A 24-year-old man, Saliu Ladayo, who was arrested and sent to Olokuta prison in Akure, the Ondo State capital last year for the alleged murder of his girlfriend, Nwamma Confidence Chidiebere, has refused to marry her corpse.
Eight months after Chidiebere’s death, her family members have also refused to bury her corpse.
The family of the late Chidiebere had insisted that Ladayo marry her corpse, warning him that if he refuses to do so, his family members would not exceed her age at the time of her death. The girl was 19 years old when the suspect allegedly killed her.
Ladoyo had stabbed Chidiebere to death in his house during a fight, blaming it later on the devil. He said he did not know what came over him.
“You must follow us to our state, Imo, where the wedding will be carried out like a normal wedding, with wedding gowns, rings and even the payment of bride price before she could be buried, “the girl’s family had told him.
The suspect was said to have agreed initially to the traditional rites arrangement but later changed his mind, a family source said.
“He is a Yoruba boy and the Ibo culture is probably strange to him,” the source said.
It was learnt that Chidiebere’s family was said to have later softened the conditions handed the suspect by monetizing them, but his family were yet to show up to concretise the arrangement.
According to the mother of the deceased, Mrs Lovelyn Nwamma, the parents of the boy, they learnt, live in Lagos, while the boy was until the incident living with his uncle in Akure.
“We have asked them to bring money to perform the rites without them but they have not shown up, while the corpse of our daughter has been lying in the mortuary for eight months,” she said.
The case is pending in court and will come up on January 15, 2019.
Both suspect and victim were looking for admission at the time of Chidiebere’s death as she had only recently finished her secondary education before then.
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Crime