A domestic worker is accused of hitting his boss over the head with a pestle in Awka, the capital of Anambra State.
When a dispute broke out between him and the domestic helper, the dead, Chima Anolue, a lecturer at the psychology department of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, was beaten with the pestle.
According to information obtained, the incident took place on Friday, July 14, 2023, at Ifite village in Awka.
In order to make it appear as though the dead was attacked by a third party, the suspect is reportedly said to have bruised his body with a knife after he passed out, according to Punch.
Sources claim that the culprit, who was apprehended by local security, admitted to repeatedly striking his late boss with a pestle. He refused to respond, so Chima slapped him. This started a confrontation, in which he later fatally attacked his boss.
"When he returned, he instructed me to prepare rice. And he questioned me why I didn't wash dishes as I was preparing the rice. I remained silent. The suspect said, "He then asked me why I wasn't answering him.
He struck me while doing so. However, I admitted to him that I typically have ear issues and that I don't get slapped. He furiously inquired if I was still speaking while he was speaking as I was finishing that sentence. As a result, he slapped me once more before pulling out his cane and whipping me.
"Then in the process, I got angry, and we started fighting. It was also in the process of that fight that I picked up the pestle in the kitchen and hit him on the head.”
The defendant initially denied killing his master during questioning, but after being severely beaten when his movements were suspicious, he eventually confessed to the crime.
According to a family friend, “While friends and relatives of the deceased were taking him to the hospital that night for medical attention after the encounter, the suspect was attempting to choke him to death right inside the vehicle where he was sitting close to him allegedly to conceal his atrocious acts. It was in the process that we discovered what was going on and therefore we started suspecting him. As that was going on also, the victim who was still alive then, used his last strength to mention the suspect’s name, before he finally gave up the ghost. In his confessions, the suspect first said that it was the girlfriend of the deceased who visited him that night that attacked him. However, he eventually confessed that he was the person who k!lled him with a pestle.”
The body of the deceased Chima has been placed at the morgue for an autopsy, and the suspect, who is reportedly from the Abakaliki region of Ebonyi State, has since been turned over to the Nigerian Police Force's Awka division for further questioning.