The husband of 36-year-old Anulika Onyeanusia has narrated how he discovered his wife allegedly molesting their eight-year-old daughter after a friend showed him a video of the incident.

Onyeanusia was arrested by the Anambra State Police Command after the video surfaced online, while four children were rescued from the family’s residence in Onitsha.

The husband, Ikechukwu Onyeanyusi, spoke about the incident in a video shared on Saturday by the Anambra State Ministry of Women and Social Welfare.

He said he learnt about the alleged abuse on Thursday evening while returning from his business, when a friend showed him the video.

According to him, he had not seen the video on social media before his friend brought it to his attention.

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

“I got a kind of confused and ‘What is this? What is happening? Could this be true?’ Immediately, I wanted to leave, but my friend held me. He said no, no, I should calm down, I should take it easy.”

Onyeanyusi said he later confronted his wife about the video, but she denied the allegation and claimed it 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.

He said he questioned her explanation after watching the video.

“I saw you! I saw your video! I saw everything, and you are telling me it’s not true? What makes it not to be true?”

“And she said that it’s AI,” he said.

The husband said he returned to his friend and asked whether the video could have been created using artificial intelligence.

He said police officers later arrived at their residence and searched the house before arresting 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.

Onyeanyusi said his wife later admitted to the allegation while she was being questioned at the police station.

“When they were asking her in the police station, that is when she accepted that it is true. DPO called me because I was outside while she was inside the office with the DPO.

“And the DPO asked me in her presence, ‘Do you know about what your wife is doing with my… daughters?’ I said, ‘No, I don’t know.’

“Then they asked her, ‘Did your husband know about this?’ And she also said no, that ‘I didn’t know… he didn’t know about it.’

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

The husband said he was unable to understand what had happened after his wife admitted to the allegation.

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

“I just sat down in the police office, I can’t get myself. I was, you know, reasoning, ‘What is this? What has happened to me?’”

The police reportedly recovered sex toys and other items from the couple’s residence in Onitsha as part of the investigation.

The Anambra State Police Command had earlier said Onyeanusia was arrested on September 10 following open-source intelligence on a viral video allegedly showing a woman abusing a minor.

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

The police said the suspect remained in custody while investigation continued to establish the circumstances surrounding the alleged offence and determine whether other people were involved.

In a separate video of her interrogation that circulated online, Onyeanusia reportedly told investigators that she uploaded content involving her daughter on a pornographic platform in exchange for money.

She reportedly blamed the devil for her actions and pleaded for forgiveness, while maintaining that her husband was unaware of what she had been doing.

Speaking on the incident, Onyeanyusi said he was disappointed by his wife’s alleged actions and decided to speak publicly about how he discovered 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.

“That is why I decided to make this video to the public to know.”

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

She also pledged to ensure that the affected children receive medical, psychological and rehabilitation support.

Tribune Online had earlier reported the confession of Onyeanusia, where she told investigators that she uploaded content involving her daughter on a pornographic platform in exchange for money. She said the highest amount she had been paid was $300. (Sunday Tribune)