Under The Influence: 'Igbo' smoker butchers widow and her two children

A man under the influence of marijuana almost sent a widow and her two children to their early graves: A widow, Mrs Helen Okoro, and a mother of two, has had a first hand taste of what a man under the influence of drugs can do as she and her two children, a 15-year-old boy named Godwin and Blessing, a 19-year-old SSS 2 student of Ojoku Senior High School, Tolu, Olodi-Apapa, Lagos, were almost butchered to death by an 'Igbo' (Indian Hemp) smoking neighbour who not only stabbed her son but descended on her and her daughter. The man who is a notorious thug in the Ajegunle area of Lagos State, known as Babalawo, according to the Leadership Newspaper, had got into a quarell with the woman's son and stabbed him in the fight that ensued and when Okoro tried to intervene and told him to kill her instead of her son, Babalawo had no hesitation in carrying out her wishes. He was said to have dashed into his room and came out brandishing a broken bottle with which he stabbed her severally on the chest, breast and hand. Not done, he went after the woman's daughter and also dealt her some stab wounds. Narrating her ordeal at the Femi Hospital, Tolu, Apapa, where she is receiving treatment with Blessing, Okoro said she thought the man only wanted to frighten or intimidate her so that she would run away to safety but Babalawo had had other plans as he made good his threats. "We live at Adidas street, Tolu, at the shores of Tolu-Tin Can lagoon. Last year, Babalawo had a problem with my son, Godwin, who is just 15-years-old. One day, Godwin was carrying sand for somebody and Babalawo saw him, picked up a bottle and attempted to break my son’s head with it but he was able to escape and ran away from him. When I heard about the incident, I confronted him but instead of making peace, he threatened to kill me and my children. So since then, we have avoided him. What led to the problem on November 14th, 2014, was that I found a pair of slippers in the dustbin and wanted to use it to make a fire. Babalawo saw the slippers with Godwin and challenged him. My son told him they belonged to his mother because I brought it from the dustbin. The wicked and shameless man broke a bottle and gave my son a hot pursuit. When he apprehended him, he stabbed him in the head. People were begging the man to leave the little boy alone but to no avail. When I returned home, I was faced with that situation. When I inquired why he should stab my son, he threatened to kill me. He wore the necklace I gave my son, so I removed it from his neck after he struggled with me to retain it. To my greatest surprise, he went into his room and picked up a bottle and after smashing it, stabbed me close to my breast. I screamed that the man had killed me and as he wanted to stab me in the face, I blocked the bottle with my hand. I screamed for help but nobody was there to come to my rescue. The man also wanted to stab me in the face, but I quickly used my hand to block it, that was why the broken bottle cut me in the hand. There was blood all over my body. I thought I was going to die. I could not bear the pains so I cried like a baby. I was screaming and rolling in the pool of my blood until somebody called my daughter, Blessing, who rushed back home. On seeing me, she cried, thinking that the man had killed me. The man is a known Indian hemp seller and smoker in the area. He knew I had nobody to run to. He knew I’m from a very poor family. He believed he would kill me and members of my family and nothing will happen. From what has happened so far, if this man kills me and members of my family the police will not do anything." Mrs Okoro also says the police are not helping her get justice as they seem to take sides with Babalawo. "Policemen at Tolu police station have taken sides with him. They were protecting the man and he kept boasting that the policemen there were on his payroll. He might be right because the Investigative Police Officer (IPO), who is handling the case, is doing the wrong thing. He refused to make an arrest and the suspect is walking free. The IPO did not include his name in the statement form. Also, instead of rushing me and my daughter to the general hospital, they abandoned us at Femi Hospital, Bale Street, Tolu, Olodi-Apapa. The medical director of the hospital (Dr Olufemi Ekanado) told my daughter and I to pay N200, 000 before they could discharge us. My daughter’s bill is N80,000 while mine is N120, 000. I’m a widow and a petty trader. I hawk sachet water, so how can I raise such amount of money? All the money we have at home is about N20, 000 both my money and that of my daughter. My daughter persuaded the doctor to allow her go home and bring the little cash but he refused, saying we must pay all the money. We have been held captive here since November 14, this year when the incident occurred. The man who inflicted the injury in us did not even come to say sorry. He never cared whether we survive or die. But God will pay him back."