By Egbe Attah, Otukpo
A 55-year-old woman and wife of a pastor has been reportedly stabbed to death by some yet to be identified assailants in Otukpo, Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State.
The deceased, identified as Eunice Omaye Odoba was found dead in her house with a deep cut on her chest recently. She was said to be a mother of three and wife of pastor with The Lord’s Chosen Church who is currently on faith mission to Equatorial Guinea.
According to her younger brother, Adoba Mac and cousin, Ode Adole who spoke to our correspondent, trouble started when members of her Church didn’t see her in Church service on Sunday and decided to pay her a visit after service to find out why she wasn’t in church. The relatives said when the church members got to her house, they found her in the pool of her blood already stone dead. The younger brother, Mac told The Voice that he personally dropped her off at her house around 6:30a.m that fateful day after a family meeting only to hear later in the afternoon that she had died.
He explained further that by the time he got to the house, he saw his sister lying in the pool of her blood. He added that a closer look showed that she was stabbed at the top most part of her breast.
The deceased’s cousin, Adole particularly told The Voice that she was the Proprietress of Verda International School, Otukpo but was living alone after her husband travelled for faith mission in Equatorial Guinea in February this year. Adole who revealed that her children, two boys and a girl live outside Otukpo, explained that while the only girl of the woman is a student of School of Nursing, Enugu, one of the male children is a youth Corp member and the other one is a banker in Abuja.
He expressed shock saying: “I don’ t understand how my cousin who is a woman of peace could be so murdered cruelly. I use this medium to call on the security agents not to leave any stone unturned in bringing the perpetrators to book,” Adole maintained.
The family sources said her remains have been evacuated and deposited at the morgue in Otukpo by men of the Nigerian Police, Otukpo Division.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Catherine Anene said she was yet to receive the report. Meanwhile, residents of Otukpo town have expressed shock over the incident wondering what has become of a town previously peaceful.
The Second-Class Chief for Otukpo, Dr Samuel Onuh and the District Head of Otukpo Dr John Eimonye, have separately condemned the murder in totality and called for investigation and arrest of the culprits.
