Ugiagbe Iziegbe, the elder sister of Success Izekor, who was allegedly killed by her husband, Kelvin, speaks to ADEYINKA ADEDIPE about the circumstances that led to her death, and why the incident should not be swept under the carpet
How would you describe your late sister?
I am Ugiagbe Iziegbe, the elder sister to Success Izekor, who her husband, Kelvin Izekor, killed. My sister was very lively and lovely and did not like getting involved in any trouble. She was always quick to apologize if she had issues with anyone, whether she was the one at fault or not. She never argued or did anything that would bring disgrace to her. She was very peaceful, quiet, cool, and easy-going.
Can you talk about how she met Kelvin?
They met while doing business at Oregbeni Market, located at Ramat Park. My sister sold clothes and also operated a Point-of-Sale business. Her husband, Kelvin, on the other hand, is into fish farming. He used to patronize my sister’s PoS business.
Would you say it was love at first sight when the two met?
I wouldn’t know if it was love at first sight or love after a while. But I must say that any man who met my sister while she was a spinster would know immediately that she would make a good wife. When I looked at my sister’s good conduct, I always wondered if we still had people like her in the world. I admired my sister for her good conduct.
Has there been any disagreement between the couples before?
Kelvin always beat my sister. Sometimes, my sister would come to my house to save herself from further beating but Kelvin and her mother would beg my sister to return home, saying that her husband would die if he didn’t see her. Because my sister had a good heart and never wanted to see anyone in pain, she would prevail on me to allow her to return to her matrimonial home and that her husband needed her.
What did your family do when her husband started beating her?
I was the only one in my family who confronted my late sister’s husband when we heard that he was beating her. From time to time, I went there with my friends and took my sister from the house, but Kelvin’s mother would call my sister, begging and crying that she should return home. Based on that, my sister would return home.
What events led to her death?
Last Wednesday around 8 pm, my sister called me and asked if I was at home; I told her I was at home, and she said she would come to my house. So, I left my apartment, sat outside, and started working on my phone. At a point, she called me again and said she was no longer coming to my place. I asked if her husband had beaten her again, but she told me to lock my gate and go to bed.
Then I called her on Friday night, and we talked about my daughter, and I could sense she was happy. As sisters, we talked a lot and shared experiences. She told me she would speak with me whenever she got home in the evening. That same night, she said her husband had started beating her again and that he had locked the gate leading to their apartment. She said if she escaped, she would come to my house. So, I told her I would be waiting, but I slept off.
How did you get the news of your sister’s death?
When I woke up in the middle of the night, I looked at my phone and she hadn’t called me. So, I called her phone, and it was switched off. I became worried; I couldn’t sleep, and I started crying. On Saturday morning, I rushed to her house and noticed the key was left on the lock at the main gate. I left there and went to her place of business where I also noticed the key was there, but she was nowhere to be found.
I called my sister’s phone again, but it was still switched off, and I wondered where she could be at that period. I called Kelvin, her husband, but his phone was switched off too. I couldn’t call his mother because I didn’t have her phone number. I also called my sister several times, but the phone was still switched off.
I then called my daughter later that night to find out whether she had heard from my sister, but she said she had spoken to my sister three days ago and that she had also called my sister, and her phone was switched off. So, I went to her house that Saturday night and still met the main gate locked.
What happened thereafter?
On Sunday morning, my father called me and said that Kelvin’s mother had come to his house on Saturday to tell him they couldn’t find my sister. He instructed me to go and look for her, and I told him all the effort I made on Saturday to see her but all to no avail. I told my father to give me Kelvin’s mother’s phone number, but he said he didn’t save it.
So, I went to her house with a few of my friends and we still met the main gate locked. At about 8pm on Sunday, my daughter called me and said she heard from the market that my sister was dead. She (my daughter) told me to confirm if it was true. She told me that she heard that her husband killed her in the apartment they were living at Upper Mission Extension.
While I was still telling her to send me the number of the person who gave her the news, I got a call confirming that her husband had killed her. While wondering what could have happened, three people called and gave me the same sad message. Then I called my sister’s phone, it was ringing but no one took the call, while Kelvin’s phone was switched off.
After receiving the news, what did you do?
I went to my sister’s house immediately. While I was trying to open the main gate, a store owner asked what I was looking for and I told him I had come to carry my sister’s corpse. The store owner then said that Kelvin came on a bus and told him to give him the key to the main gate as he wanted to carry his wife’s corpse.
He (the store owner) also said he (Kelvin) wanted to hang himself. The store owner asked him if he was mad, and how his wife died, the neighbours did not know, and he would carry the corpse away. Kelvin lied to the store owner that he had been calling his late wife’s family members, and no one was responding.
According to the store owner, that was why he was trying to take the corpse out of the house. It was the neighbors who mobilized, held Kelvin down, and went to report the crime to the police at New Benin, where they were referred to Aduwawa Police Station. The police officers came to the house, arrested Kelvin, and took my sister’s corpse to the mortuary.
What steps are the police taking on the matter?
We (the family members) went to the police station, and we were told that the case had been transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department at the Edo State Police Command and that my sister’s corpse had been taken to Our Clinic Mortuary. The pathetic part of the issue is that my sister was four months pregnant, and their marriage was just eight months old before this incident happened.
What is very painful is that on Saturday afternoon, Kelvin’s mother told my father that they were looking for Success when she knew she was dead. She had seen her corpse on Saturday afternoon. Is that not wickedness? The case came up for hearing recently and he was remanded in prison. The police also said that an autopsy will be done.
Why didn’t you advise her to report her husband’s constant aggression to the police?
Her husband’s mother begged her when things like that happened. I am sure the woman can tell the public a lot of things that took place in that house before my sister was killed. Kelvin’s mother’s phone number had been switched off for a long time, and when I called her on Wednesday, her phone rang, but she didn’t take my call. You can’t blame someone for falling in love. It is normal to fall in love. My sister was also very helpful to Kelvin. I am sure he knew what he was doing when he killed my sister.
Do you suspect that the killing could be for ritual purposes?
I can’t say but Kelvin’s mother will have a lot to say on this matter. He (Kelvin) killed my sister, refused to release the house key, and went to her store at the market to take the money she was using for business.
The police discovered over N300,000 on him when he was arrested. She took the money for her Pos business. I also had a PoS machine with my late sister, which she did business with. I can’t say how much he took, but I did business with my sister, which involved a lot of money.
What could have endeared her to other people in the market to the point that they sought justice for her?
She was loved by all those who met her. She was so trustworthy that people could give her huge sums and tell her to transfer to their account without waiting to complete the transaction immediately, while she stayed away from trouble.
Apart from the court case, what steps are you taking to bring the matter to the public?
I have put it on social media, calling for justice to be done on this matter. I don’t want the matter to be swept under the carpet. Nigerians should understand that Kelvin killed two people; my sister and the baby she was carrying in her womb. My sister is too good to die this way. The market has not opened for days because of her death. Please, we need justice; she is the only one I have.
How do your parents feel about your sister’s death?
My mother died when I was still very young. My father is almost dying from grief. He is going through a lot at this time. My sister was the one training my daughter who is in school because I travel a lot. My daughter has been crying since she died, and it is the same for family members and friends.
What are you asking the government to do?
We want justice to be done in this matter. Imagine Kelvin stabbing his wife to death, a wife he had just got married to. Can you imagine the husband killing his wife and going to her store to take her money? I am still at a loss over what made him kill my sister.
Could it be because of the money given to her for business?
We need justice in the case. My sister wasn’t a violent person, and she was easygoing. People are still crying over her death in the market. She doesn’t deserve to die this way.