The Anambra State Government, through the Ministry of Women and Social Welfare, has vowed to ensure justice in the alleged murder of a widow, Ifeoma Ajuluchukwu.
The deceased, aged 69, was allegedly murdered by her stepson, identified as Chiugo Ajuluchukwu, after she was brutalised in her compound in Ojoto, Idemili South Local Government Area of the state, a few months ago.
The information on the alleged killing came to light after the son of the deceased, Onyebuchi, reported the incident to the Anambra State Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Ify Obinabo, on Tuesday.
Onyebuchi stated that his late father married two wives but lived with only his mother, while the first wife remarried a long time ago and wedded in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He said, “Upon the first wife’s death, the son, who is equally my stepbrother, Chiugo Ajuluchukwu, trained by my mother, swore never to let my mother have peace in the compound.
“In his bid for my stepbrother to bury his late mother in the family compound, which no one objected to, he started removing the roof over my mother’s room and vowed to deal with her mercilessly.
“My stepbrother did not stop there but went further to beat up my mother, who at the time was already sick. It was while beating her that neighbours gathered and took my mother to the hospital, where she finally succumbed and joined her ancestors.”
Onyebuchi called on the state government to come to his aid and seek justice for his late mother while also restoring lasting peace and resolution in their family, alleging that the stepbrother has been using different security apparatus to fight him and his siblings because they don’t have money.
Speaking on the matter, the state’s Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Obinabo, assured that she would look into the matter and secure justice for the widow.
She further warned that anyone caught maltreating any widow in the state would be treated like a criminal “because it is against the law.”
She urged members of the public to always report any criminal acts within and outside the neighbourhood for the betterment of the state.