BY FAIZA JIBRIN, SEPTEMBER 18, 2025 | 06:34 PM

What was supposed to be a season of joy has turned into a season of pain for Fatima Talba Alkali.

Months away from her marriage, she now lies in the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), battling for her life after her stepmother poured hot cooking oil on her face and stabbed her in a shocking act of violence.

How it began

Fatima grew up with her mother after her parents separated.

When she got engaged, she and her mother agreed it was best for her fiancé to seek her hand in marriage through her father, as tradition demands.

She returned to her father’s home in Jiddari Galtimari, Jere LGA, Borno State to make the process smooth and respectful.

After successfully fixing a wedding date, Fatima’s stepmother strongly opposed and insisted that she should return to her mother, saying she would not live under the same roof with “another woman’s child.”

Her husband, Fatima's father refused to send his daughter away, leading to heated conflict that ended in divorce.

The stepmother returned bitter, rejected even by her own parents, and tensions inside the home only grew worse.

Day before the attack, a quarrel broke out between Fatima, her aunt, and the stepmother.

During the argument, the woman openly vowed to kill them both. Fearing for their safety, Fatima’s father sent her to sleep at a neighbour’s house that night.

But danger was only postponed. The following morning, the stepmother boiled two bottles of groundnut oil for beans cake. When Fatima and her aunt came in to greet her, she unleashed her fury.

She poured the scalding oil over Fatima’s face, leaving her skin burning and disfigured.

As if that was not enough, she pulled out a knife she had kept ready and stabbed her repeatedly.

Fatima collapsed in screams of pain until her little brother rushed in, striking his mother to stop the attack, her aunt was so shoke that she stood and couldn't move an inch.

A Father’s account

Her father, Talba Alkali, a retired civil servant from a government school who now works in a private school, recalled that he had tried everything to keep peace in his home.

'I noticed and handled many cases between my daughter and my wife. I warned her many times not to temper with my children, instead to take them as her own. But she refused and created more troubles which led to divorce 'he said.

After the first divorce, community leaders, her guidane and other people appeal for her return, before he finally ended the marriage and gave her the sum of N30,000 to pack out

'She said she'll leave but threatened to do something bad, which we never thought this was it' he added

He even reported her threats so that if anything happened, there would be witnesses against her.

On the fateful Saturday, while Talba was at work, he received a desperate phone call from his daughter, asking him to return home urgently.

Upon his return Talba reported to GRA police station and rushed her to General Hospital.

'Treatment was given to her and we came back home. But my community members told me this is not a matter to handle at home.

'I again reported at the GRA police station and later took her to UMTH for further treatment,' Talba narrated.

He confirmed that his ex wife the attacker is currently two months pregnant and in custody at the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of the Borno State Police Headquarters.

Talba commend his community members and appealed to the government and well meaning members of the public for help.

'I am not financially stable. I urge all relevant authorities, stakeholders, and the public to assist my daughter with treatment. She is in a critical state, and I cannot handle it alone,' he pleaded.

The incident has sparked outrage both offline and online. Many citizens, are demanding that justice be served. Some commenters insist that the woman deserves life imprisonment, while others call for even harsher punishment, saying such cruelty should not be tolerated in society.

Fatima now fights for survival. Her family faces huge financial challenges in paying for hospital bills, wound management, and drugs.

Once a bride to be full of joy, she now lives in pain, waiting for healing and justice.

Fatima's story has become a symbol of how jealousy, anger, and cruelty can destroy lives in an instant.