A 40-year-old man identified as Stephen Ogho-Oghene Akpata, has been
arrested by the Police in Bayelsa for allegedly stabbing his wife to
death over alleged infidelity.
The 33-year-old deceased, identified as Onyinye Faustina Eze was reportedly a staff of Globacom Nigeria Limited.
According to an eye witness, Osaro Akindele Okhomina, the suspect
confessed that he murdered his wife, after they both had sex at their
residence along the Kpansia area of Yenagoa, the State capital.
The suspect reportedly disclosed that he became angered after he saw a
text message on her phone indicating she was having an extramarital
affair.
He then confronted her and argument ensued, then he stabbed her on the neck and on the shoulder leading to her death.
He also confessed to have served in various detention centers in Australia.
The 40-year-old suspected murderer shared photos from their court wedding on social media on 8th of August.
Police Commissioner in the State said Mr. Akpata murdered his wife by
strangling her with the cable of an electric iron. He then also stabbed
her with a knife.
The police chief said the incident became known when one of Onyinye’s
colleagues, Moses Awo, reported at Ekeki Police Division in Yenagoa
that Onyinye did not report for work as expected.
According to him, Mr. Awo had reportedly told the police that when he
and another colleague went to Onyinye’s residence in Kpansia area of
Yenagoa, they discovered that the apartment was locked. They also found
that the television set in her room was working.
Some police officers from Ekeki Police Division in Yenagoa went to
the deceased’s apartment and forced her door open. They found Onyinye
dead in a pool of her blood.
According to Bayelsa Police Commissioner, Mr. Akpata was the prime suspect in the murder.
He was arrested by police in Badagry, Lagos State, after about two weeks on his trail.
Parading the suspect on Thursday at the state command’s headquarters,
Mr. Amba said that his operatives discovered that the deceased room was
scattered.
Mr. Amba said the exhibits recovered at the scene of crime were a
knicker; a pair of canvas shoes, one damaged electric iron, one jean
jacket, one pen knife, one pink singlet, a Nokia mobile phone and a
damaged wristwatch.
He said the exhibits were stained with blood.
The police chief said the body of the victim was removed and
deposited at the morgue of the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, for
autopsy.
Narrating how the suspect was arrested, Mr. Amba said that discreet
investigations revealed that the suspect absconded to Ghana after
allegedly committing the murder in Yenagoa.
The commissioner, who said the suspect returned to Badagry, Lagos a
few days after, added that Mr. Akpata was tracked and arrested in
Badagry on September 1 and brought to Bayelsa the same day.
“When our operatives went into the apartment of the deceased, we
meticulously searched the environment and we saw a three-quarter knicker
that was well hidden, tucked somewhere in the room that one would not
suspect that something was hidden there.
“We discovered there was a blood stain on the knicker. By this time,
we tried to find out who was with the lady because we knew that they had
just contracted a registry marriage.
“We got in touch with Akpata who is the purported husband. He gave us
the impression that he was out of town, implying that he travelled out
of town before the incident.
“So, we were still communicating with him, at least to break the news
to him that his purported wife was dead. He told us he was on his way
back and this took us some days.
“As we were communicating with him, he was just giving us the
impression that he was coming back, not knowing that he was plotting his
own escape.
“We found out that prior to that time of her murder, the suspect had
spent so much money on the lady and they were moving from one hotel to
another.
“Still, we were playing along with him to enable him to come to us.
But since he said he was in Lagos, we suspected that Ghana or Republic
of Benin would be a likely point of escape.
“We got in touch with the embassies there and the Ghanaian Embassy
was on the alert. From our radar, we found out that he slept in Ghana.
“He escaped back to Badagry in Lagos. He did not know we were still
following him up. We got in touch with the police in Badagry. Eventually
he was arrested at the Badagry border. So, we brought him back,” Mr.
Amba said.
Mr. Amba added that the police command got vital information on him,
particularly on his Facebook page where they saw many pictures of him
with his murdered wife during their court marriage.
He assured that the suspect would be charged to court while the case
would be diligently prosecuted as soon as investigations were concluded.
NAN