Bilyamin Bello, the man believed to have been stabbed to death by his wife for alleged infidelity, is not the son of Bello Haliru, former Chairman of the People Democratic Party (PDP), as widely reported in the media.
Rather, the slain man is the nephew of the two-timer former Minister.
According to a family source, who did not want to be named because the family had been told to avoid media interviews, Bilyamin’s mother and biological father divorced long ago.
“Haliru Bello is not his father as everyone has reported, but only the legal guardian,” he said.
“Bilyamin is his nephew. His biological father separated from his mum long before she passed away. Haliru Bello is his guardian; he is Biliamiyu’s mother’s elder brother.”
The source also spoke on Amina Shagari, who posted an emotional tribute saying she and Bilyamin “decided to get married”, prompting speculations she may have been his wife.
“Amina is not his ex-wife,” he said. “She’s Biliamiyu’s friend, or do I say she was his friend. But she is not his ex-wife.”
He spoke on yet another myth — the speculation that “killer wife” Maryam Sanda, who is in remand at Suleja Prison, was responsible for Bilyamin’s divorce from his first marriage to Fakhriyya Ben-Umar.
“You know, he did not expressly say that to anybody. But we strongly believe she is the main reason why he left his first wife,” he said.
Of the Bilyamin family’s chances of getting justice, given the high connections of Maimuna Aliyu, mother of the accused, he said: “We, on our own part, are very cooperative with the authorities, that is the Nigerian Police; they are the prosecuting authority.
“We have tried and we have given them everything we have, at least for whatever it is they want to do. We are putting all hope and faith that they will do whatever they can do to see that justice is prevailed on this matter.
“We know she [Maimuna Aliyu] is a society woman, and she could go to whatever length to see that this matter dies down. That is not our problem; all we know is, let the system do its best.
“Whatever happens, we know she is just putting her best to it. Whatever goes wrong should not be from their own angle; after all, whatever we do in this world is temporary. God has the ultimate decision.
We believe she is very influential and we believe she is doing everything she possibly can to either frustrate this matter or to kill it.”