A twenty-eight-year-old petty trader, Patience Igwabueze, has narrated how her husband, Chuks Igwabueze, was stabbed in the stomach while he was trying to make peace between a shopkeeper and a policeman seeking to buy Alomo Bitters at Ezekwu Quarters in Ibusa community, Delta State.
Speaking with PUNCH, the mother of five, who called on the police to take responsibility for her husband’s treatment, said they have not heard from the police; no one has come to visit or check on him since the sad incident.
Narrating how her 35-year-old auto mechanic husband was stabbed, she said; “My husband’s name is Chuks Igwabueze. He was stabbed in the stomach by a policeman.
“On January 20, 2022, my husband closed from work and came to my shop, and we all went home. When we got home, my husband said he wanted to go and see one of his friends who was preparing for a burial and at the same time see off two persons who came to visit us.
“On his way back home, my husband stopped to buy something at a nearby shop at the Ezekwu Quarters in Ibusa community. Getting to the shop, he met a policeman quarrelling with the wife of the owner of the shop. My husband intervened and asked the policeman what the woman did to warrant being slapped by the policeman. He said whatever the woman did, the policeman ought to have first reported her to the husband instead of descending on the woman. The woman’s husband, who is the owner of the shop, was also there and explained that his wife never insulted the policeman.
“The man explained that when the policeman arrived at the shop, he asked for Alomo Bitters and his wife told him that they had closed shop for the day. According to him, the policeman picked a quarrel with his wife as a result of that.
“When my husband intervened and tried to stop the policeman from further beating the shop owner’s wife, the policeman pushed him and told him to stay out of it. When my husband further challenged him, the policeman brought out a dagger and stabbed him in the stomach. He twisted and pulled the dagger, bringing out my husband’s intestines. My husband was rushed to hospital immediately.”
He is in a very critical condition as we speak. He has undergone a surgical operation but now he is urinating blood. The doctors said they needed to conduct a scan to ascertain the source of the blood but I don’t have the N7,000 for the test. I have borrowed and spent over N200,000 on his treatment since the incident happened. The N200,000 excludes donation from loved ones. Before now, he was in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) for four days and we paid N50,000 per day. As I speak to you, it has become difficult for us to feed as a family. My children have stopped going to school over inability to pay their fees. Meanwhile, the hospital gave us a bill of almost N500,000 yesterday.
(Punch)