HURIWA Urges Police To Arrest Anambra Council Boss For Allegedly Battering Wife To Death
Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, on Friday, charged the Police authority in Anambra State to arrest the suspended Transition Committee Chairman of Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Mbazulike Iloka, for allegedly beating his wife to death.
The group said the state government must ensure the immediate arrest and prosecution of the LG boss.
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THE WHISTLER reports that Mbazulike Iloka had since been suspended by the Anambra State Government to allow unfettered investigation.
The deceased, Chidiebere, reportedly slumped and died on the fateful day after serving her husband food, our correspondent gathered.
His culpability over the death of his wife is not unconnected with his routine beating of his wife before her death, a resident of the area told our correspondent.
Police sources said they had commenced investigations into the matter.
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The directive for Iloka’s probe by Governor Charles Soludo was contained in a statement signed by Mr Tonycollins Nwabunwanne, commissioner, local government, chieftaincy and community affairs, Anambra State.
Onwubiko said, “The suspension of Mbazulike Iloka by the state government is not enough. Governor Chukwuma Soludo must order the immediate arrest, investigation and prosecution of this suspected killer. Anything short of this is leniency taken too far.
“Anambra is notorious for domestic and gender-based violence in homes, churches, offices, markets, motor parks, and even in commercial buses. The governor must send a strong warning to the aggressors by publicly shaming the LG boss within the ambit of the law. An autopsy must be carried out immediately and the outcome must not be compromised. There must be no cover-ups.
“Recall that another South-Easterner from Imo State, and popular gospel singer, Osinachi Nwachukwu, died controversially early 2022 after her husband, Peter Nwachukwu, allegedly battered her, going by the testimonies of the victim’s sisters and children. Just as Peter is currently being prosecuted, Iloka must be tried to serve as strong deterrence to other wife-batterers.
“Anambra must also go beyond domesticating the VAPPA Act to enforcing it and prosecuting offenders in tandem with its components. Anambra must contribute a quota in reducing national statistics of sexual and gender-based violence cases which the National Human Rights Commission put at 1.7 million in 2021 alone whilst many cases have gone unreported, he concluded.
