10 Husband-killer lawyer’s family ‘shocked, heartbroken’ by tragedy
Akpan said that his sister is a brilliant lawyer with a promising career but with the charges of murder of her husband hanging on her, her accomplished life as a career woman has ended on a sad note.
Some family members and friends of a female lawyer, Udeme Odibi, charged with stabbing her husband to death at Diamond Estate, Lagos, in what police called a premeditated attack, have condemned the dastardly act.
In a condolence register opened for the deceased by some colleagues at the couple’s law firm, Johnson Bryant, the group sent condolences to the deceased’s family, saying they received the news with shock and disbelief.
Though the office is now deserted except for a few staff who were still too shocked to speak, once in a while someone would pop in to commiserate with the family.
Etim Akpan, who claimed to be related to the suspect, said they were yet to come to terms with the news, adding that the action of their sister, if it is true, has cut short her promising career.
Akpan noted that the marriage started well, but wondered what went wrong.
He said, “Our family is shocked, horrified, and heartbroken by this tragedy. We extend our prayers and condolences to the family of late Otike Odibi.”
Akpan said that his sister is a brilliant lawyer with a promising career but with the charges of murder of her husband hanging on her, her accomplished life as a career woman has ended on a sad note.
The police said Udeme allegedly stabbed her husband severally on his abdomen, slit open his neck before chopping off his manhood.
Joseph Udoh, who also claimed to be related to the suspect, said he still wondered what must have pushed their sister to take such an extreme action.
He noted that family members were very happy when she announced to them four years ago that she was getting married to the deceased.
“I remember vividly how she told me with a smile, ‘Uncle meet my fiancé’.”
At the couple’s Diamond Estate home, neighbours claimed that Udeme recently began to show signs that she was not happy in her marriage and had been keenly trying to have a child of her own.
Some of her close associates described her as cool, calm and collected, but that her mind must have snapped when she suspected that her husband was having an affair.
“We would have noticed how depressed she was when she withdrew into her shell but rather we thought she had schooled herself in patience. Nobody suspected that the still water was running deep,” one of her friends said.
Police had charged Udeme Odibi to court for allegedly killing her husband.
She had tried through her lawyer to stop the burial of her deceased husband slated for last Thursday.
She made the request on the grounds that the result of the autopsy carried out on the deceased was not made available to them.
Her lawyer also argued that the result of psychiatric evaluation carried out on Mrs. Odibi was not made available to the defense counsel.
However, Chief Magistrate Kikelomo Ayeye has ordered that the defendant be remanded in Kirikiri Maximum Prison.
She also declined the request to stop the planned burial of the deceased, saying that will be a rude interruption to the right of the dead.
Magistrate Ayeye said if necessary, the corpse could still be exhumed for further investigation.
The defense counsel is insisting on independent autopsy and psychiatric evaluation of the suspect. They told the court that the suspect has been diagnosed with Thyroid disease necessitating the urgent need to see a doctor.
For now, Mrs. Odibi will remain in Kirikiri prison pending the conclusion of investigation, Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP)’s advice, and formal arraignment before a high court, if need be.
The police insisted that it has established a case of premeditated murder against the 47-year-old lawyer.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, told newsmen in Lagos that the police was awaiting autopsy report on Mr. Otike Odibi, who was allegedly stabbed to death by his wife.
Udeme was accused of ripping out her husband’s intestine and genitals with a knife at Diamond Estate, Sango-Tedo, Lagos.
According to the CP, police investigation revealed that the couple had been having issues bordering on accusations of extramarital affairs.
“Investigation also revealed that the suspect had sent a WhatsApp message to her sister-inlaw, complaining about her husband and asked her to pray for them and equally ask God to forgive her.
“The suspect, in her statement, confessed to committing the crime and also called her mother to tell her that she had killed her husband.
“The suspect had hit her husband with a frying pan before stabbing him severally with a knife. The victim also called to inform his sister that the suspect had been threatening to kill him.
“The police found out that the suspect didn’t call for help. It was a premeditated murder as the suspect had just bought the set of knives used in committing the act.
“It was revealed that the suspect had packed her certificates and made arrangements to travel to the United Kingdom on Thursday May 3 by 5am through Virgin Atlantic Airline,” he said.
Imohimi added that autopsy was underway at LASUTH by a team of pathologists, while forensic analysis was being compiled and would be made public later.