70+ years old woman strangles husband to death in Abia

One Mrs Rose Uwaga has been arrested by the Abia State police command for allegedly strangling her 83-year-old husband, Alhaji Isa Uwaga, to death in Umuahia, Abia State.

It was gathered that the woman in her seventies had a disagreement, with her husband which degenerated into fisticuffs at their residence at Ohobo-Afara, Umuahia.

A resident of the area who spoke on condition of anonymity, said “During the fight, the man allegedly grabbed a machete to scare the wife but the woman overpowered him. The machete fell off his hand and the woman, who is huge, pinned him down by the neck and strangled him to death.”

Another account had it that the deceased might have slumped and died “out of exhaustion after his quarrel with his wife.”

“Is it possible for a woman of about 73 years to muster the strength to strangulate a man?” a friend to the family also questioned.

It was also gathered that the relatives of the deceased rallied round to bury him shortly after his death, according to Islamic rite, before one of Uwaga’s children, Ibeabuchi, reportedly alerted the police.

According to a police source, Ibeabuchi stated in his report that his parents were quarrelling at the time he left the house.

“He further stated that by the time he returned, he saw the lifeless body of his father in a sitting position in their house,” the source further said.

The suspect, who was said to have immediately gone into hiding, was later arrested and detained by the police.

The Public Relations Officer of the command, SP Geoffrey Ogbonnaya, who confirmed the arrest of the woman, yesterday, in Umuahia said Ibeabuchi reported the matter to the police on Thursday, July 2.

He said the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for proper investigation.

He also said the remains of the deceased had been deposited at the morgue “for possible autopsy.”