WHEN his wife, Fatsuma, was delivered of a baby boy some 20 years ago in the sleepy hamlet of Larabawa, in Gwaram Local Council of Jigawa State, Mamman
Dan Alhaji, the proud father, celebrated.
Neighbours had trooped in to grace the naming ceremony as they rejoiced with Mamman who was very happy he had an heir that would carry on the family name and continue his groundnut business later.
However, that bundle of joy has turned into a bundle of regrets, tears and sorrow for his mother, as the boy, who was named Yusuf, has allegedly snuffed life out of his own father for reprimanding him over theft of the groundnut.
A weeping Fatsuma, told The Guardian: "Please, tell the authorities not to allow him come back alive."
She continued: "I can't describe the misfortune that has befallen me. I don't know what came over my son whom I carried in my womb for nine months.
" On that fateful day, he went to the market after his father left home and I thought he had some business to do.
"He returned around noon with a shiny axe, which he held as he sat on the stone in the middle of the compound and was still sharpening it.
"After sharpening the axe, he put it in a bag and became restless, walking up and down, without talking to anybody.
"I went to him and asked him what the matter was and why he was still sharpening an axe that he already took to the market to sharpen, pointing out
too that he looked restless. But, he said he was alright."
Meanwhile, Yusuf on Wednesday morning had sent his wife home to her parents without his parents knowledge.
It was when Fatsuma called her daughter-in-law that Yusuf told his mother he had sent her home to her
parents.
"At a point, he came and sat down in front of his father's door with the axe and stick. I called my mate and told her that this boy was up to something but
she advised we should leave him alone.
"At about 4.00 p.m. I left the house to see his father and to tell him not to come home because his son was up to something sinister."
She said when her son noticed she was out of the compound he ran and caught up with her and demanded to know whether she was going to the market to see his father for which she answered in
the affirmative.
According to her, he immediately started pleading that she should come back home because he was all right.
She recalled that her husband arrived around 9.00p.m. and shortly after, tragedy struck.
"When our husband returned, Yusuf refused to greet him. After he took his meal, I told him how his son had been acting strangely since morning, walking
about with axe and stick.
"The father came out and asked why he was doing that but he rudely replied he was waiting for the police he threatened to arrest him with.
" At this point, his father stood up and took his stick to scare him to go inside his room but Yusuf dodged but started hacking his father with the axe.
"When we heard our husband shouting: 'Yusuf, why are you killing me? Is it because I reprimanded you? 'we rushed outside only to see Yusuf running after his fleeing father and continuing to hack him with the now-bloody axe.
"We were shouting and crying but before the neighbours came, Yusuf had killed his father."
The neighbours were shocked that a grown-up like Yusuf, who was expected to give his father a helping hand in his business, would resort to stealing his groundnuts.
They had seen Mamman Dan Alhaji that Wednesday morning as he prepared for the market not knowing that would be his last.
For sometime, Mamman Dan Alhaji had been unhappy that his son was not turning out as he had hoped.
The previous day, he had reprimanded Yusuf for stealing his groundnuts and had threatened to report him to the police if he did not stop. Little did he know that his son would kill him for that!
Now in police custody, Yusuf has not shown any remorse.
He claimed that his father also meant to kill him but gave thanks to God that he was the one who killed his father first.
The late Mamman 's second wife, Abou told The Guardian their husband reprimanded Yusuf on Tuesday for stealing his groundnuts from the barn.
"His father's threat to arrest Yusuf was just to scare him because he was tired of his groundnuts being stolen.
We never knew that that would cost the life of ourbreadwinner.
"Here we are with 10 children and our breadwinner gone. We don't have any other source of livelihood.
"The money in the house has been used for transporting the corpse from here to police and back and for transporting Yusuf to Dutse and all that. We need help," she pleaded.
The Mai Angwan Larabawa, Alhaji Abdul Ali expressed shock over the incident.
" Never before in my entire life had I witnessed or seen a thing like this.
"A neighbour rushed here to inform us of what was happening. I quickly mobilized other neighbours around 9:30p.m. and we rushed there. To our greatest surprise, this boy didn't run away.
"He was standing on the corpse of his father with blood dripping from the axe. His father was wriggling in his own blood.
In shock, I asked him: 'Did you do this? 'and he said 'Yes' and that he had no regret.
"He said if his father had the opportunity he would have killed him but he thanked God that he was the one who killed his father first.
"He said anything we wanted to do to him we should go ahead and do it.
"I was speechless. He almost removed his father's limbs.
"He cut his father's throat, neck, mouth and shoulder.
"It was a horrible sight nobody could stand without crying.
"The boy has no mental case. He is just a stubborn boy, period."
Yusuf's grandfather, Malam Dan Alhaji told The Guardian he hopes his grandson would be hanged.
"I am over 70 years old and I have never seen a son hacking down his own father like an animal. Even an animal does not deserve this type of death.
"I will leave a will behind that if I die and they allow this boy to go free, my people should hunt him down and kill him. If I am alive, he will have to kill me too. I am old. How do I take care of 10 young children?
Government should help me," he pleaded.
Source: The Guardian Nigeria
