When Mrs. Josephine Chukwu, 40, was evicted from her residence by her landlord, and her bossom friend, Mrs. Ann Madukwe offered to accommodate her temporarily until she secured another accommodation, she must have thought a new lease of life had finally come her way.
She must have thought that her best friend, whom she had known for the past 18 years had brought back hope to her life.
Mrs. Chukwu apparently must have thought that her friend, who accommodated, paid for her shop and took a loan worth N165,000 on her behalf to start business, must be God sent.
Little did she know that the home where everything was provided for her, was where she would be murdered by no other person than her best friend’s young son.
When Mrs. Chukwu, who hails from Ogwu in Enugu State, was evicted by her landlord for whatever reason, the first person she thought of who could assist her out of the problem, was her friend, Mrs. Ann Madukwe who immediately offered to accommodate her, pending when she would get her own apartment.
After living with her friend and the children for three and half years, Josephine’s life was brought to an abrupt end by one of her friend’s children, known as Marcelenus Madukwe.
Marcelinus later claimed to have been under depression at the time he was pummeling the victim to death.
Homicide detectives alleged that the suspect, after beating the victim black and blue, dragged her by the hair down the building staircase.
A police source said: “The victim was taken to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital(LUTH), where she died of internal bleeding. Since her death, the victim’s children have been filled with horror.
Her first daughter just graduated from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State. She has two children; ages 25 and 22.
When the Nigerian Compass asked him what led to his beating the deceased, he said: “I really cannot say exactly what happened. I can’t even remember what happened! I only found myself in the hospital and I was told that I beat up Josephine and that she was taken to the hospital where we started praying for her.
“My mother did everything possible to make sure she lives. She paid all the bills to make sure she was alive, but she couldn’t make it as she finally died.
“I am a student of the University of Lagos, Political Science department. I just finished my Diploma and was about to further as a direct entry student before this incident occurred.
“Josephine had been living with us for the past three years. I knew her, way back when she was working as a house-help for our former landlord. When she was kicked out by her landlord, my mother provided help for her by allowing her to live with us. My mother also rented a shop for her where she started selling bags of rice.
“Ever since, we had been family friends and we’ve been living together. I have not gotten into any problem that will lead me to police.
“My father left us, and went to London for the past nine years, and I and my siblings had been struggling to make ends meet. I have never committed any crime before, I haven’t beaten anyone in my life before. I used to help people and they pay me what ever they have.
“All these things happened while I was alone in the house. You know we have this mental problem that runs in our family.
“My elder brother is mentally sick, and whenever he was about to start making trouble, I was always there to hold him down. He has been diagnosed of mental illness on three occasions and all the medical reports are there.
“I also have a medical report that diagnosed me of the same illness. My doctor says it’s depression. The doctor said it comes as a result of stress. Unfortunately, when my own mental illness started, there was nobody to hold me and that led me to this problem.
“That day when this incident happened, I was alone in the house. I heard a knock on the door and I went to open the door. When I opened the door, I never knew what happened next, I really cannot say exactly what happened. I couldn’t even remember what happened, I only saw myself in the hospital and I was told that I beat up Josephine and that she was taken to the hospital where we started praying for her. My mother did everything possible; paid all the bills to make sure she was alive, but she couldn’t make it as she finally died.
“We were told at the hospital that she needed blood, so we tried to provide the blood and my mother also told me to also pray for myself.
“The incident took place between afternoon and evening. This is the first time I had ever witnessed this kind of illness. It has never happened to me except my brother who has been suffering from it.
“When I was taken to the hospital, I was told I was running round the streets naked. When this thing comes, it makes someone to be very aggressive. And I have been told that this problem runs in my family.”
When the Nigerian Compass visited the home of Marcelinus where the incident took place, his mother said: “I am the mother of Marcelinus. I was at my shop when I received a call that I should come home that something was wrong in my house.
“When I got home, I saw my son’s hand being tied with rope, and when I asked what happened, I was told he had a fight with Josephine and that she was taken to the hospital.
“Josephine had been a friend and I harboured her in my house for over three and half years, and during this period, there had never been any problem between us.
“I have known her for the past 18 years; right from the time she was living with her husband before they got divorced. After their divorce, I was the person that helped her get the shop where she started selling rice until this unfortunate incident.
“When I was told that my son was running round the street naked, I chartered a taxi and took him to YC Clinic, a private psychiatric hospital, where his elder brother was treated of a mental illness sometime ago.
“After taking him to the hospital, I moved to LUTH, where Josephine was admitted to find out the state of her health. When I got there, I was told by the doctor that money was needed to commence treatment and I provided N17,000 as demanded by the doctor so as to commence treatment.
“On Monday, people from her village started calling. I picked the calls as they come in; I told them the situation on ground as regards her health. Her daughter that stays in the East, came on Tuesday night after she learnt that her mother was admitted in the hospital following a fight with my son, and thereafter all of us started working as a team to revive her.
“We did everything possible to revive her; we bought all the prescribed drugs, but unfortunately, on Sunday morning, she gave up the ghost. The incident happened on August 14, and she died on August 22.
“While I was at the hospital attending to Josephine before she died, the doctor at the hospital where my son was admitted kept calling and asking why I abandoned my son to him, and I told him that I was attending to a more serious and sensitive case that had to do with human life. It was after she died that I went and saw my son, where he was still being attended to by the doctor.
“That very day the police came for arrest. I was not at home but my younger sister who was at home was arrested and taken to the hospital where my son was admitted.
