A 58-year-old Anambra woman has revealed that her life is in danger for revealing how her husband was repeatedly defiling their 3-year-old daughter.
Mrs Eucharia Okpalannadi, who is from Amesi but married to Magnus Odidika Okpalannadi, from Achina Community in Aguata Council Area of Anambra State, is asking the government to arrest her husband immediately before he kills her and her children.
According to Mrs Eucharia, who is a mother of five, she has been married to her husband for 25 years now, but the man has changed since he started touting activities at Upper Iweka.
Speaking to newsmen on her ordeal at the office of the State Commissioner for Women Affairs at the Women Development Centre, Awka, Eucharia alleged that she uncovered her husband’s evil act on their daughter and confronted him, which was the beginning of her predicament.
The woman, who is presently in the state government’s protective custody, said she had dismissed her daughter’s initial complaint of sexual abuse as mere joke until she became persistent.
She said, “My daughter, Chimamanda complained that her daddy has been touching her ‘bombom’. Initially, I thought it was a joke and rebuked her to stop that expensive joke.
“But because she has been close to the dad, I needed to observe her much closer and discovered that her private part appeared reddish.
“But when I called the father’s attention, he denied it.
“I had to take her to the hospital where the doctor confirmed she was truly defiled. He even threatened to arrest my husband but I pleaded he should not.
“It was when my friends started inquiring about the matter and insisting I should no longer hide the act that I decided to report the matter to the Ministry of Women Affairs.”
The visibly devastated woman however decried that her life had been in danger since after the exposure.
“My husband is hard, wicked and cruel. It became worse when he joined ‘agbero’ and started smoking Indian hemp. He had even served jail terms abroad. He can kill.
“I want him arrested because he has spoilt my daughter. If he’s not arrested, he may kill me, kill our daughter, and kill himself,” she said.
The woman called on bloggers speculating about her whereabouts and castigating the state Commissioner for Women Affairs for trying to sweep the matter under the carpet, to desist from such.
She made it clear that she was being protected by the Ministry while investigations were ongoing, insisting that she did not disclose her whereabouts because she was afraid of her husband using the information to locate and kill her.
“I’m comfortable where I am presently being taken care of by the State government.
“That my husband is yet to be arrested doesn’t mean the Commissioner doesn’t know what she’s doing. People should allow her to work.
“Bloggers using my story to make money should refrain from it and understand that my case is a very delicate one,” she pleaded.
Reacting, the State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Ify Obinabo described the incident as terrible and unfortunate, assuring that efforts were on to apprehend the fleeing suspect.
“I received the information last weekend. It’s a terrible experience. As a sensitive matter that has to do with security, we’re treading with caution.
“Although the suspect is still at large, we won’t rest until he is arrested. We’ll ensure that justice is served to those who deserve it,” she stressed.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has placed a N1 billion bounty on the suspect.
Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs. Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, announced the measure in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Head of Information and Public Relations in the ministry, Mrs. Grace Njoku.
She said: “The ministry received a report that Okpalannadi, a resident of Onitsha, Anambra State, has been sexually molesting his little daughter.
“When he was found out, he disappeared before he could be apprehended.
“President Bola Tinubu-led administration has zero tolerance for child abuse and molestation.
”Hence would ensure the immediate prosecution of the pedophile to serve as a deterrent to would-be perpetrators.”
