Manhunt begins for lover’s killer

The police have launched a manhunt for a man who allegedly killed his girlfriend and dumped her remains in a cesspit.

Residents of 34, John Omolaja Street, Obadore, Lagos were shocked when a plumber hired to clear the blocked cesspit evacuated the girl’s decomposing body.

Since the incident, it was learnt that the girl’s lover whose name was simply given as Elvis has rarely been coming home.

The police have also not been able to identify the girl or locate her relatives.

“We are already on the trail of the suspect but we would not reveal our strategy to the public yet.

He (suspect) has not been picking his calls but we have been having feelings on the possibility of his whereabouts,” said a top police source at Igando, who asked not to be named.

“We have also been trying to trace the deceased relations to make prosecution of the case easy.

So far what we have gathered is that prior to her death, she was a nurse in a Lagos hospital and we don’t know if the hospital made any attempt to locate her after she disappeared,” the source added.

The police have since sealed off the house comprising eight apartments of two-bedroom bungalow each.

Residents told The Nation that the incident must have happened some months ago after they evacuated the cesspit.

They said Elvis was once married but his wife packed out of the house because of their frequent quarrels.

According to them, it was after Elvis’ wife left that she started dating the deceased who used to visit him with a baby strapped to her back. They wondered the whereabouts of the baby since it was not evacuated alongside the decomposing body of the mother.

A neighbour who simply identified herself as Tina, said about five months ago, the mother of the deceased visited Elvis, but he was not at home. The woman, she said, asked them if they knew her daughter and granddaughter who used to visit the suspect.

Another resident, who pleaded not to be mentioned, said Elvis’ wife packed out when she could no longer bear the beating from her husband, noting that the suspect later redirected his anger on the deceased.

A community leader, Alhaji Adewunmi Fatai, recalled a day Elvis almost set the house on fire because of a brawl with his wife.

“Elvis had a brawl with his wife. His mother-in-law and two sisters-in-law were there. Before we knew what was happening, Elvis locked up the apartment, brought out petrol and wet everywhere. It was while he was looking for matches that her wife’s sister pounced on him, and alerted residents.

“When I arrived, everywhere was reeking of fuel. I then asked him why he wanted to set his house on fire and he said it was because his wife usually shortchanged him whenever he gave her money to buy foodstuff. I then asked him if that was enough excuse to burn his wife, kids and three others.”

Adewunmi rsaid he was at home on Monday morning when he heard people panicking and rushed out to see what was happening.

“The body had seriously decomposed with no head. One could barely identify it. It was around 1am on Tuesday that members of the Lagos State Ambulance Services (LASAMBUS) came with police and packed the remains away,” Adewunmi said.

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