A 23-year-old man, Christian Samuel, has been remanded in the Ikoyi Prison by an Ebute Meta Magistrate’s Court for allegedly killing his girlfriend, Ijeoma Nwachukwu.
The police said Samuel forced Nwachukwu, 26, to drink acid while they were together at Cossy-Inn Hotel, Abule-Oshun, Lagos State.
Our correspondent learnt that the defendant had been dating the deceased for some time.
However, Nwachukwu reportedly got engaged to another person without the knowledge of her 23-year-old boyfriend.
When Samuel later learnt of it, he was said to have pretended as if nothing happened and invited the deceased to the hotel on January 11, 2014.
He allegedly forced her to drink the acid, leading to her death.
It was learnt that Samuel abandoned Nwachukwu’s corpse in the hotel and fled.
The owner of the hotel, Olusegun Sangojumo, was said to have discovered the corpse, but did not report to the police.
Instead, our correspondent learnt that the 64-year-old called his manager, Kehinde Ajibola, and one of the workers, Azeez Olaitan, to dispose of the corpse at the Mile 2 end of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway.
The police were said to have discovered the corpse and in the course of investigation, rounded up all the suspects.
While Samuel was arraigned for murder, the other three suspects were arraigned for accessory after the fact.
The charges read, “That you, Christian Samuel, on January 11, 2014, at Cossy-Inn Hotel, Abule Oshun, Lagos, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did unlawfully kill one Ijeoma Nwachukwu, aged 26 years, by forcing her to drink liquid substance suspected to be acid.
“That you, Olusegun Sangojumo, Azeez Olaitan, Kehinde Ajibola, on the same date, time and place in the aforesaid Magisterial District did conspire among yourselves to wit; accessory after the fact to murder.
“That you did assist Christian Samuel, who to your knowledge has unlawfully killed one Ijeoma Nwachukwu, by unlawfully removing her corpse from your hotel room and dumped same along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway in order to enable him escape arrest and prosecution.”
The police prosecutor, Inspector G.O Osuyi, of the Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba, said the offences were punishable under sections 221, 409 and 229 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2011.
Osuyi, in a remand application for the four defendants, said they made confessional statements to the police and were identified by witnesses.
He however said investigation had yet to be concluded on the matter.
The magistrate remanded only the principal suspect, Samuel, while the other three defendants were admitted to bail in the sum of N100,000 each with two sureties each in like sum.
The matter was adjourned till April 2, 2014 pending legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecution.
Copyright PUNCH.
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