The police in Borno State say they have arrested a woman for allegedly poisoning her husband to death.
Commissioner of police Abdu Umar disclosed this to the media in Maiduguri, adding that the 25-year-old suspect – Fatima Abubakar – was arrested Oct. 19 at Anguwan Doki.
The commissioner said the victim was Goni Abbah, the chief Imam of the area.
Abbah had returned home from the mosque when Fatima, his second wife, served him a meal allegedly laced with poison, Umar added.
He said the victim’s condition started deteriorating as soon as he started eating the meal.
According to the police commissioner, Abbah was immediately rushed to the State Specialist Hospital where he was given emergency treatment and released but died shortly after returning home.
He added that after the incident was reported to the police by the victim’s family, the suspect was promptly arrested.
Umar noted that the police saw a large number of aggrieved youth at the victim’s house who came with the intent to lynch the suspect but that the police were able to bring the situation under control.
In her statement, the suspect confessed to the alleged crime, adding that she bought the poison from a Monday market after making up her mind to kill her husband, the police said.
Although the suspect is yet to be charged to court, the matter has been registered as culpable homicide at the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Fatima, who was paraded to the media at the police station, told NAN she killed her husband because she was tired of the marriage.
With tears in her eyes, she said: “I never wanted the marriage. Goni was my second husband. I got separated from my first husband because I hate marriage.
“Anytime I wake up with the fact that I am married, it pisses me off. At some point, I had to run to my parent to demand an end to the marriage but they always sent me back, asking me to be patient.
“At some point, two months after I gave birth to my child, I ran away and slept in an uncompleted building for about two weeks. I later returned to my husband’s house.
“Not that he doesn’t treat me well, we are also not quarreling. We are two in the household, I am his second wife and I have been married to him since 2021. But I just hate when any man comes near me.
“I don’t really know what is wrong with me. Even now that I am speaking to you, I don’t really feel that I was the one who killed him.”
