‘I Didn’t Kill My Husband’ As Christy Akingboye Breaks Silence, Reveals Late SDP Candidate’s 5-Year Mental Health Battle

Christy Akingboye, widow of the late Bamidele Akingboye, former Social Democratic Party governorship candidate in the November 2024 Ondo State election, has broken her silence, firmly denying allegations that she was involved in her husband’s death.
Describing the claims as cruel, false and orchestrated to smear her and her children, Christy recounted a long, painful struggle with her husband’s deteriorating mental health in the last five years.
Speaking in Lagos, she said she intentionally stayed silent after his death to protect his dignity, the family’s privacy, and to avoid subjecting him to posthumous stigma.
According to her, Bamidele was diagnosed with bipolar manic disorder in 2019, a condition that triggered repeated manic episodes, suicidal attempts and severe behavioural instability. She said the illness worsened due to political pressure, heavy debts and prolonged periods of sleeplessness.
“He was my friend. I did not just lose a husband, I lost my better half,” she said.
Christy narrated how the family survived two major suicide episodes in 2019, one of which her daughter intervened in to stop him from jumping off a balcony. Another episode in Dubai, she said, resulted in the police taking him to a psychiatric facility.
She listed hospitals and specialists in Lagos, Dubai and Abuja where he received treatment, noting that the family managed his condition discreetly for years.
She said the late politician’s stress level was extremely high during and after his political campaigns and that his financial burdens worsened his condition. She also disclosed that before his death, he shared a list of debts that ran into hundreds of millions of naira and repeatedly expressed fear of possible arrest by creditors.
Christy said she initially chose not to reveal details of his suicide attempts, including the final incident that led to his death, because of cultural stigma and her desire to protect his political legacy.
“In our society, suicide is something people weaponise. I did not want my husband remembered that way,” she said.
Trouble deepened after her stepson, Samuel Akingboye, whom she described as her son, accused her of killing their father. She said she expected him to serve as a stabilising figure after the tragedy but instead, “he went the route of blackmail, fabrications and media attacks”.
She accused him of circulating doctored photographs to portray domestic abuse and murder. Christy displayed mortuary photographs which she said were the real images, showing no cuts, bruises or blood.
“To my shock, they used AI to paint blood on his face. The real pictures show nothing like that,” she said.
She faulted the early handling of the case by some police officers, alleging bias, compromise and failure to visit key locations, examine his room or review medical records before arresting her and her children. The family was detained for three days after the incident.
Christy said she petitioned higher authorities, prompting the reassignment of the case. She added that a new team of investigators later visited the rooms, balcony and neighbouring properties. One of their discoveries, she said, was a second CCTV camera facing the balcony, but its footage had been overwritten because the first investigators did not act on time.
She said her confidence collapsed again when the matter was returned to the original unit. She described the repeated summons, fear of detention for her children and what she perceived as pressure to build a murder narrative despite the absence of forensic evidence.
Christy recounted how she and her children were escorted to Panti last Friday under assurances that they would not be detained, only to meet more than 20 armed officers on arrival.
Christy also questioned the continued presence of her stepson at police units despite being informed that the case had been transferred. “He has been going to Panti every day. What is he doing there?” she asked.
Despite her concerns, Christy expressed hope that the Directorate of Public Prosecutions will objectively assess the case once the police submit their findings.
“My hands are clean. God knows the truth. I have nothing to hide,” she said. “He was my friend. I fought for his life for years. His children saw the episodes. They know what happened. They all need therapy after this.”
She urged authorities to rely on her husband’s medical records and his long struggle with mental illness, saying that only a fair and thorough review will bring closure.
“I did not kill my husband,” Christy said. “I loved him and stood by him through everything. I only want the truth to prevail.”
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