A 35-year-old man, Ogbala Simeon, was said to have killed his wife, son and daughter as well as five of his neighbours at Onyikwa Nkaleke, Ozibo community in Ebonyi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
Simeon, suspected to be insane, was said to have macheted the victims to death on Monday.
A nursing mother, Ndidi Nwaba, whose daughter survived the incident, said.
“The incident did not happen in my own house, but at the house of my father and my daughter is living with him (my father). I don’t know what to do because l lost my father and my two brothers and my daughter who survived is critically down. She has machet cut in her skull and I’m praying to God to help her”.
She appealed for financial assistance from the state government and general public for her daughter’s medical bill.
The spokesperson of the state police command, Loveth Odah, said the suspect was arrested yesterday.
“This incident happened on 21st January 2019 at about 2pm, a councillor from Ebonyi local government representing Onyikwa ward,, Mr. Friday Nwigube came to Kpirikpiri police station and reported that one Ugbala Simon of about 35 years suspected to be insane went about inflicting machete cuts on people.
“A combine team of detective rushed to the village where they found several persons with deep machete cuts. They were rushed to Teaching Hospital Abakaliki where seven of the victims were confirmed dead by a medical doctor and later today, one also died. Those other four that were also macheted are still receiving treatment and they are responding but the one on critical condition was the one that later died.
“The police have arrested him and he is presently undergoing a psychiatric test to certify if he is truly insane or not at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki. So, I’m using this opportunity to ask those residing in the rural areas of the state to always care or take the insane ones to psychiatry for treatment”, she pleaded.
