A 23-year-old resident of Owode-Ijako, in the Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, Salaudeen Issa, is in police custody for allegedly killing his girlfriend, Kemi Ilo.
The suspect reportedly used a cutlass to inflict an injury on Kemi’s head around 4am on Sunday and left her in a pool of blood.
It was learnt that the attack was the height of recurring violence between the lovers.
It was gathered that there was a disagreement between them a few days before the attack and Kemi’s mother warned the suspect on Saturday to stay away from her daughter.
Issa was alleged to have vowed to deal with the victim.
The threat reportedly made Kemi to pass the night at her friend’s apartment on Saturday to avoid trouble.
The friend, whose name was given as Mariam, was said to be a daughter of the Ilos’ landlord.
A resident, who identified himself simply as Femi, told newsmen that the victim was asleep when a man, later suspected to be Issa, sneaked into the room, attacked her with a cutlass and fled.
He said the 25-year-old woman was taken to two hospitals before she gave up the ghost on the way to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi Araba, Lagos.
He said, “The lovers have a history of violence. They would fight and reconcile again. There was a time that they had a disagreement. He went to her house in anger, but did not meet her. He peeped from the window and saw her child sleeping on a bed close to the window.
“He tore the window net with a razor blade and used the blade to slice the child’s back. He was reported to a community leader who mediated between the parties.
“When they fought again last week, her mother called him on the telephone and told him that she did not want to see him with her daughter again. It was on Sunday morning I learnt that she was attacked and the family said he was responsible for it.
“She was rushed to a private hospital from where she was referred to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos. She was being taken to LUTH in an ambulance when she died.”
It was learnt that a team, led by the Divisional Police Officer, Sango Police Station, SP Nasiru Oyedele, tracked down the suspect after the case was reported.
A police source disclosed that Kemi’s mother, Tawakalitu Ilo, had received a call from her daughter’s friend, Mariam, around 4am that she was attacked.
The source, however, said Mariam changed her statement at the police station, claiming that she was not at home when the incident happened.
He said, “The mother told the police that Mariam called her on the telephone and said somebody entered the room and attacked Kemi. She said Kemi was in a coma. She said the relationship between Kemi and Salaudeen (Issa) was fraught with violence and that she warned him to leave her daughter.
“As a result of that, the suspect threatened to deal with his lover. It was around 4am the following day that he made good his threat by attacking her with a cutlass. She died from the injuries she sustained. Mariam was also arrested.”
The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Abimbola Oyeyemi, who confirmed the incident, said the suspect had been transferred to the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for further investigation.
He said, “The case was initially reported as wounding; he stabbed the woman and she was rushed to a hospital. The following day, while she was receiving treatment, she gave up the ghost. Because of that, the Commissioner of Police ordered that the case should be transferred to the homicide section.”
