The family of late (Mrs.) Regina Ihenacho, who was allegedly murder by her husband, Ihenacho Nkem, have approached an Ikeja High Court of Lagos State, seeking an order to compel the deceased’s husband to pay them the sum of N100 million, as general damages for unlawful killing of their daughter.
Joined as respondents alongside Ihenacho in the suit marked Temp/42473/19, are: Captain Emmanuel Ihenacho and his company, Genesis Worldwide Shipping.
The deceased’s family represented by Chief Etubom Samson and Mr. Inyang James Nyoh, the deceased’s father, in a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed before the court by their lawyer, Mr. Silas Udoh, also want the court to declared that the brutal murder of the deceased (daughter of the second applicant and severe maiming of the deceased on April 24, 2013 at 3, Calvary Close Mbeno Shashi Lagos State by the third respondent and in support encouragement of the first and second respondents for no just cause and for no reason whatsoever, is most reckless, inhumane. barbaric, Illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional; and thus constitutes a gross flagrant, Colossal and total breach of the deceased’s right to life, dignity of human person, right to fair hearing, private and family life and right to freedom of movement enshrined and guaranteed in Sections 33, 34, 36, 37 and 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999(as amended).
Including the African Charter on Human and Peoples rights and the Fundamental Rights [Enforcement Procedure} Rules, 2009, and thus a breach of the applicant’s rights to private and family life.
A declaration that the reckless, inhumane, barbaric, Illegal, unlawful, and unconstitutional murder of the deceased constitutes an unwarranted and unprecedented abuse, an absurd and sobering violation of the Constitutionally and Statutorily guaranteed rights; and a breach of the applicants’ right to dignity of human person, right to fair hearing right to private and family life and right to life of the applicant‘s daughter.
They also urged the court to declare that the reckless, inhumane, barbaric, illegal unlawful and unconstitutional murder of the deceased by the third Respondent constitutes not only a crass violation of the deceased right to life but also a violation of the rest of the fundamental rights constitutionally guaranteed to every citizen of Nigeria to which the deceased was otherwise entitled and therefore entitled to Applicant to adequate compensation.
The deceased’s family in an affidavit deposed to by Chief Etubom Samson, averred that he is familiar with the facts of the case, having being the person that handled this matter from the Police station to the Magistrate’s Court and up to Judgment at the High Court.
The deponent averred that in 2009 the third respondent in company of the first respondent approached their family for consent to marry one of their daughters late Regina Ihenacho who was by then Regina lnyang James. And that while the Applicants’ family was consulting With other principal members of the family for the date to be agreed upon the marriage, and the for family list to be given to the first and third Respondents, the first Respondent appealed to the applicants’ family to release their daughter late Regina Ihenacho to visit the third Respondent at Lagos while the arrangement for the marriage was on going.
Samson also stated that since the date their deceased stepped into the first and third Respondents’ house at No. 3 Calvary Street, lshashi Lagos state, they stopped all arrangements about the marriage, and before they could realize the respondents’ insincerity, the third respondent has changed deceased name from Regina Inyang James to Regina Ihenacho and put her in a family way by impregnating her and had three children for the third respondent, who are now abandoned by the respondents.
The deponent stated that ever since then the third respondent started subjecting the deceased to all manner of inhuman treatment, humiliation and degradation including restriction of access to her people (Applicants).
Adding that though the they reported the conduct and indecent attitude of the third respondent to the first respondents on several occasions, the first and second Respondents never attended to the hostile manner of their cousin who works in his company but rather condoned his character and conducts as shown in the judgment that he usually beat his late wife.
Etubom further stated that the climax of the hostility occurred on April 24, 2013 when the third respondent beat the deceased whom he claimed to be his wife and mother of his three children mercilessly, and ignored all the dying pleas of the deceased to take her to the hospital after the beating till she defecated on herself twice before she died.
He further stated that the first and third respondents never made any effort to provide any medical attention to the deceased, but left her throughout the night to die from the pains and severe injuries she sustained from the beating which was the constant habit of the third Respondent and on that particular date the third respondent beat her with a wire cable till she died
The deponent stated that the conduct of the third respondent in killing the deceased was confirmed by the Police. and was found guilty by a Lagos High in a charge marked LCD/337/2013, between the State of Lagos and Ihenacho Nkem. And that even after the third respondent has been found guilty of killing the deceased, he and his Uncle (first Respondent) are still undisturbed about the corpse of his purported wife which was abandoned at the mortuary since April 25, 2013 till now (6 years ago) as at the time at filling this suit, and without any arrangement {or her burial and notwithstanding that she has three children for the 3rd Respondent and his family.
He stated further that since April 24 2013, the first Respondent as the uncle of the third respondent and the second respondent have not visited their family to inform the family about the killing of our daughter. Adding that the conduct of the third respondent who is working in one of the most civilised sector of the economy (second respondent) as well as the conduct of the first respondent who is a trained captain do not show any dignity rather affront, neglect and inhuman tendencies which are condemned by the federal government of Nigeria even though the respondents family have produced a one time Minister of Interior and decoration during Goodluck Jonathan’s led Government in Nigeria
The deponent averred that the deceased was bride of the family and her death has brought doom, mockery and economy hardship on their family. And that her Junior brothers and sisters are now at home, driven out of school because of the inability to pay school fees and accommodation all because of the losses suffered by reason of her death.
He also stated that the applicants’ family has no money to pay for the 6 years mortuary bill which is now N1,500,000 and the expenses of conveying the corpse to Akwa lbom State together with burial rites which is about N5,000,000. He adds that they are heavily indebted to people right now because of the expenses on the case while the respondent are going about boasting that they will never involve themselves in the burial of the deceased.
Samson also stated that they have lost all the resources invested on deceased in terms of clothing medical care, education from her birth till matured age when the respondents took her away from the family unceremoniously in 2012 which expenses amounted to N50,000,000, and they are deserve to be compensated.
The deponent stated that it would be in the interest of justice if the family application is granted.
No date has been fixed for hearing of the matter as it is is yet to be assigned to any judge.
