Man goes berserk, machetes his two children in Ebonyi

The police have arrested a middle-aged man, Chinasa Ogbaga, of Egwuagu Okpuitumo community in Abakaliki Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, who last week allegedly killed his two children and left one half-dead.

Confirming the incident, the Ebonyi State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Loveth Odah, said the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Ekumenyi Division had reported the incident to the state command.

She added normalcy has since returned to the community while the matter is being investigated. The deceased are Chikamso Ogbaga, a six-year-old boy and Chizaram Ogbaga, a four-year-old girl; while Emmanuel Ogbaga, a two-year-old boy was rescued half-dead and is at Alex Ekwueme Federal Hospital Abakaliki (AE-FETHA), where he is receiving medical attention.

It was gathered that the man allegedly took the children to the bush one after the other where he dismembered them. This is coming many months after the suspect in February this year, divorced his wife who gave birth to the three children.

The accused was seen on that fateful day, November 16, sharpening his cutlass, and all efforts to ascertain what he was going to use it for were not successful. He was quoted to have said he was using the cutlass for frog hunting. The suspect has been handed over to the police for investigation and prosecution.

The suspect’s mother, Mrs. Ogbaga, who spoke to newsmen amid tears, hinted that Chinasa divorced his wife early this year but had been living with his children peacefully before the incident. She said the suspect was the one also training the children in school and had been visiting home regularly from Onitsha, Anambra State, where he lived, to check on them. I discovered recently that my son has an ogbanje (possessed by an evil spirit) and I think that must have been the cause of his action”, the aged woman who spoke in her dialect said.

Also, Mr. Emmanuel Nwambam, an uncle to the suspect, described the incident as shocking. He said: “Chinasa Ogbaga is a vulcanizer, based in Onitsha. He returned home as usual and the following day joined his mother to go to the farm. When they came back from the farm. He was seen sharpening the cutlass that evening, which he later used for the barbaric act.

“Unfortunately, nobody knew his plans. Though, he is not violent and was not having any quarrel with anybody. After committing the crime, he met a vigilante officer in the village who interrogated him for moving with a cutlass at night. From there, it was discovered he had butchered his three children”, he said.

Nwambam further said when he was rounded up by the villagers, he confessed to having killed his two children and left the youngest half-dead. He described the action of the suspect as an abomination.