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My husband murdered my children to hurt me *Sad tale of a distraught mother
What would be going on in the mind of a mother, who returns home and find out that her three children have been killed, not by accident, but murdered by her husband, the same man by whom she had them?
Only Millicent Amadikwa, the mother of the three young girls, allegedly slaughtered by her husband in the most gruesome manner and dumped inside.
The Nation, captures the incident as the distraught woman told her story after being traced to Nkwubor, Nike in Enugu State, where she currently resides. Excerpts:
MILLICENT Amadikwa is still finding it difficult to come to terms with the reality of losing her three daughters in one fell swoop. The mother of four had her three daughters hacked to death by no other person than her husband, 52-year-old Ifeanyi Amadikwa, at her residence in Emene, Enugu State where she lives with the Dubai returnee.
Millicent, a mother three girls and a boy, had come into her eight-year-old marriage with Amadikwa with her first daughter, Chidalum, who was only three years old, before they had three other children made up of a boy and two girls.
Tragedy, however, struck on January 4 when Millicent went to the market with her only son, leaving her three daughters behind with her husband and their father. Upon her return from the market in the evening of that day, she discovered that they were missing only for the three girls to be found dead inside a disused chest freezer in her house.
The deceased children include Amadikwa’s 11-year-old stepdaughter Chidalum, eight-year-old Amarachi and four-year-old Ebubechukwu.
The distraught woman, who spoke with our correspondent amid tears, said she felt strongly that her husband, who has since been arrested by the police, murdered the three girls just to get at her.
She said since her husband returned from Dubai, United Arab Emirates about two years ago, a week hardly passed without them quarreling.
She said: “My name is Millicent, an indigene of Ebonyi State who is married to Ifeanyi Amarikwa, a native of Amuzi in Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State. I sell fresh tomatoes at Umuchigbo, Emene in Enugu.
“I have been married to my husband for more than eight years now and I have three daughters and a son.
“On January 4, 2022, I went to the market with my only son, Akachukwu. Before going to the market, I told my first daughter, Chidalum, to wash her siblings’ clothes after they might have finished eating and she agreed and brought out the clothes.
“Their father was at home, so I left them in his care and went to the market. But when I returned in the evening, I noticed something unusual. I opened the gates and none of my children came out to welcome me.
“It was quite strange, because each time I returned home from the market or anywhere, once I opened the gates, the children would come to welcome me. But in this instance, nobody came out while their father sat in the veranda, mending his trousers.
“I asked him about the children but he said he didn’t know. I started going round the neighbourhood to look for them.
“I went to the places they were used to going and places they never entered before. But there was no sign of them. I started to panic while my husband was busy mending his trousers.
“When I returned, I asked him again about the children but he scolded me. By that time, he had finished mending his trousers and had worn them. He didn’t even pretend to join me in looking for the children.
“I asked him why he felt less concerned about the children’s whereabouts and was rather busy mending his clothes at that time, which was around 6 o’clock in the evening.
“He said he didn’t know where to look for them but I insisted that he knew their whereabouts. He then asked me if it was possible that he sold the children and I also told him that he was capable of selling them.
“I went inside to get the food Chidalu had prepared and sat at the veranda where my husband was also seated. I called my elder sister to inform her about the development, but she said since my husband was not worried about the kids’ whereabouts, he must know where they were.
“It was now getting late, and as I was about to start eating the food I had brought out, my husband got up from his seat and walked straight to the small deep freezer in the veranda and opened it. Then he said, ‘Come and see where the children you are looking for are playing.’
“I rushed to the spot and noticed that the children were squeezed inside the freezer with the eldest, 11-year-old Chidalu kept on top of the other two.
“He himself started bringing them out. I tried to see if I could do anything to revive them but they were dead already with some black liquid coming out from their mouths.
“It was then that I raised the alarm and neighbours started coming. I also called my elder sister to inform her that the children had been found dead. So, neighbours brought a vehicle that took the children to the hospital where they were confirmed dead.
“When we went to the hospital, the doctor noticed that the children’s body and that of my husband were reeking of chemical.
“The doctor asked him why it was so and my husband simply said he used the chemical to treat the water in the well. So, I suspect that it was that chemical that he gave the children.
“It was from the hospital that my brother reported to the police and they came, questioned and later arrested him.
“When the police asked me if I suspected anyone, I told them that the only person I suspected was my husband. The reason is that he had brought home the unused freezer on January 2, two days before the incident.
“The day he brought home the freezer, I asked him why he brought an unused freezer home to sell. Couldn’t the buyer have bought it where you brought it from instead of occupying the space here?
“The freezer had no lock and was not closing well. So, if the children were not dead before they were dumped there, they could have opened it and come out themselves.
