Woman, 27, held over 25-year-old husband’s murder

A 27-year-old woman, Fatima Dzuma, has been arrested for allegedly killing her 25-year-old husband, Baba Aliyu, in Niger State.

The incident occurred at Lafiyagi Dzwafu village in Katcha Local Government Area during preparations for the naming ceremony of Mr Aliyu’s child with his first wife.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Abiodun Wasiu, said Fatima was arrested after her husband’s body was discovered in a bush near their home, three days after he was declared missing.

“She confessed to hitting her husband with a pestle while he was asleep and tying him with clothes and a rope before disposing of the body in a bush,” Mr Wasiu said in a statement on Friday.

Family sources said Fatima had been married to Mr Aliyu for three years as his second wife but the couple had no child between them.

In her statement to the police, she reportedly stated that frequent domestic disputes and physical abuse by her husband led her to commit the act.

On the night of the tragic event, the couple had yet another altercation during which Aliyu allegedly assaulted Fatima and left the house.

When he returned and went to bed, Fatima seized the opportunity to act.

“I used a scarf to tie his neck, and because he was in a deep sleep, he couldn’t struggle. I struck him three times with a pestle — twice on the head and once on his hand,” she said in her statement to the police.

Fatima said she wrapped the body in a mat, dragged it into a nearby bush, and returned home to clean the crime scene.

She reportedly denied knowing Mr Aliyu’s whereabouts when the family began searching for him. However, after three days, she confessed to the murder, according to the police.

The suspect remains in custody as the police continued investigations into the matter.