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| IGP, MD Abubakar |
A
22-year-old man, Eji Emmanuel, has been arrested by the Lagos State
Police Command for the alleged murder of a 39-year-old trader, Sylvanus
Okoye.
According to the police, the suspect stabbed the deceased to death at his home on Ezemegbu Drive, Okota in August.
The suspect, however, explained that he killed the deceased in self-defence.
He alleged that on the day of the incident, Okoye had attempted to rape him.
Explaining
the events that culminated in Okoye’s death, the suspect said he was a
dancer and was lured to Lagos by a friend, Chukwudi, under the guise of
doing music business only for the friend to introduce him to
homosexuality.
He
said he had gone to report the matter to his friend’s boss but his
friend’s boss raped him twice and he reported the matter at the FESTAC
Police Division.
He
said the matter was transferred to the Zone 2 Police Command and the
case was turned against him after which he spent two weeks in detention.
He said he had approached Okoye, who he considered an Igbo leader in the
state, to help him with money to return to Anambra State when Okoye also attempted to rape him.
He
said, “I went along with a relative to report the matter to Okoye and
he gave my friend and I N5,000 and shirts. He told us not to worry, so
we slept over at his house. At midnight, however, Okoye came to my room
and attempted to have sex with me but I refused him.
“My
relative later told me that Okoye had sex with him in the parlour that
same night. We left in the morning and returned to Anambra State. From
there, I
went to Abuja where I remained for four months. However, one day, Okoye
called me that he had a business deal and invited me to come to Lagos.
“I told Okoye that I would not engage in any act of homosexuality and he agreed.”
The
suspect said when he returned to Lagos, the deceased said he wanted to
open a bar in the area and wanted him to manage the business.
He
said he passed the night at the deceased’s home, but at midnight, the
deceased crept into his room and attempted to make love to him.
He
said, “In the evening, Okoye served me with bread, butter and tea in my
room. Around 3.30am, he crept into my room and wanted to sleep with me,
but I refused him.
“Okoye
was a big man so he attempted to overpower me, but I picked up the
bread knife that was still left in the room and stabbed him in the neck,
but he did not die.
“I picked up a flexible iron and bound it round his neck and locked him inside the room.
“When it was 6am, I stepped out of the house and gave the key to one woman beside the gate and fled.”
PUNCH Metro had reported on August 16, 2013, that Okoye was found murdered in his home two weeks after he was last seen by
neighbours.
It
was learnt that following the discovery, the security guard and the
woman whom the suspect handed the key to were arrested by detectives at
the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba.
PUNCH Metro learnt that after three months, detectives were able to locate the suspect in Anambra State.
A
police detective said, “The security guard told us that he could identify the suspect if he saw him.
“In
the course of investigation, we obtained call logs from Okoye’s phone
and we learnt that the suspect had used Okoye’s phone to call his
girlfriend in Anambra State shortly after killing Okoye.
“We travelled to Anambra State and we were able to locate the suspect who was even wearing the deceased’s clothes.”
The suspect, however, insisted that he was not a killer but a victim of circumstance.
He said, “My father and my brother are dead. I am the only child of my mother. Who will take care of her if I am sent to prison?
“I
am not a homosexual but I was used. I tried for several months to
impregnate my girlfriend but was not successful. I feel they have stolen
my virtues.”
Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, confirmed Emmanuel’s arrest to our correspondent on the telephone.
Braide
added that the police were still working to establish it the the victim
was a homosexual or not as alleged by the suspect.
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