Husband recounts how he discovered abuse of daughter

The husband of a 36-year-old woman arrested in Anambra State over the alleged sexual abuse of their underage daughter has recounted how he discovered the incident after a friend showed him a video purportedly showing the act.

The man, Ikechukwu Onyeanyusi, said he was returning from his business on Thursday evening when the friend contacted him and showed him the video involving his wife, Anulika Onyeanyusi.

Speaking in a video shared on Saturday by the Anambra State Ministry of Women and Social Welfare, Onyeanyusi said he was initially unable to believe what he was seeing.

“I saw the video. It was my wife, and I saw my daughter. She was molesting the child,” he said.

He said his immediate reaction was confusion, adding that his friend urged him to remain calm.

According to him, he later confronted his wife, who denied the allegation and claimed the video had been generated using artificial intelligence.

“I came to her, and I asked her, ‘What exactly is this that I saw on the internet?’ She said what? ‘I saw your video molesting my daughters. How come this happened?’ She said no. That it’s not true,” he recounted.

The husband said he questioned how she could dismiss the video as fake after he had seen it himself, but she maintained that it was AI-generated.

He said he subsequently returned to his friend and raised the possibility that the video might have been manipulated using artificial intelligence.

Onyeanyusi said police officers arrived at their residence shortly afterwards, searched the premises and arrested his wife.

“Before I knew it, police have already come to my house. They said they want to search. I said to them, ‘Okay.’ So they did all the searching they did, they arrested her and all of us left,” he said.

He said his wife later admitted the allegation during questioning at the police station.

According to him, the Divisional Police Officer subsequently asked him whether he knew what his wife had allegedly been doing with their daughters.

He said he denied having any knowledge of the alleged abuse.

The husband said his wife also told the police that he was unaware of her actions.

“That is when I turned to her, I asked her, ‘Did you do this, really?’ And she said yes,” he recounted.

Onyeanyusi said the admission left him devastated.

“I got weak. I got tired. How come this kind of a thing can happen? How can you do this kind of a thing?” he said.

The couple lives in Onitsha, where police reportedly recovered sex toys and other items considered relevant to the investigation.

The Anambra State Police Command had earlier announced Anulika’s arrest on September 10 following what it described as open-source intelligence concerning a disturbing viral video allegedly showing a woman sexually abusing a minor.

The command said four children, aged two, three, six and nine, were rescued during the operation.

Police said the suspect remained in custody while investigators worked to establish the circumstances surrounding the alleged offence and determine whether anyone else was involved.

In a separate video of her questioning circulated online, the suspect allegedly told investigators that she uploaded sexual content involving her daughter to a pornographic platform for financial gain. She reportedly said the highest payment she received was $300.

She allegedly blamed the devil for her actions and pleaded for forgiveness, while maintaining that her husband was unaware.

Onyeanyusi said he was deeply disappointed by the allegations against his wife and decided to speak publicly to explain how he became aware of the incident.

“I am totally disappointed in my wife. I never believed that she is going to do this kind of a thing, even to the daughter… to her own daughter and to my own daughter. I never believed it,” he said.

Meanwhile, Anambra State First Lady, Dr Nonye Soludo, has condemned the alleged abuse and pledged to monitor the case.

Soludo described the allegation as beyond comprehension and said the children should receive the necessary medical, psychological and rehabilitation support.