“Also, before this incident, my husband had threatened several times to kill me and my children. He had boasted that he would kill me and none of my relatives could do anything about that because, according to him, my family members cannot afford a case because they are poor.
“He also said that he would not even go to jail because he has people that would set him free any day.
“He had also told me that he would leave me empty handed and that one day, he and I would appear on the pages of newspapers. He also said that one day the entire neighbourhood would gather because of us.
“On each occasion of his threats, I would call his elder sister and my people to let them know about it. But his sister would always tell me that he was joking. And when my people called his attention to those threats, he would tell them that he was trying to correct me and that I was stubborn.
“It got to a point that he asked me to leave his house on December 27, 2021. After packing my bags, I told him that I would also like to go with the kids, but he insisted that I was not going anywhere with them. He then locked the gates, preventing me from leaving. That was how I stayed back.”
Asked what her husband does for a living, she said he returned from Dubai about two years and had ever since kept to himself and became quarrelsome.
She said: “He wasn’t bringing money for food and he never asked me about our children’s school fees.
“In January last year, he seized the keys to the entire house and the gates. We could only come into the house whenever he was around.
“Most times, the children would return from school and stay outside until he came home, because no other person could gain access into the house without him being around.
“I never knew that the threats from him were that serious. Even when I had cause to believe that the threats were serious, my people and his people told me that he was not capable of doing that. Now, I have lost all my three daughters.
“I have left his house because I don’t know the people he was working with so that they would not come and hack me and my son to death. But I want justice on the gruesome murder of my daughters.
“I am calling on the federal and state governments as well as good spirited individuals to come to my aid by helping me in this matter.
“The police is talking about autopsy and the doctor said for that to happen, it will cost me over N500,000 for the three children.”
Some residents of the neighbourhood who spoke with our correspondent attributed the killing to frustration and poverty on the part of the suspect, saying since his return from Dubai, Ifeanyi had never remained the same.
A neighbour who spoke in confidence said: “He had travelled to Dubai so that he would make money and live the good life. But since the man returned from Dubai two years ago, he has been keeping to himself and quarreling with his wife.
“He was not giving the wife money for food. He was not paying the children’s school fees. He left everything in the hands of the woman. His children attending a government school where they don’t pay.
“I even had to join them this last Christmas and ate with them. The man complained to me that his wife was cheating on him because he didn’t have money. But I told him to have solace in the beautiful children and that very soon, he would begin to enjoy the fruits of his labour. I didn’t know it could get to the extent of killing children.\
“I know those children very well. They were always ready to assist their mother in her tomato business. In fact, I don’t know what to say again. It was really shocking.”
Millicent, however, insisted that her husband was neither poor nor frustrated and neither did he have any mental issue. She said her husband returned home from Dubai with a lot of money but decided to be spending it all on himself.
Amadikwa, who denied any involvement in the death of the children, is being held at the Enugu State Police Command headquarters, where investigation is still ongoing.
According to the spokesman of the state police command, Daniel Ndukwe, the lifeless bodies of the children were found in the freezer with bruises, suggesting that they might have been murdered by the suspect and dumped in the freezer.
Ndukwe assured that the police would thoroughly investigate the case and ensure that justice prevails.
The state’s Commissioner of Police, Abubakar Lawal, has ordered the Deputy Commissioner in-charge of the State Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department to conduct a conclusive investigation into the case and ensure everyone found culpable was brought to book.
Posted by Editor 15 January 2022
Seyi Adewunmi, President of the Lagos Country Club (LCC), launched into his third term in office on Tuesday, with the eternal words with which William Shakespeare depicted the pleas of King Richard 11 to British noblemen at daggers-drawn in his forecourt, some 431 years ago – forgive, forget, reconcile and be agreed.
It was his way of offering his olive branch to seek healing for members still lacerated with old wounds of the bitter battle for the soul of the club, which ended up in courtrooms after failure to settle it inside the games-room, the tennis courts and other troubleshooting arenas.
Flanked by his wife, Ify, whose contribution he lavishly acknowledged, Adewunmi, at his inauguration at the club’s main hall, apparently recalling the incident, which nearly crippled affairs at the family club, said: “To those who are still aggrieved, I speak to you now, directly and without condition. Whatever the disagreement, the Club is bigger than any single dispute, and its future is far more important than any lingering bitterness.
“Whatever the words that were said or the decisions that felt unjust, I invite you, today, to lay it down. No dispute is worth dividing us. I extend to you my open hand and my open heart. This is your club. It needs you. I need you.
“The chapter we are about to write is better written together and it MUST be written. So please sheathe your swords. Come home. The gates are open, the seats are ready, and the work is too important for any of us to sit it out.”
