Sarah Nwankpo, a 26-year-old woman, has been arrested and remanded at the Rivers State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), for killing her married lover during a brawl that ensued over sex.
It was gathered that Sarah stabbed the deceased, identified as Igbodike Anthony, at his residence in Obiri-Ikwerre area, Port Harcout on December 22.
The suspect who has confessed to the crime explained how she sneaked out on her boyfriend, Joe Ibanga’s house, to be with the deceased, who promised to lift her out of poverty and employ her as a manager in his firm.
The indigene of Ezza South Local Government in Ebonyi State, disclosed that she is a single mother of two, who moved to Port Harcourt four months before the incident, in search of greener pastures.
She claimed that she has known the deceased since 2017 while living in Enugu, and he has been persuading her with calls to visit him, especially after discovering she is now resident in Port Harcourt.
Narrating, the suspect said she always declined the invitation because of her relationship with Ibanga, but decided to visit the deceased after much persuasion.
Sarah said: “On December 22, 2023, he called again and invited me to come over to his place.
“I took an Okada (commercial motorbike) from my residence in Aluu, to meet with Anthony at Kilimanjaro, by Choba junction. He paid the okada rider N500.
“I accompanied him to pay his staff their salary for December and he took me out for shopping.
“We went to his apartment at Mercy-land extension, Obiri-Ikwerre. He told me to prepare a meal for him. He had his shower, ate, and we had sex. We recorded the sessions for keeps.”
The suspect explained that when she opened up about her relationship with Ibanga, the deceased laughed and told her she can’t raise her kids while engaging in a relationship that was not financially rewarding.
She said: “He offered to help me out of poverty if I discontinued my relationship with Ibanga and married him instead.
“He assured me he would offer me a job in his establishment by January, which is this month, and that he would make me a manager at his firm.
“I agreed to visit him again after a week so that we could begin plans to live our lives together.”
She said trouble started after the enthusiasm to spend the night with the deceased died, and she informed the deceased she would be leaving his house that evening but he persuaded her to spend the night with him.
She said: “After much persuasion from him to spend the night with him, I agreed. I put on one of his pairs of shorts and a shirt and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner for us.
“When he finished eating, he told me to caress him. I obliged but later opted out when he demanded sex. I told him I was no longer comfortable.
“My rejection provoked him. He told me to dress up and leave his house. By then, it was 10 p.m. I refused to leave and stood up to challenge him. A verbal war ensued.
“He slapped me. I reacted, and a fight ensued. He locked the door, picked up a walking cane and threatened to beat me with it.
“In my confused state, I dialed my boyfriend’s number (Ibanga) and tried to explain to him what was happening and begged him to come for my help. But he hung up and never called back.
“Anthony held me as I tried to open the door. I screamed for help, but no one heard me let alone to rescue me. During the fight, he dropped the walking cane. I reached out for it and noticed that it had a detachable holding head.
“I quickly detached the head and saw that a dagger was attached to it. As he charged at me, I stabbed him with the dagger.”
The Rivers state police while parading the suspect on Saturday explained that Sarah who tried to escape after stabbing the deceased, was caught as the bleeding man resisted and held her by her hair with all his strength.
“It was during the struggling to release his grip from her head and escape that the landlord and his family members got alert and raised the alarm that jostled other occupants from sleep.
“While efforts were being made to rush the dying man to the hospital, some tenants overheard the suspect making calls. They seized her phone and locked her up in the victim’s apartment until the arrival of a team of policemen at about 1 a.m. of December 23, 2023.
“The suspect was taken into custody where news of the death of Igbodike’s death reached her.
“While in our custody, some of the deceased family members visited her to know how their breadwinner died, even the widow of the deceased was also visited the suspect for an explanation of how her husband died.”
The Rivers state Commissioner of Police, CP Olatunji Disu, while reacting to the incident, said investigation was still ongoing, as he called on everyone to shun violence.
He said: “This serves as a reminder that violence is never the answer and can lead to devastating consequences for all parties involved.
“The investigation into this case is ongoing.”