Commotion as Adultery sends shock waves through community

Ilochuckwu and Uche, both from Anambra State, were regarded as brothers in their host community in Ogun State. But on June 22, 2013, the story changed. Uche was caught pants down with Ilochukwu’s wife, right on his matrimonial bed. Residents of Ijuri community in Igbesa area of Ogun State will not forget Saturday, June 22, 2013 in a hurry. That was the day a member of their community, identified as Samson Uche, was beaten to stupor and stripped naked in broad day light over an illicit relationship with his neighbour’s wife. Uche, said to be from Awka, in Anambra State, but who is resident in Sango Ota, Ogun State, was reportedly caught pants down with a housewife, identified as Perpetua, right in the middle of a sèxual act on the latter’s matrimonial bed. Uche and Perpetua, both indigenes of Awka, Anambra State, attended the same secondary school back in their village before they both went their separate ways. The two of them met again in Lagos sometime in 2010. By then, Perpetua was already married to her present husband, Ilochukwu. While at school, Uche and Perpetua were said to be lovers, but their romance did not lead to marriage before they parted ways. It was reported that the two lovers had planned to be husband and wife, but stiff opposition from Perpetua’s father truncated their plan. Efforts to have the old man give his blessing to the proposed union were unfruitful. In the end, Uche and Perpetua had to go their separate ways. By the time Uche and Perpetua were reunited in Lagos, Perpetua was already a mother of two boys but Uche was a bachelor still. Before the close of 2011, however, Uche also bade farewell to bachelorhood. Perpetua was said to have participated prominently in the wedding ceremonies. By sheer accident or design, when Uche wanted to move into a bigger apartment, he got accommodation a few blocks away from where Perpetua lived with her husband. With time, the erstwhile lovers became family friends, with Perpetua sometimes going to Uche’s house to stay with his wife when Uche is away in the office. Perpetua lived in a three-bedroom apartment her husband newly erected in the area. Somewhere along the line, her husband was transferred to Oshogbo, the Osun State capital from his office, leaving Uche and her two kids at home. Perpetua’s husband is believed not to have visited the family he left behind in the last three months. He, however, called his wife regularly, promising to return to her and the kids before the end of August. Apparently, this seeming gap between Perpetua and Ilochukwu created room for Uche to be close to his erstwhile girlfriend again. It is reported that Uche always stopped by Perpetua’s house most evenings on his way from the office. Before long, Uche and Perpetua started keeping late nights together. This strange movement between them started generating interest in the neighbourhood. On that fateful Saturday evening, Ilochukwu (Perpetua’s husband) came home unannounced after an official assignment at his firm’s headquarters in Lagos. Having spent most of the day at his Lagos office, Ilochukwu headed for his Ijuri home, hoping to spend the weekend with his family and return to Oshogbo on Monday morning. The heavy rush-hour traffic prevented Ilochukwu from getting to Ijuri until well past 10p.m. After knocking the gate severally without getting any response, Ilochukwu forced open the gate to his compound, disturbed as to what would have prevented his wife from coming to open the gate for him. Ilockukwu went straight for the front door of the apartment. His persistent knocks produced no response still. Curious as to why there was continued silence in the house, Ilochukwu decided to enter the house through the kitchen. While walking towards the kitchen though the back of the master bedroom, however, he heard some disturbing sounds. He paused to listen well and he was soon convinced that his wife and a man were actually having sèx in his bedroom. Ilochukwu peered through the window and was shell shocked to see a man on top of his wife right in his own bedroom. Ilochukwu continues the story. “I came all the way from Oshogbo to spend the weekend with my family and what I met was a man whom I took as a brother sleeping with my wife right in my house. I still cannot believe what happened up till now.” Upon seeing the ‘drama’ going on in his bedroom, Ilochukwu immediately raised the alarm, yelling at the top of his voice. Within minutes, Ilochukwu’s compound was full of neighbours. Perpetua was prevailed upon to open the door. When she eventually did, some neighbours descended on Uche and gave him the beating of his life. A neighbour, identified as Bamidele, reported that Uche had been noticed to frequent the Ilochukwu’s house in the last two months, but was never challenged. “We used to see the man coming to Mama Chinedu’s house, but I personally do not have cause to challenge him because they speak the same language and I would not know whether they are relatives, until the day Papa Chinedu raised the alarm and we met the man half naked and sweating there,” he said. Uche, who is presently receiving treatment at a private clinic at Alaba Rago area of Lagos State, could not be reached for his comments. His wife, however, claims that she has sent word to the village on the scandalous incident. Perpetua, on her part, is said to have left her matrimonial home in shame on the night of the incident, leaving her two kids behind. She has not been seen since then.