The President, who was full of praises for the club’s Board of Trustees, was particularly enthused with the contributions of Aare Kola Oyefeso, the leader of the exulted body, whom he described as “a conscience and compass of this club,” for donating his wealth of experience.
Hear him: “To our Board of Trustees, and to Chief Kola Oyefeso in particular, I offer my deepest respect. You have been the still, small voice of wisdom in the seasons of noise.
“Every time this Presidency needed an elder’s hand on the shoulder, you were there. The Management Council and the Board have not merely coexisted during my tenure, we have collaborated, and the Club is better for it. I am indeed very grateful sir.
Expressing similar gratitude to other members of the Management Council Officers and the Chairmen of the various Sections and their Committees as well as the members, he enjoined them to prepare for the task ahead.
He added: “I see you all. I greet you all. And I am profoundly glad to be standing here, still standing, before you today. Let me begin with a confession. When I first stood in this position three years ago, I made promises. Big promises. The kind that sound magnificent from a podium and look somewhat different at seven in the morning when the contractor has not shown up and the cheque has not cleared….but I did not run away.
“I did not make excuses. I did not hide behind procedure or blame my predecessors. I rolled up my sleeves, as you well know I am rather fond of doing, and I worked. Two terms. Hundreds of meetings. Thousands of decisions. One attempted character assassination which, I am glad to report, the character survived.
“And today, you have returned me unopposed for a third and final term. Not because I cannot be challenged. Not because the road ahead is smooth.
“But because you looked at my record, you weighed me as a man, you made your assessment, and you made your verdict. I receive this mandate with the full weight of gratitude and the full fire of purpose. Lagos Country Club — your President is back. And this time, we will finish the work.”
He also expressed gratitude for various members of the club, who had supported in many ways to keep it going, recalling particularly the donation of equipment worth millions of naira by Tunji Amosu, the Vice President of the club, saying such a selfless gesture defined the idea behind LCC as a family club.
Hear him: “He (Amosu) reached into his own pocket, deep into his pocket I might add, and donated equipment worth millions of Naira to our new clinic. Millions. I want to be clear: this was not government allocation. This was not a corporate write-off. This was one man saying, ‘I believe in this Club enough to invest my own resources in its wellbeing.’ That is the spirit of Lagos Country Club at its finest, and it deserves to be celebrated.
“But let me also say that greatness is not only measured in millions. Gifts are never less precious than the grand gesture, and for this reason, I want to honour those who gave what they had, and gave it gladly. Confidence Yunusa (D12848) donated pillows to our clinic, and before you smile, those pillows matter. They speak of someone who thought about the comfort of a sick fellow member on a sick bed. That is love in action.
“Also, Femi Oduwole (D14027) gave us a water dispenser. Clean water. To all who gave in any measure: this Club sees you, this Management Council thanks you, the Board of Trustees appreciates you and history, as I speak is recording you.”
By Sunny Igboanugo
Despite consistent usage, it has remained a powerful reality, the age-long saying that the drum sounds for a great man – in life and at death. Rather than becoming a tiring cliché its reality continues to emerge as demonstrable evidence from time to time.
So, when on Sunday, October 26, 2025, the cap lowered on the head of Ben-Chuks Nwosu – astute lawyer, consummate politician, inimitable humanist, gifted public speaker and foremost community leader, it was not just another historic event, many of which have trailed him over the years, but a clear statement on the persona of the former Speaker of the Anambra State House of Assembly – one meant to capture his import as a man who has conquered his territory and etched his name permanently on the sands of time.
The versatile lawyer and politician, was among the influential figures assembled for special recognition by Igwe Keneth Orizu 111, Monarch of the Nnewi ancient kingdom – one of the iconic traditional stools in Anambra State – to mark his 100 years of age and 62 years on the throne, as one of the features of the historic event.
The monarch, the oldest and longest reigning king in Nigeria was emphatic on why Nwosu made that list – it was an acknowledgement of his positive contributions, not only to the development of the ancient town, but to the advancement of humanity in general through his engagements in many aspects, especially his chosen career of law and his vocation as a politician.
Ostensibly, the royal father wanted to make that statement both as part of the records of his reign and to demonstrate the essence of the biblical saying – to whom much is given, much is expected – and how this son on of Nnewi land had over time, fits that bill perfectly.
For instance, not only the monarch, the people of Anambra, if not the conscious world, bore and still bear witnesses to how, the primus inter pares of the Anambra legislature, Nwosu unsheathed his sword from the scabbards to confront the political hounds that attacked the state at that time, in defence of his territory – democracy.
