The State Criminal Investigation Department of the Federal Capital
Territory (FCT) Police Command State, Abuja, has arrested a 22-year old
man, Peter.
According to reports, Peter alongside
an accomplice Istafanus Yerima, 22, allegedly stabbed his aunt,
35-year-old Salome Idoko, in the sitting room of her residence close to
Berger Bridge Quarry Gate, Mpape, Abuja.
The FCT Commissioner of
Police, Mr. Abubakar Bello told Sunday Sun that the ugly incident
happened around 1:35pm on September 28, when Peter, a nephew of the
deceased and his friend, Istifanus, went to the home of the aunt to
threaten her and demand N30,000 from her to pay his rent.
Peter
had earlier stayed for three days with the family of the deceased.
Later, the husband of Salome, James Idoko, gave Peter a ride to Maitama,
and also gave him N1000 to cover his transport fare to Maraba, Nasarawa
State, where he lives.
Bello said that Peter, accompanied by his
friend, later went back to the aunt’s house. She welcomed him and
sought to know his reason for returning to the house. Then asked Peter’s
friend to step out of the house, so that she could discuss with the
nephew.
Suddenly a hot argument ensued, leading to a fight between Salome and Peter.
Yerima
was said to have gone into the house to ostensibly separate them.
Instead, he stabbed her on the wrist with a knife. Peter snatched the
knife from him and stabbed his aunt again on the back. She fell and
began to bleed profusely.
The two assailants ignored her and
proceeded to remove the plasma television set in the sitting room and
also took N500 from her purse.
The alleged crime came to light
when Salome’s four children came back from school and saw lying in a
pool of her blood about 3.30pm.
They screamed in horror, and
attracted the attention of neighbours, who rushed the deceased to
Asokoro General Hospital. Due to the huge loss of blood as she lay in
her house without help, Salome died.
The benevolent neighbours
then contacted her husband, who promptly reported the matter at the
Mpape Police Station. From there, the case was immediately transferred
to the FCT SCID, Abuja. Detectives in the department promptly launched
an investigation.
Peter was arrested on September 30. Upon
interrogation, he made useful revelations that led to the arrest his
friend, Istafanus, at his workshop.
In a brief chat with Sunday Sun, Peter said:
“I
am a member of Young Vikings Confraternity. It was Yerima who initiated
me into cultism. I am a welder by profession. I stayed with my aunty in
her house for three days. Then the husband dropped me off at Maitama
Bridge and gave me N1,000 for transport to return to Maraba. I went to
my friend’s house and slept there. I told Yerima, my friend that I just
wanted to threaten my aunt and collect N30,000 from her for my house
rent.”
Continuing, he said:
“When I got to my
aunt’s house, she was angry with me, asking what was my mission in her
house. She ordered me to send my friend, Yerima, out of her house. I
complied. I asked her to give me N30,000 for my house rent.
We
started arguing and she slapped me. A fight broke out. When Yerima came
to separate us, she slapped him too. So Yerima brought out knife and
stabbed her on the wrist and I took the knife from Yerima and stabbed
her at her back. Yerima took back the knife and stabbed her in the
stomach.”
Peter who hails from Obi Local Government Area, Benue
State explained further that Yerima cupped the mouth of the deceased to
prevent her from screaming for help. After escaping with the plasma TV
set, he hid it in his brother’s house.
“When I heard the news
that my aunt had died, I went to their house to sympathize with them.
As I got to Mpape, policemen accosted me, and began questioning me. When
I confessed what happened, they arrested me.”
Sunday Sun learnt
that the duo attended Aso Primary School, where Yerima took Peter into
the Young Vikings Confraternity, a cult group.
Yerima, a native
of Gbagyi Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, said that he was
provoked to stab the deceased, who slapped him when he tried to separate
her and Peter as they were fighting in the room.
Yerima who said
that he is an artisan that specialized in the molding of plaster of
Paris for interior design of buildings said that they had no intention
to kill her, stressing that his reaction was the result of provocation
by Salome, who slapped him.
The husband of the deceased, James Idoko, told Sunday Sun how his suspicion of Peter led to the suspect’s arrest. He said:
After
my wife died and people started coming on condolence visit, I noticed
that Peter, my late wife’s nephew was absent. I asked his twin brother,
Godwin Peter, whether Sunday Peter was not aware of the death of my
wife. He responded that he was aware of it. I started to suspect him of
being behind my late wife’s death. I told the police at Mpape Police
Station that I suspected Peter over the death of my late wife.
“On Sunday as Peter was coming to my house, policeman called him aside and interrogated him and he confessed.
“This
is a lesson for everybody to be careful about who you trust. I want to
appeal to the police to release the corpse of my wife so that we can
bury her. I know that she cannot come back to life, but I look up to God
to grace to bear this loss. It is avery painful one.”
As at the
time of this report, Bello confirmed that the corpse of the deceased was
still in the mortuary, for the postmortem to be done and the autopsy
report prepared.
He said that the corpse of the deceased would be
handed over to the family for burial after the completion of
investigation into the case. He also said that the two suspects would
accordingly be charged to court for the murder of the Salome, the
deceased.