The widow of the late Bamidele Akingboye, former Social Democratic Party governorship candidate in the 2024 Ondo State election, Mrs Christy Akingboye, has dismissed allegations suggesting she had a hand in her husband’s death.
Speaking with journalists in Lagos on Monday, Christy described the claims circulating in parts of the family as “wicked, fabricated and deliberately aimed at tarnishing my image and that of my children.”
She revealed that her husband had battled bipolar manic disorder since 2019, a condition that triggered severe manic episodes, suicidal tendencies and erratic behaviour, forcing the family to manage his illness discreetly to shield him from public stigma.
Christy recounted near-tragic incidents, including an occasion in 2019 when their daughter reportedly prevented him from leaping from a balcony, and another episode in Dubai where police had to take him to a psychiatric facility.
According to her, the pressures of politics, unrelenting debts and lack of rest further aggravated his mental health struggles.
“He was my friend. I didn’t just lose a husband; I lost my better half,” she said.
She added that her late husband was weighed down by debts running into hundreds of millions of naira—an issue she said heightened his anxiety and worsened his episodes.
The widow lamented the stigma around mental illness and suicide in Nigeria, saying she kept silent initially to protect her husband’s dignity and political legacy.
“In our society, suicide is something people weaponise. I didn’t want my husband remembered that way,” she said.
Christy accused her stepson, Samuel Akingboye, of circulating doctored images and making false claims that she orchestrated Bamidele’s death.
She maintained that the original mortuary photographs showed no bruises or marks and alleged that Samuel used AI-generated images to insinuate foul play.
She also faulted the initial police investigation, alleging bias and procedural failures.
According to her, investigators neither examined her husband’s room nor sealed the scene, and she and her children were detained for three days without proper review of his medical history.
She said her petition to higher authorities led to the reassignment of the case, after which a new investigative team conducted a more thorough assessment of the home, including the balcony and surrounding premises.
However, she disclosed that footage from a second CCTV camera had already been overwritten due to delays in the initial probe.
Christy further raised concerns about repeated summons and attempts to push a murder narrative despite, according to her, the absence of forensic evidence.
She narrated a recent encounter in which she and her children were escorted to Panti Police Station, claiming more than 20 armed officers were waiting despite earlier assurances that they would not be detained. “If not that I prepared my children mentally outside, they would have panicked,” she said.
She also questioned why her stepson continued frequenting the police station long after the case had been transferred. “He has been going to Panti every day. What is he doing there?” she asked.
Despite her frustrations, Christy expressed confidence that the Directorate of Public Prosecutions would provide an objective review once the police conclude their investigation.
“My hands are clean. God knows the truth. I have nothing to hide,” she said. “I fought for his life for years.
His children witnessed the episodes; they know what happened. They all need therapy after this.”
She urged investigators to focus on her husband’s medical records and long-standing mental-health history, insisting that only a fair and thorough process would provide closure.
“I didn’t kill my husband. I loved him and stood by him through everything. I only want the truth to prevail,” she added.