The echoes of that historic period in the state, have continued to reverberate across the firmament, while the imprimatur has continued to be evident in demonstrably bold terms even now, as the doyen has again donated himself to yet a fresh battle – that of rescuing the people of Anambra from the abyss of despair as the state approaches the edge of the precipice where the current minders are driving it, through bad policies and unwholesome politics.
Currently, the Chief of Staff (CoS) of the John Chuma Nwosu (JCN) Campaign Council, the ex-lawmaker, has become a central voice for the new advocacy in Anambra by JCN – the man, who has taken it as duty to rescue the state and reverse the evil political vehicle, fast galloping towards that inevitable destruction.
Ndubuisi Nwobu, Deputy Governorship Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), at the hosting of members of the council at a reception organised at his Nnewi country home, shortly after the event at the Igwe’s palace, spared no words in acknowledging this aspect of the former Speaker’s persona, particularly his contributions to both politics and human development in Anambra State and beyond.
Nwosu takes traditional greetings with Igwe Orizu
For Nwobu, himself one of the biggest names in Anambra political arena, bearing the scars of its different political wars, it was a recognition of a fellow warrior in the battlefield and a colleague in arms, whose contributions are vital for the mission at hand.
The former Chairman of Awka South Local Government Area and former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who represented the governorship candidate at the event was emphatic in guaranteeing that Nwosu would neither relent or be deterred by the arsenal of war being assembled by the anti-democratic, anti-progressive and clearly negative forces in the state, who seem intent on relentlessly asphyxiating it of life.
Hear him: “There is greater work ahead and I have no doubt in my mind that you’ll live up to expectation, because your passion for the service to mankind is exceptional. Whatever you set your mind on, you pursue it with so much gusto and vigour, as if your life depends on it. For you, there’s always no going back.
“Congratulations. The entire campaign council greets you. We thank you for what you have done and have no hesitation in our belief that with your contributions to this onerous task, we’re going to triumph. Remain strong. May the good Lord continue to strengthen you in the name of Jesus.”
Before Nwobu spoke, Prof. Zelinjo Igweze, Director, Women Mobilisation and Dr. CC Okeke, Deputy Director General (DDG) Political Matters, had also spoken in the same manner, paying glowing tribute to the Nnewi-born political juggernaut.
Ike Iwenofu, accomplished Engineer and Director General of the council, had earlier in his tribute on behalf of the members, also acknowledged Nwosu’s towering profile and invaluable contributions to the campaign efforts.
He wrote: “The entire John Chuma Nwosu Campaign Council bursts with joy as we celebrate our indefatigable Chief of Staff, Rt. Hon. Barr. Benchuks Nwosu, on this glorious day of honour and recognition by His Royal Majesty, Igwe Dr. Kenneth Orizu III of Nnewi, during the historic Centenary Birthday Celebration.
“This royal honour is not just a mark of distinction, but a celebration of character — a recognition of your steadfast loyalty, uncommon humility, and tireless service to humanity and our great movement. You have continued to distinguish yourself as a pillar of strength and a shining example of leadership, loyalty, and integrity. Your honour today reflects the values we hold dear — service, excellence, and commitment to the greater good.
“We rejoice with you, Ogbalike Nwachinemelu, and pray that this recognition opens even greater doors of favour, grace, and impact in your journey ahead. A thousand cheers to a worthy son, a noble leader, and a loyal ally!”
Nwosu with Nwobu
But for the man of the moment, the event evoked memories decked in family history, particularly depicting a family of warriors, whose essence was captured in the roles they played in defence of the territorial integrity of the Obuofia Nnewi enclave in the years of yore.
He tells the story: “My father, Nwoke Modo was a warrior and it became his assignment to move from Obuofia to wage wars against our attackers. Where we live now is called Agawana, meaning war trenches. So, Eze Ugbuonyanta, the great grandfather of the person that gave me this title today, named him Ogbalike. That means, when things get tough, he is invited.
“So, when this came up about a year ago, I told the Igwe that I had a senior brother, but they said the knew the history, but that this was given to me in recognition of the special role I played as Speaker, particularly during the impeachment saga (of former governor, Peter Obi.)
“They said I proved some genetic trails when I did not betray him as then Chairman of the Anambra State Traditional Council and I did not betray Dr. Dozie Ikedife, who was the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo. So, this has been in the making for more than a year. In line with tradition, I had to let my elder brother know and he gave his consent that I could go ahead and take our grandfather’s title. That’s what I have done today. Since he was a warrior, they felt that the role I had played in Anambra politics akin to that of a warrior, hence the title.”
With this historic aspect, it might no longer be surprising to anyone the line the former Speaker is toeing, why his battle-weary body is lacerated with the scars of war and why his path both in politics, law and other endeavours is strewn with courage and forthrightness. It lives in the family – an acknowledgement that Ogbalike Nnewi is not just a title, it is history!
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