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.
See details after the jump:
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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