I was not normal, says alleged killer of step child

By  Austin Ogwuda, Asaba

THIS is an abomination! It is incredible! Her blood will never give you rest even if you die tomorrow!” This spontaneous outburst came from an outraged bystander as Akporteghere Osuna, the suspected killer of an eight-day old  baby, was being taken into custody at the Delta State police command headquarters in Asaba.

Osuna  was alleged to have committed the heinous act at Jesse and was arrested by the police over there while attempting to escape. He narrowly escaped being lynched by some residents of the community who were terrified by the gory story.  And because of the magnitude of the alleged crime, the case was immediately transferred to the state police headquarters in Asaba for investigation.

But what could have moved a father of four children to slaughter the eight-day-old?  Sunday Vanguard gathered that the mother of the baby had gone to visit her mother (married to the suspect) shortly after putting to bed for proper care for  the baby when the tragic incident occurred.

Sources alleged that the suspect was resident in Ghana but usually travelled to Nigeria to collect  human parts for rituals and saw a veritable opportunity when he came back home to meet the baby.

Delta State police command’s spokesman, Mr. Charles Muka, put it this way, “The suspect, Akporteghere Osuna, from Okunu village in Jesse, is married to Roza Osuna who has four children for him. He was living in Ghana and it was in Ghana that spiritualists asked him to bring human parts for money rituals”.

The suspect

Muka went on: “On Saturday, 4 August, 2012, at about 1730 hours, one Gladys Emafuru,  of Okunu village Jesse, reported that, at about  1510 hours, while sleeping with her eight-day old baby girl, her step father (Akporteghere Osuna) walked into the apartment and killed the baby with cutlass, ripping the baby’s stomach open and her intestines and other vital parts removed”.

The PPRO said the suspect, after collecting the vital parts of the baby, concealed them in a black cellophane bag and was about escaping to Ghana when he was caught”.

Mouka added: “The full weight of the law would be allowed to take its course. But I also have this advice to parents. Because we have had occasions where children were stolen or kidnapped, we are advising them to safeguard their children and know where they are, what they are doing especially now that schools are on holidays. People should not be careless about the whereabouts of their children.

“We are also asking people to give us information on suspicious people . Gone are the days you give police information and be afraid of leakage of the information. Thank God for GSM, you call on GSM and give us information”.

The suspect gazed at this reporter for minutes before he began to answer questions put to him. The conversation went this way:

Did you really kill the baby?
Yes, when I woke up in the morning of the fateful day, I was taken to a native doctor because the people around me believed I was not okay. But when we got there, the native doctor was not around and we had to return home.  Then I went to sleep.

You mean you were not normal?
That is what they said including my mother, and my wife began to cry.

After killing the child, how do you feel?
(Sobbing) Oh, it is painful, what kind of temptation is this?

So, it was temptation, not that you were not normal?
What do you call it? Is it not because the head is not normal?  I don’t know what to do now. I am the one taking care of the family. I have four children, I tap palm fruit and was making a lot of money. I want the police to call my people so that the whole issue can be settled”.
SOURCE: Vanguard Nigeria