More children killing parents in Nigeria
is a 2007 graduate of the Ahmadu Bello Univeristy, Zaria, had been receiving treatment for mental illness at the Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, since 2014 where he was also doing his housemanship. He had returned home from Jigawa State where his was undergoing national youth service the day before the incidence.
On March 11, in Enugu State, Chidubem Obelue, 21, stabbed his father Pastor Simeon Obelue 59, for advising him to shun cultism. After storming out of the house, he returned and lay ambush for his unsuspecting father late at night. The quinquagenarian died three days after.
Gideon Segun, 30, was arrested by the Osun State Police Command for allegedly killing his ex-wife’s 82-year-old grandfather, Pa Kayode Adejuwon, with a piece of firewood at midday on March 29. Investigations revealed that the deceased died from head injuries, following a misunderstanding between the two. The suspect was rescued from irate mob and was then arrested. The bricklayer, who hails from Makun Omi in Ijebu Waterside, Ogun State, but lives in Iperindo, said he was continuously taunted by his former in-laws for still remaining in the vicinity, after divorcing their daughter. He said it was in freeing himself from one of such situations that he mistakenly hit the octogenarian who hit his head on a table and died following that.
On March 30th, 2016, Mrs. Cecelia Nwanjie’s younger son in his 20s, beheaded her, collected her blood and fled Umuchagu Osokwa, Osisioma Ngwa area of Abia State where he committed the crime. She had reportedly returned home from the farm at about 6.30pm and set out to make dinner for the family. Upon confirming that they were alone in the compound, he set to murder his widowed mother.
Muntari Umar hired his friend, Saleh Abdullahi, to kill his mother, 70-year-old Hajiya Zainabu Abu in Kano, for refusing to permit him to lease out his farm. She was stabbed to death. Both suspects will be prosecuted once investigation is completed.
For Segun Odihiri, beheading her was the best way to deal with his 83-year-old mother, Maria Odihiri, for alerting the public while he was trying to rape his daughter. Trouble started on March 31st, when she began screaming upon catching him in the act. A witness, Mr. Ekemeiren Ojekhugbo, said in a bid to hide his shame, Segun picked up a cutlass and cut off his mother’s head as his daughter ran to safety. Odihiri initially hid the body but was caught while trying to dispose of it. It was reported that he often threatened to kill her whenever they had a misunderstanding.
Haruna Tijjani, 30, a drug addict, stabbed his mother Hadiza Ibrahim, 50, in Kano on April 7th, 2017. This was after death several threats he had made to her which neighbours thought was a joke. His father reported the case to the police, but Tijjani is still on the run.
A psychiatrist at the Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi, Benue State, Dr. Michael Amedu, said, “There are several reasons why children could kill their parents and mental-illness is one of them. There is what we call delusion whereby the person believes something against all odds. We all have beliefs which can be changed by a superior argument but for people who are delusional, their beliefs are not amenable.
“When there is somebody they consider an enemy, what they do is to get away from the person and when they can’t, they’re likely to eliminate him/her. Most people who are victims usually have a close relationship with the person who kills them.”
Amedu said like substance abuse, even alcohol could precipitate things seen in the mentally-ill. He said, “People see or hear things that aren’t there and act on these. There are also other forms of aggression that are not due to substances; like schizophrenia which is what the layman calls ‘madness,’ as well as other abnormalities which we see in the psychiatric process.
“Personality disorder could also lead to aggression, violence and crime where the person feels no remorse. These cases are treatable.”
The consultant psychiatrist also said, “In terms of parent-children relationship, there are cases where a parent kills the child like mothers who kill their children and may even kill themselves afterwards. This could be linked to depression and their feeling the need to protect their children from the hardships of life.”
On whether such cases should all be treated as triggered by mental illness, he said, “It is the criminal justice system that should figure this out and decide which of these was intentional or accidental, although the knowledge of mental illness in the justice system is quite limited.
A consultant forensic psychiatrist, with expertise in law enforcement and criminal justice, Dr. Mary Madu, said there is an increased awareness that these incidences are attributable to mental illness, not spiritual problems.
She said, “We treated one of the individuals in one of these cases for mental illness but his family felt it was a spiritual problem. It was covered up and he discontinued medication. The situation deteriorated to the point where he killed his mother. He was psychotic.”
In terms of punitive measures for such people, she said, there are different processes which have to be followed and certain criteria, met before any of them can be sentenced - that is in a society where things works properly.
Madu said, “This is where you talk about things like insanity plea having fulfilled specific criteria that would allow them not to be held criminally responsible for their accordingly.”
In one of the cases, she said, the individual is clearly ill and should have diminished responsibility.
Speaking on the way forward, Amedu said, “We still deal with stigmatisation and so people don’t come forward for treatment. Also there is ignorance and people patronizing traditional healing homes or going for prayers where they are asked to fast and do deliverance. The fasting further complicates an already-sensitive issue.
“Nigeria hasn’t done well with advancing mental health. Priority should be given to the situation as is done with HIV/AIDs that now emboldens those infected to come forward and speak up. They’re now being accepted in society. Mental illnesses should be given the same prominence so that people can seek the right help,” he said.