A hapless old woman, Olaniyi Sariyu, aged 100, died slowly in agony at Oke Gada, Ede in Osun State, Southwest Nigeria, after her faint cry for help while being allegedly beaten by an assailant failed to attract the attention of neighbours.
The centenarian was allegedly attacked with a stick in her home by a 65-year-old man, Suraju Usman, a resident in the neighbourhood over a quarrel with the old woman’s daughter, Olaniyi Idayatu on Tuesday, July 19.
“The man who lives in the same area with us had a quarrel with me at about 11.30pm on July 19. He had attempted to hit me with a stick and I ran away from the house. When I returned home, I met my 100-year-old mother crying on the floor; she said Usman had beaten her with a stick”, Idayatu told the police at ‘A’ Division, Ede, where she reported the incident at about 11.am on July 20.
She further stated her mother was rushed to Prime Hospital Ede for medical treatment where she died.
The police said on receipt of the report, the Divisional Police Officer ‘A’ Division mobilized detectives to the scene where the suspect was arrested.
A source at the headquarters of the Osun State police command who confirmed the incident said the body of the old woman has been deposited at the UniOsun Teaching Hospital morgue for autopsy as investigation progresses.