Nigerian-American shoots wife dead, kills himself

A Nigerian-American couple in the United States have been found dead in their house at Greatwood, Texas.

The husband, Ben Okigbo, allegedly shot his wife dead, and attempted to strangulate his two sons, and then turned the handgun on himself, and fired.

The tragedy happened on Friday.

Okigbo was a medical doctor while his wife Thersa was a nurse.

Both in their 50s hailed from Delta state in Nigeria.

According to Sugar Land police in Texas, on Friday morning, a daughter, who doesn’t live at home, went there after she became concerned. She wasn’t injured.

“Someone in the house called 9-1-1 Friday morning around 10 a.m. from home in the 1500 block of Brookstone Lane. When officers arrived, they found the couple’s bodies inside.

They were both in their 50s.

“A neighbour said they were originally from Nigeria but had lived in the Greatwood home for about 20 years. She said she spoke to the wife a few days ago and nothing seemed out of the ordinary,” the police said.

A Whatsapp message sent to SaharaReporters which first broke the news, read: “At sunrise, this cold Saturday, Dr Ben Okigbo, a medical doctor in Houston, pulled up a handgun and fatally shot his wife. His wife was a nurse too. A few seconds later, he turned the gun on himself.

“These hours, their three children are dealing with the tragedy of losing their parents at home. We will never know why Dr Okigbo, decided to kill his wife and commit suicide after that.