What Future For This 2-Year Old, Dad Dead, And Mum Headed For Jail?

What indeed would be the fate of this barely two year old boy, whose father had just been stabbed to death, and mum on her way to jail?

Even if mother luck intervenes and saves the mother a jail term, how would the story hit the boy by the time he is of age.?

In fact, how will the rest of his growing up be, without guaranteed fatherly or motherly care available for him?

These and more were the questions on the lips of sympathizers who thronged his late father’s shop on Old Ojo Road, Satellite Town area of Lagos Tuesday.

It was right there that his mother, a teacher at a private primary school in Lagos, identified as Jacinta Igboke, stabbed his father and estranged lover, Arinze Ani.

Ani’s death had become a bitter anti-climax to a relationship marred by irreconcilable differences, age being one of them.

Another irony is that Ani’s proposed marriage with another woman on January 4, 2020 following the collapse of his relationship with Igboke can no longer be.

How will friends and relations who had been intimated of that marriage interpret the whole thing? Many more questions to find answers to, but that is life, sometimes throwing up posers upon posers without convincing responses.

In fact, was it jealousy that pushed Jacinta to an action that she is now regretting, or provocations that the late Ani, was not meeting up with his earlier agreement to provide N10, 000 agreed monthly upkeep for the boy in the relationship.

Jacinta 29, from Ebonyi State had narrated the chain of events before the last straw, as reported extensively in the Punch:

“I am a primary school teacher. Arinze (Ani) and I got into a relationship in 2016. I got pregnant for him in the process but his parents said we cannot marry each other because I was older than him and that he must marry somebody from his village. He was born on November 19, 1990 while I was born on 29 October, 1990. They said they would only accept the baby.”

 “His brother and sister lived with us, but the sister later left after she got married. Six months after I gave birth, I went out one day but when I came back, I found out that they had packed out.

“I went back to the police station in July 2019 and they invited him. He said he didn’t want to marry me. The police told him he must take care of the baby and instructed him to give me N10,000, one carton of noodles and rice every month for his upkeep.

“Since then, he never bought any foodstuff for the baby and he didn’t pay the N10,000. All he did was to send N2,000 or N3,000 into my account. Most times, I had to go to his shop to ask for the money.”

“I also reminded him that the house rent had expired since March and asked him when he would renew it. He beat me up and I left. On Saturday, his uncle called me on the phone and we met somewhere close to my house. He advised me to stop fighting him (Ani) and that I should not take the case to the police again.

“He promised to settle the whole issue. I showed him alerts of what Arinze sent to me monthly. I told him there would not be any problem as long as he performed his duty. I called the uncle on Monday morning and asked if he had talked to Arinze. He said I should not worry and promised to call me back in 30 minutes.

“He later called and promised to bring something for us in the evening. I told him there was nothing for the child to eat. I got angry and told him that Arinze claimed he didn’t have money, yet he was planning to wed on January 4, 2020. He said I shouldn’t think like that; and that it could be that someone was footing the wedding expenses. I told him there was no way Arinze would not spend money to organise the wedding.”

 “I told him I would go to Arinze’s shop but he warned me not to go. I went there the first time but he was not around. I then went to a market to buy some clothes for my child. I went back to the shop and showed him the clothes. I asked him to give me money so I could buy shoes and some other things the boy needed. He pushed me away and a bike almost hit me.

“I entered his shop again angrily and he pushed me. I fell on a pavement and hit my head on the ground. I then picked up a knife in self-defence. I didn’t know when I stabbed him,” she added.

“I learnt my child is with Arinze’s relation but I want him to be taken to an orphanage until my family comes to carry him. I know I may not see my son again and I don’t even deserve to live. Arinze’s family may maltreat him because of their hatred for me,” she added.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bala Elkana, said the suspect would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for further investigation.

-featured image adapted from Pinterest