SaharaReporters learnt that Isa claimed he locked his wife in a family room because she was disturbed by the spirits of their dead children.
A man, Abdullahi Isa, has allegedly locked his wife in a room, leaving her to starve for about two years in Borno State, Northeast Nigeria.
SaharaReporters learnt that Isa claimed he locked his wife in a family room because she was disturbed by the spirits of their dead children.
It was further gathered that the couple had seven children who are all dead.
The dehumanising incident was discovered on Friday in the Gwange neighbourhood of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, according to women and children's rights activist Lucy Yunana.
Yunana disclosed that the Bulama of Gwange (village head) directed her and fellow activists to the room where Isa detained his wife for nearly two years.
“The suspect by the name Isa Abdullahi of Gwange (3) in Maiduguri Metropolitan Council is the husband of the survivor (name withheld).
"We were informed that neighbours occasionally sneaked in to provide her food while her husband was away.
“Thankfully, our staff were conducting some awareness on SGBV in Gwange when the Bulama of the area took our staff to the house where she was locked in and what they saw was indeed terrible and prompted us to inform the relevant authority to save the woman’s life.
“We went there along with the Zonal Coordinator of the Human Rights Commission, Barr. Jumai Mshelia and saw her in the room, what we saw in the room was in a bad and dehumanised condition. The man was arrested by men of the Gwange Division of Police and he is currently in the police station," Yunana said.
She added that the woman had been taken to a medical facility in Maiduguri for urgent medical attention.