An Australian returnee, Stephen
Ogho-Oghene Akpata, has been arrested by the police in Bayelsa State for
allegedly killing his wife, Onyinye, an employee of Glo Nigeria Ltd...
Akpata, who confessed to the crime in
Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, was arrested in Lagos, following his
failed attempt to flee to Ghana.
Police Commissioner Amba Asuquo said the
incident was reported to the police on August 16, when the deceased’s
colleague, Moses Awo, complained that Onyinye, 33, had been absent.
He said Awo told the police her colleagues went to her home and discovered the door was locked, but the TV set was on and loud.
Asuquo said detectives found the deceased, who hailed from Abia State, in a pool of blood.
He said: “The room was scattered. We
recovered a pair of knickers stained with blood, a damaged pressing
iron, knife, jeans jacket, pink underwear, Nokia phone, and a damaged
wristwatch.
“Marks on the deceased’s head, face, neck and body show she was strangled and stabbed with a knife.”
Asuquo said the body was deposited at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Yenagoa mortuary.
On how the police found the suspect, he said:
“We got in touch with the husband and he
gave us the impression he was out of town. He said he was on his way
back and we kept talking to him for two days. But he was plotting his
escape. We found out that prior to the incident, he had spent money on
the woman.
“The couple moved from one hotel to the
other. So, we visited the hotels they had lodged. We observed the
husband didn’t own a car. We identified the taxis they boarded and one
of the drivers said he saw the man wearing the pair of knickers we found
on the murder scene.
“Hotel workers also confirmed they saw
the suspect wearing the knickers. We played along with him to return.
Since he said he was in Lagos, we suspected Ghana or Republic of Benin
was his likely destination.
“We got in touch with the embassies. He
actually slept in Ghanaian Embassy, but he escaped to Badagry. We got in
touch with the police there and he was arrested.”
Asuquo said the suspect confessed he
made love to the deceased from 5 am. to 6 am. on that day before killing
her, following suspicion of infidelity.
When asked why he killed his wife,
Akpata, who said he spent 27 years in Australia, said he would not speak
because of his respect for his late wife and her family.
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