‘I killed my co-wife because she appeared in my dreams’

A 32-year-old housewife, Hauwau Haruna, has confessed to killing her co-wife, Jamila Adamu, in Bauchi metropolis, saying she committed the act after repeatedly seeing her in her dreams attempting to kill her and her children.

Hauwau, who spoke in an interview at the Bauchi State Police Command headquarters, said she regretted her action.

She said she was arrested and taken to the Bauchi State Police Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) over the murder of Jamila, whom she said she had lived with for more than 16 years.

“I was arrested and brought to the Bauchi State Police Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for committing a murder.

Explaining what led to the incident, she said Jamila had been appearing to her in dreams and attempting to kill her and her children.

“She (Jamila) was appearing to me in my dreams attempting to kill me and my children. Although the story is a long one, she came yesterday (Sunday). The incidents in the dream have been happening for a while,” she said.

According to her, Jamila appeared to her in the form of a cat on Sunday.

“She came yesterday in the form of a cat and I woke up in the dream and Allah helped me to pick up my food flask on my side and struck at the cat and she went out of my room,” she said.

Hauwau said that as she chased the cat away, it allegedly metamorphosed into her co-wife, who was standing in front of her room.

“Already beside my room there was a pestle used by children to break palm fruits, so I quickly took up the pestle and started hitting her with the pestle, telling her that you cannot kill me because you have continued to harm me. Before you kill me, I will kill you,” she said.

“I continued hitting her with the pestle until she fell to the ground,” she added.

Hauwau said she became confused about what to do after the incident but later rushed into her room, picked up her newborn twins and fled the house.

“I strapped one to my back and held the other child in my hand. I rushed out of the house and started running to look for a commercial motorcycle (Okada),” she said.

She said after getting an okada rider, she went to her parents’ house, explaining that she initially intended to surrender herself at the estate police station.

“I initially intended to present myself to the estate police station but I was scared of mob action and fear of them attacking me alongside my twins. My intention was to keep my newborn twins with my mother for safekeeping,” Hauwau said.

She said she told her mother to take care of the twins before surrendering herself to the police.

Hauwau said her mother stopped her from going to the police station and contacted her elder brother.

Asked whether she had reported the alleged dreams to her husband, Hauwau said he had dismissed her concerns.

Efforts to get the reaction of her husband, Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim (Askiya), were unsuccessful.

When our reporter visited his residence at Tafawa Balewa Estate, relatives said he was currently receiving treatment at a private hospital in Bauchi.

The husband’s relatives and neighbours also declined to comment on the incident.

The Bauchi State Police Command Public Relations Officer, SP Nafiu Habib, had earlier confirmed the arrest of Hauwau, saying investigation into the matter was ongoing.