his dad two policemen met him outside the house and asked if he was Courage.
He said on confirming his identity to them, they told him to come with them to the station and on arrival at the Masaka Division Police Station, he saw his father lying face down in a pool of blood with a machete cut.
According to him, no immediate explanation was offered as to the cause of his father’s death.
Courage, who was flanked by other relatives and friends of the victim, accused the suspects of trying to use the police to justify the killing of his father.
“The same police that are charged with protecting the citizens of the country are trying to twist the matter. Our questions are: where is the adulterous woman they claimed they caught my father having sex with? How come she escaped and my father was caught and brutally killed and his manhood cut off? Did the woman escape naked, because they claimed they were caught in the act?
“Where is his phone for us to verify the last call he received before leaving the house and eventually getting murdered? This and many more questions we demand answers to.
“Nothing should be swept under the carpet. We demand justice. We also want the perpetrators to be brought to book. We are begging the police to unravel the truth of this matter and see to it that justice is served,” he said.
When our correspondent visited the home of Mr Adodokome within the same axis, he met a young man who told him that Evelyn was still on the run.
According to the man, the woman is taking refuge in her daughter’s house at a location in Mararaba Karu.
Efforts to get her number were futile and calls put through to her daughter’s phone line were not answered.
The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Nansel Rahmnan, who confirmed the development to Saturday Tribune, said the suspects were in custody.
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