A 38-year-old man, Ifeanyichukwu Anadike, who was arrested by the Ogun State Police Command for killing his father with a machete in the Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of the state, tells OLUMIDE TAIWO why he carried out the act
You reside in Ogun State but your name suggests that you are Igbo. Where are you from?
My name is Ifeanyichukwu Anadike. I am 38 years old and from Imo State, but I live around Senator Ibikunle Amosun Way in the Olorunda community, Ijoko, Sango, in the Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State.
Why were you arrested by the police?
I was arrested because I did what my father asked me to do.
What is that?
He told me to kill him. Yes, and he has succeeded in helping me to do it even though I never wanted to do it.
How did that happen?
Well, I am surprised too. In August 2021, my father came to my house in Oshodi, Lagos State, where I was living, to tell me that I must kill him. I was so scared and annoyed that I drove him away from my house at that time. Other people living in the compound were surprised at my behaviour towards my father but it was because of what he told me to do to him that made me react that way. However, in November, I was given a quit notice from the house, and when I informed my father he told me to come home and do what he asked me to do. I told him that I would not do that.
Are you married?
Yes, but my wife and I are no longer together because my dad opposed our marriage even though her parents said they never had any problems with me. She has a child for me and she’s with her parents.
Are you the only child of your parents?
My parents had six children. I have two elder sisters, one younger sister, and two younger brothers. My elder sisters live around us in Sango.
Did you eventually move into your father’s home?
So, I moved back to Sango to live with my parents in December 2022 but my father told me to go ahead and do what he had earlier told me to do, which was to kill him, but I said that I wouldn’t do that.
The police said you murdered your father with a machete for his refusal to give you the N70,000 you gave to him to keep for you. Is that true?
Well, what happened was that in September 2022, I left the job I was doing.
Where were you working?
I was working with a beverage company.
Were you sacked?
No, I left on my own volition. I received two queries based on my absenteeism and more so I was being pressured by my father and my mother to leave the job while my father kept telling me to just do what he asked me to do, which was to kill him.
Did you inform your sisters and other relatives about your father’s alleged request?
Yes, I told all of them. My mother even said that I should leave him and that, probably, he was being disturbed by old age.
How old was your father?
He was about 100 years old.
Did your father ever tell you why he allegedly wanted you to kill him as you claimed?
No, he only told me to kill him
What happened on the day you killed him?
I went to cut the plantain that we had in our backyard to sell and get some money for myself since they (my parents) did not allow me to work again; there was even a bakery where I went to in search of a job but my father and mother came around shouting that telling me to sit at home, and that I should not do anything. So on that day, when I got back home, I didn’t even have to sell the plantain again. My mother gave me N700 to buy spaghetti to cook and eat. I was in my room when I heard my parents shouting at each other. My father said he would cut down the plantain tree despite knowing that it was my only source of income. Also, he told me to do what he instructed me to do, to kill him.
Did you give him N70,000 to keep for you?
I gave him N70,000 but he refused to return it to me. I wanted to use the money to start a business but he refused to give it to me and threatened to cut down the plantain tree.
What did you do next?
So, I just picked up a cutlass and started hitting him in the head.
You attacked your father and killed him in a gruesome way. Is that something you would want your children to do to you?
No, but that was what my father said he wanted. He had always put pressure on me to kill him. That was my father’s wish and he succeeded in making me do it. There is nothing I can do. I raised the alarm about him wanting me to kill him. I feel bad seeing myself in my current state but I only carried out my father’s wish.
Have you had any struggles with your mental health?
No.
Have you ever suffered depression?
Yes, that was between 2011 and 2012 but I have recovered from it.
Are you saying you did what you did in your clear state of mind?
Yes, but I regret it. I regret the fact that nobody wants to believe that it was my father who told me to kill him.