“When the police got there, they collected her statement and later in the evening, they came with their van and took Marcelinus away in handcuff. The case has now been transferred from Itire police station to CID Panti.”
When the Nigerian Compass asked to know if her son had told her the reasons for his action, she said: “No, he didn’t tell me anything. When I asked him what happened, he said he could not say exactly what happened or what led to the fight or if he actually fought at the said time.
She added: “My brother, I am really surprised at what happened. He had never done this before; he had never fought with anyone before. I think this is the devil’s work, the devil wants to bring shame to my family.”
Asked whether her son suffers from any mental problem, she replied: “I told you he never did it intentionally; he hasn’t done such thing before. When I came back from my shop, he was tied both hands behind because he was running round the street half naked and beating people.
“So that shows that something went wrong somewhere. Actually, one of my sons that is directly older than him, had similar problem and he was taken to the psychiatric hospital, where he was treated for mental illness.
But for Marcelinus, he has never done this before. I never knew he could also develop this kind of problem.
“We went for a peace talk with the family of Josephine, but they threatened to deal with us. However, since the case has been handled by the police, they are somehow restrained from carrying out any action against us.
She has not been buried yet. We are still looking for money for her burial. When the money is ready, we will bury her.”
The Nigerian Compass, however, visited the clinic where Marcelinus was allegedly taken to; unfortunately, the doctor had gone to church.
But not still satisfied, the Nigerian Compass reporter, who wanted to carry out an intensive investigation on the matter, put a call through to the doctor and he responded.
Here goes the conversation between the reporter and Dr. Ogbolu R. Emeka, Consultant Psychiatrist, YC Clinic, 25, Lawani Street, Surulere, Lagos.
Good day doctor.
Good day sir.
I am Godwin Akpan of the Nigerian Compass newspaper, doctor.
Oh! Compass? How are you, any problems?
Yes sir. I called in respect of a case involving one of your patients, Mr. Marcelinus Madukwe.
Yes, I know him.
Doctor, can you tell us what you know about him?
Yes! He was brought to my clinic for a case of a mental imbalance. He was said to have developed an aggressive, disruptive and talkative behavior. This followed sleepless night for about three days duration.
On presentation, he was very uncooperative and had to be sedated. Upon review, he was very restless, laughing inappropriately, and intrusive. His speech was excessive with a high tone and it was full of persecutory themes.
There was circumstantiality. The effect was quite irritable and euphoric and he had persecutory delusions and his concentration was poor. He lacked insight into his problem.
We managed him as a case of acute psychiatric disorder and he was placed on antipsychotics (haloperidol and chlorpromazine) as well as a sedative (diazepam) due to financial constraints, laboratory investigations could not be carried out, including a urine drug screen. His condition began to improve after three days and the improvement continued until he was involuntarily discharged.
He will benefit from continued treatment in order to prevent a relapse, especially as there is a positive family history of mental disorder in a brother of his. This will help him to remain well and stable. This is my professional assessment.
The police spokesperson, Frank Mba, however told journalists that although the suspect was claiming to be insane, he would be subjected to a psychological and psychiatric test.
His words: “The incident actually took place on August 22. It occurred at 38, Akinfunmi Street, Itire, Lagos. The summary of the case is this: the young man Marcelinus Manukwe, who claimed to be a student of University of Lagos, has always been living with the mother.
“The victim, who is identified as Josephine Chukwu, aged 40, who is now late also lived with the family of Manukwe. Josephine was said to be having accommodation problem and the mother of Marcelinus offered to accommodate her temporarily. But on the date mentioned, under circumstances that is still shrouded in mystery, Marcelinus engaged the woman in a physical fight and she was beaten to coma. The victim was eventually rushed to the hospital but she finally died.
“The case was initially reported at Itire Police Station from where it was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID ), Panti, Yaba.
“The body has been deposited at the mortuary, autopsy has been carried out, but the result is being expected from the Pathologist. So far Marcelinus has not been able to explain what provoked him into beating the deceased to death, but he has managed to tell us that he was in a state of depression and that he was not in the right frame of mind.
“I want us to look at Section 27 of the criminal code: the section says ‘every person is presumed to be of sound minds and to have been of sound mind at any time which comes in question until the contrary’.
“The implication of this section is that generally, all of us are presumed to be sane. However, when insanity is pleaded and established, it goes a long way to affect the entire criminal liability.
“Section 28 says, ‘a person is not criminally responsible for an act or omission, if at the time of doing the act or making the omission he is in a state of mental disease or natural mental infirmity as to deprive him of the capacity to understand what he is doing or capacity to control his action or capacity to know that he ought not to do the act or the omission’.
“The implication of this is that, if you claim and can be able to defend that you are mentally unstable at the time you carried out an action, you therefore have a defensive tool in your hand.
“However, what is strange in this case is the fact that Marcelinus is claiming insanity himself. This is a very strange thing for those of us that have been in criminal investigation, because often time you don’t find the suspect saying I did this for this reason, they always say: ‘I was mad’. I did it because I wasn’t in my illusive interval, I did it because I was having a mental illness and so on.
“What we intend to do is to subject him to a psychological and psychiatric test. “Since the suspect has raised the defense of insanity himself, we will reach out to psychiatrists who will investigate and give us their own professional assessment of the situation.
“At the moment, we will be proceeding on the assumption that the suspect is sane as provided by section 27 of the criminal code.”
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