Professor Samuel Efeni: Nigerian Scholar Fatally Stabbed by Son in the U.S.

By our Correspondent

Late Prof. Samuel Efeni

A Nigerian man residing in New Orleans, United States, and believed to be mentally ill, has been arrested after allegedly stabbing his father and two sisters in their home, resulting in the death of his father.

Police have charged 29-year-old Chukwuebuka Eweni with one count of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder.

Reports indicate that the deceased, 75-year-old Samuel Eweni, was a computer science professor at Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO). According to authorities, he was killed on Tuesday night at a residence on Pebble Drive in New Orleans East. Two female relatives were also stabbed; one has since been discharged from the hospital, while the other remains under medical care but is expected to survive.

US media outlets quoting family members reported that Chukwuebuka had a long history of mental illness, though he had never shown violent tendencies. They described the day of the incident as normal and said they do not know what may have triggered the attack.

After the stabbings, Chukwuebuka reportedly went to New Orleans East Hospital, where he often sought mental health treatment. Unaware of the crime, the hospital transferred him to a facility in Jefferson Parish, where authorities later located and arrested him on Wednesday morning.

SUNO issued a statement mourning the death of Professor Eweni. “Dr Eweni was more than an educator—he was a mentor and a guiding light to so many of our students,” said Dr Joseph Bouie Jr., Chancellor of Southern University at New Orleans.

“His contributions to the College of Business and Public Administration and to the university’s mission of transforming lives through education will be remembered and celebrated. Our hearts are with his family, friends, and colleagues during this deeply difficult time.”

In a separate incident last month, a 36-year-old Nigerian woman, Gbemisola Akayinode, was arrested and charged with felony murder following the death of her nine-year-old daughter, Oluwasikemi, who died of hyperthermia after being left in a vehicle for several hours in Texas.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez confirmed the arrest on October 17, noting that the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences had ruled the child’s death a homicide. “Arrest update: today, HCSO Texas Homicide Detectives and our Violent Criminal Apprehension Team (VCAT) arrested Gbemisola G. Akayinode for the murder of her nine-year-old daughter, Oluwasikemi Akayinode,” the sheriff posted on X. “The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences ruled the death a homicide as a result of hyperthermia.”

Court documents show that the incident took place on July 1 at an industrial complex on Mayo Shell Road in Galena Park, near Houston. Akayinode allegedly left her daughter in a parked car while she worked at a manufacturing plant. The child reportedly remained in the vehicle for more than eight hours on a day when temperatures reached 99°F.

Investigators said Akayinode left the child with food, water, ice cubes, a rechargeable fan, and melatonin to help her sleep. She partially lowered the rear windows and covered the front windscreen, making it difficult for anyone passing by to see the child inside.

When she returned at about 1:53 p.m., she found her daughter unconscious and called for help. Despite attempts at CPR, the girl was pronounced dead at LBJ Hospital.

Court records also revealed that Akayinode had taken her daughter to work before, citing the inability to afford day care, though investigators later found that her foreman had been paying for child-care services. She further claimed that prescription medication was responsible for the child’s death, while admitting she had given the girl melatonin the previous night and again on the morning of the incident.

(Adapted from The Guardian, with headline modified)