At the age of 22, Wasiu Kadiru thought he had it all, especially when he won the love of a woman of his dream, Barakat, whom he described as the most beautiful gift of God in his life. Little did he know that the passion he had for her would destroy his life in the nearest future.
Trouble started barely a year into their marriage, when he discovered that he was about to lose his wife, Barakat to his best friend, Tunji Bello with whom she had been entangled in a secret romance.
Moved by rage caused by a possible loss of his wife to his friend, Wasiu allegedly slaughtered another man simply identified as Segun on the last Eid-el-kabir day (October 4) who he claimed conspired with Tunji to snatch his wife, Barakat.
Saturday Sun learnt that after the reality dawned on him, Wasiu fled their base in Eredo community, Epe Local Government Area of Lagos and went into hiding till he was recently fished out by operatives of the Special Anti Robbery Squad, at the Lagos Police Command, Ikeja.
Sad and yet to come to terms with the consequence of his action, Wasiu in police custody, told Saturday Sun that it was the love that he had for Barakat that made him deadly jealous. “I could not live with the fact that my friend snatched my wife from me. To make matters worse, he would always remind me of my loss. I can’t believe that I am now known and tagged a murderer. In fact, my eyes opened as soon as I stabbed that man,” he said.
Going down memory lane, Wasiu narrated that he met his wife, Barakat in Ikorodu while he was on a visit to the town. “She is black and very beautiful. She was actually selling recharge cards by the roadside. Pretending I wanted to buy a card, I chatted her up and we became friends. I visited her severally till she agreed to be my friend after six months of wait. The delay in convincing her, made me to fall so much more in love with her. She later got pregnant and I quickly visited her home and paid her bride price.
“All was well till I relocated her to Epe. To make ends meet, I would travel down to Lagos Island to hustle and return by weekend with goodies for my family. I introduced Tunji to my wife and he assured that he would take care of her while I was away. I never knew that he had plans.”
According to Wasiu, he found it hard to believe when he started hearing rumours that his friend had taken over his wife who just gave birth. “I did not believe it but when I confronted her, she confirmed that Tunji was toasting her but denied that they had an affair. Since she was a nursing mother, I thought it was not possible. Days before the Ileya festival (Muslim celebration), I gave my wife N1500 to make her hair and another N1500 to take our child to Ikorodu for treatment. He had rashes and my mother-in-law requested that the baby should be brought to her.
“I was shocked when I called her mother and she told me that Barakat was yet to get to Ikorodu. When she finally picked my call, she claimed that she had gone to see a friend. It was then that I realised that Tunji was not also in town. I don’t need a soothsayer to tell me where she was. When she finally returned a day to Ileya, she said that she was with Tunji. I was heartbroken but my rage took over my soul when Tunji saw me the next day and dared me. He said that he would not only have sex with my wife but will marry her as his second wife. I was mad and tried to control myself from killing him.”
Determined to toe the path of peace, Wasiu claimed that he reported the matter to the elders of the village but Tunji refused to stay away from his wife. “It was just a waste of time and energy because the matter became worse”, he added.
On the day of the incident, Wasiu specifically asked God to help him erase the thoughts of Barakat from his mind but he never knew the reverse would be the case. “I was devastated and my emotions badly hurt. While we were preparing the ram that would be eaten, Tunji came on a bike with one heavily built man. They kept driving past me making jest of me. I had to draw the attention of Baba Ade (his uncle) to their behaviour. He advised me to drag one of them to him, so that he would ask the person what the issues were. I heeded his warning and tried to drag Segun to see Baba Ade. He gave me a sickening blow on the head, it was so painful that I picked up the knife that they used to slaughter the ram and stabbed him. My initial plan was to give him a mark that he would not forget but I mistakenly stabbed him on the neck and he bled profusely. I knew he would die and the community might set me on fire, so I ran into the bush and escaped to Lagos Island”, Wasiu further narrated.
When reminded that he might be hanged or sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, Wasiu burst into tears and said: “Tunji has succeeded in taking over my wife, whom I love so much. I am ready to die for the love of my wife. It is unfortunate that I can no longer be there to fight him. I am finished”.
Last Monday, when Saturday Sun visited Eredo community, in Epe Local Government Area where the incident happened, Tunji was seen hanging out with some of his friends during which he was arrested by SARS operatives who had been trailing him. He told Saturday Sun that it was not his fault that Barakat chose to start a relationship with him. “I met her last year and never knew that she was married to my former friend. That time, she was heavily pregnant. She complained bitterly that her husband was not taking care of her and her unborn child. I started assisting her before I knew that Wasiu is the husband. When she gave birth, she continued the friendship since I was still giving her money. I don’t know how Wasiu got to know about our affair. The truth is that if Barakat still likes him, she would not come back to me after she had been warned severally.
“I never knew that he would go as far as killing someone because of her. I thank God that I was not close by. It was my dear friend, Segun that was killed. He decided to kill him because he thought that I was making mockery of him.”
When asked where Barakat was, Tunji alleged that he relocated her to Ijebu Ode where he rented a room apartment for her. “Ijebu Ode is close by and I normally go there to work. I kept her there for her own good since her husband will be sent to jail for the rest of his life.”
When contacted on Wasiu’s claims on what happened on the day of the incident, Baba Ade, who was mentioned as an eyewitness, said that he and others made efforts to convince Tunji to stay away from his friend’s wife. “I am not Wasiu’s father or blood relation but I took him as my own son. I was in the house preparing to go to the mosque when I heard people shouting outside that Wasiu had killed someone. It happened at the spot where some young men were assisting me to kill ram for the last muslim festival,” Baba Ade said, pointing at a spot around his house.
He lamented that it was the fear of losing Barakat to another man that led to the ugly incident. “I have been aware since the inception of this marriage that Tunji had been meddling in that relationship. He is not from this area; it was Wasiu that introduced him to his wife. I even pleaded with Wasiu to report the matter to the village head, Olotu, but he could not resolve the matter.
“This issue dragged on till Barakat who is a nursing mother, got pregnant for Tunji. She aborted the baby. It got to a point that she eloped with Tunji. I even advised Wasiu as an elder to let go. It was during the recent Ileya festival when Tunji was deliberately jeering at him that Wasiu came to me and I advised him to drag one of them to me if they repeated it. Minutes later, I heard people shouting that Wasiu had killed someone.
“I don’t know why he decided to waste his life in such a way. As a Muslim, he is entitled to at least four wives. Why didn’t he choose another woman? It’s unfortunate,” Baba Ade said.
Confirming the incident, Lagos State police command spokesman, DSP Kenneth Nwosu said that investigation was still ongoing and that Wasiu would be charged to court at the end of investigation.