Boy, 2, dies from multiple stab wounds from his mother

Funmilayo Tijani, 26, a fashion designer has been arrested by the Ogun State Police Command for allegedly stabbing her son, Emmanuel, 2, to death in Sango Ota area of Ogun State.

The accused and her husband, John, separated two years ago as a result of a discord.

Funmilayo then moved to her father's house where she lived with her son.

It was gathered that on the day of the murder, May 27, which was also Children's Day, at about 4pm, Funmilayo’s neighbours on Ogunso Street, Orelope Estate, in the Egan, Sango area, noticed that she held a bloodstained knife and saw Emmanuel in a pool of blood.

The incident was immediately reported at the Sango Police Division. A resident of the area, Akeem Ijaola, said the boy died before he could be rushed to a hospital.

The eyewitness, Akeem narrated:

"Funmilayo and her son stayed with her father in a one-room apartment. The boy attended a private school in this area. About 4pm on the fateful day, we noticed that something was going wrong in the apartment. When people went near, they saw the boy in a pool of blood. He had been stabbed many times.

Funmilayo at that time looked like a mentally-derailed woman. The boy died before anyone could take him to a hospital. Although no one could ascertain the cause of her action, Funmilayo is divorced, and the child was born out of wedlock about three years ago."

The suspect’s father, identified simply as Adebayo, 53, said he was at a loss over Funmilayo’s action.

"Funmilayo’s mother died about 20 years ago. She grew up staying with me. I married a second wife later, but separated from her years ago. Funmilayo had been staying with me since she separated from her husband.

John initially refused to accept her pregnancy. But they went for a DNA test, which confirmed him as being responsible for the pregnancy. Thereafter, he took her to a place in Apapa, and they were planning to travel to his hometown in Delta State,. but I refused and asked her to come back home," he said.

Another neighbour said Funmilayo might have committed the act out of frustration as she was financially and emotionally unstable. She said, “She tried to borrow money during that week from her boss, but she failed. There are also arguments whether her husband was the father of the boy or her father, who she stayed with. Also, her former husband, John, has married another wife who gave birth a few weeks to the incident. I think all these contributed to Funmilayo’s emotional breakdown.”

The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Muyiwa Adejobi, confirming the incident, said that the police had deposited the corpse in a morgue. “The police were at the scene to recover the body of the child. The woman has been acting strangely like someone with an unsound mind. She has been arrested and investigation is ongoing,” he said.