Nigerian Man Shoots Wife Five Times In Atlanta, Georgia

Indeed, it has happened again! That was the cry among the Nigerian community in the United States when news about another family violence death broke. Sorrowfully the list of list Nigerian accused of murdering or attempted their wives grew today as a Nigerian man, Maximillian Ezimora, has been arrested in Atlanta after shooting his wife, Uchenna Ezimora, five times. The wife, described by a source as a hard working registered nurse in the Atlanta area, survived the shooting and is currently hospitalized.

Reports say 500 Nigerians are in US Jails charged with femicide
Mr. Ezimora, who reportedly hails from Adazi, Anambra State, is being held in Fulton County jail in Atlanta. He is charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of firearms while committing a felony.
The couple owns a business, Maxing Groceries, on Fletcher Street in Atlanta. Reports have that the business license is in Mrs. Ezimora’s name.
Last year A Florida based Nigerian pharmacist, Olufemi Ademoye was charged for second degree murder for allegedly killing his wife over what family friends alleged as dispute over the paternity of the couple's 17 year old son. While on Aug 2010 One of Nigeria’s most respected poet and professor of English and Literature, Dubem Okafor died in the United States after shooting his wife Cheryl 37.

Other cases that made headlines are the Police arrest of a suspect, 41-year-old Kelechi Charles Emeruwa, on a first-degree murder warrant in the death of his wife. The children were unharmed and taken into custody by police. The children would be cared for by Child Protective Services until they could be placed with family members, according to police.
Emeruwa was charged in court the following day, Tuesday, with the murder of his wife.
In another case a Texas Dallas County jury recommended life in prison for Theophilus Ojukwu, 47, a Nigerian national after he pleaded guilty to the murder of his 36-year-old wife Melvina. The judge consequently sentenced him to life imprisonment. Theophilus on Saturday, March 25, 2006 reportedly fatally beat his wife on the head with a socket wrench while their four children, ages 4 through 9, were in the house and heard her screams.

Theophilus pleaded guilty after the 911 tape was played for the jury. In the recording, he admitted to the slaying. He is spending 40 years in prison before eligibility for parole.
Till Death Do Us Part’ seems to be a catch-all phrase demonstrative of how deeply in love bride and bridegroom are with each other when exchanging vows before a clergy, family members, friends and well-wishers. Little did Chidiebere, a nurse, know that her death would come in the hands of a man she once loved; a man that solemnly swore to protect her in sickness and good health, in poverty and in riches, and of course, a man that swore to be there for her until death do them part. Sadly, little did Ms. Ochulo know it was going to be a deadly broken vow!

This is another Nigerian marriage that ended deadly was in Burtonsville, Maryland on New Year, Monday, January 1, 2007. Another Nigerian abruptly ended the life of his wife in Burtonsville, suburb of Washington, DC. Mr. Kelechi Charles Emeruwa, 41, of Old Umuahia on New Year, cut short of his wife’s life, Chidiebere Omenihu Ochulo, 36, of Old Umuahia in their 4200 block of Dunwood Terrace in Burtonsvillle, Maryland home. It was reported that Chidiebere died from stab wounds. However, Officer Melanie Hadley, spokesperson for Montgomery County Police, could not confirm it citing, “official autopsy report is not out”.
Other similar stories of deadly domestic violence among Nigerians in the United States are the case of Mr. Theophilus Ojukwu, 46, of Enugwu-Agu, Ihe in Ogwu LGA, Enugu State, who killed his wife in their 5400 block of Barcelona Drive home in Garland, Texas on Saturday, March 25, 2006 has since been sentenced to life in prison.
Similarly, in Grand Prairie, a suburb of Dallas, Texas, Mrs. Monireti Abeni Akeredolu, a 46-year old Nigerian lady met her untimely death in the hands of her estranged husband, Mr. Ebenezer Akeredolu, Sr., 48, on Thursday night, September 8, 2005, a day after her birthday.

Also, on August 10, 2005 in Euless, a suburb of Dallas, another Nigerian husband, Johnny Omorogieva, 45, murdered his wife, Mrs. Isatu Omorogieva, 35, by savagely striking her on the head numerous times with a hammer in the full glare of his 7-year old daughter.
With the exception of Mr. Emeruwa who’s awaiting trial, these men have since been sentenced to prison. Unfortunately, the surviving children of these families are left to grow up without their parents.
Some people continue to wonder why some of these marriages end deadly. It appears that the gargantuan societal pressure of living a good life coupled with an undue burden from family members in Nigeria continue to exacerbate the already troubled many Nigerian marriages. Additionally, some Nigerian marriages in the Diaspora are steadily and surely growing out of love. Compounding the marital problem is the issue of infidelity on both sides.

Sadly, infidelity has ruined some Nigerian marriages in America. Some of the recent divorces have claims of infidelity as their primary causes of marriage travails.  Marital infidelity is causing a vast majority of Nigerian marriages flagging with the inevitability of total collapse. No other Nigerian community has suffered more jinx of infidelity than the Dallas area Nigerians.
The aspersion has permeated the fabric of what was once considered a cohesive community. This has broken the trust members of Nigerian community once had with each other. Sad still, the infidelity among Nigerians has been worsened by the recent trend.

The latest trend is the annual visit—pilgrimage as some call it—the men pay to Nigeria in the month of December. While in Nigeria some of these men engage in a high risk behavior with flawed boldness and reckless and perhaps, short-lived excitement in the face of ravaging effects of AIDS. This reckless behavior is utterly deplorable.
Nevertheless, it’s not only dreadfully wrong, but also sacrilegious for anyone to take the life of the other, especially his or her spouse. There are other options to get out of a marriage besides killing a spouse. Domestic violence is not one of them; Nigerian community everywhere must help stop this madness—domestic violence!