A 61-year-old widow resident in Asaba, Delta State capital, Mrs Joy Emmanuel, has raised alarm over a threat to her life and the life of her only child, Miss Priscilla, by a money lender identified as Mr Ipkonga.
Lamenting her ordeal in tears, Mrs Joy Emmanuel declared that she and her only child and daughter, Priscilla, had not known peace since the death of her husband, late Mr Felix Emmanuel, on Saturday, July 3, 2021, over the debt he owed money lender.
According to her, “My husband, before his death, borrowed money for our daughter’s final year school fees because he was very ill, and his illness deteriorated that he is unable to service the loan or pay it back. Before he died, he and Mr Ipkonga had an agreement that if the illness claimed his life and he was unable to pay back the loan, Mr Ipkonga should take our daughter as his wife in exchange for the loan as the dowry.
“It was after my husband’s funeral Mr Ipkonga has now demanded that my daughter must marry him in exchange for the unpaid loan based on the agreement he had with my late husband before he died. My daughter has refused to marry Mr Ipkonga, who is in his sixties (60s), and as his sixth (6th) wife, which has resulted in Mr Ipkonga’s persistent assault on my daughter and me during one of his attacks on us, Mr Ipkonga made an effort to rape my daughter which she manages to escape.
As the unbearable assault from Mr Ipkonga over my daughter’s refusal to marry him continued, I decided to sell our house to pay back the loan but the desperate Mr Ipkonga rejected the money stating that the agreement between him and my late husband was that my daughter must marry him if he died and was unable to pay back the loan. He said he was standing on the condition that I must hand my daughter over to him as his wife, and if my daughter refused to marry him, he would kill her, which led to my daughter fleeing for her safety. Even in my hideout, Mr Ipkonga was able to trace and find me in a friend’s house where I was hiding and gave me the beating of my life.
Continuing, Mrs Joy Emmanuel further explained that recently this year on January 15, 2025, Mr Ipkonga and his thugs again came to her friend’s house where she was hiding for shelter to beat her up mercilessly, lamenting that the police had not been of help but rather ignored her several complaints because of Mr Ipkonga’s political influence who commands words with money.
She said she had taken the bold step to speak with Ika Weekly to let the public know what her daughter and she are going through in the hands of wicked and deadly Ipkponga.
Culled from Ika Weekly
