Esther’s Revenge: The Story Of The Nigerian Woman That Inspired The Movie ‘Acrimony’

22-year-old Ada Ocha Ntu, better known as Ada Esther Johnson fell in love and married Mark Hall, a British railway worker, simply known as a colonial worker during the colonial era but today called ‘expatriate’.

She gave her all to him, even going as far as lending him a whopping sum of £400 before he left for England for his home in Britain for business.

Instead of this business, he used the money to marry an English bride and used part of the money to buy his new bride a car which she would use to start a transport business in the UK.

He returned to Nigeria and confessed to Ada what he’d done with her money and she was very furious. She used a pair of scissors to stab Mark. Sadly, he died from injuries sustained from the attack.

As the trial progressed and details of the case emerged sympathy became a national issue. The court found Esther Johnson guilty of murder on June 18, 1953, and sentenced her to death.

The public was not willing to accept that she deserved life imprisonment and there were protests all over Nigeria, especially in Kano, Jos, and Ibadan.

Fortunately, on the 1st of October 1961 on the occasion of the first anniversary of Nigeria’s Independence, she was pardoned by the Governor-General, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, and released from jail.

She later got married to a policeman, Mr. Joshua Ayeni on April 23rd, 1964.

“Esther’s Revenge” at the Freedom Park in Lagos is named after her.

Credits: NigeriaStories