24-year-old man identified as Saliu Ladayo, who was arrested and sent to Olokuta prison in Akure, the Ondo State capital in 2018, for the alleged murder of his 19-year-old girlfriend, Nwamma Confidence Chidiebere, has refused to marry her corpse.
Ladayo allegedly stabbed Chidiebere to death last May, for calling him a ‘lazy youth. He later blamed the devil for his actions, saying he was under a spell when he killed the girl.
The family of the late Chidiebere had insisted that Ladayo marry her corpse, warning him that if he refuses to do so, his family members would not exceed her age at the time of her death.
“You must follow us to our state, Imo, where the wedding will be carried out like a normal wedding, with wedding gowns, rings and even the payment of bride price before she could be buried, “the girl’s family had told him.
The suspect was said to have agreed initially to the traditional rites arrangement but later changed his mind, a family source said.
“He is a Yoruba boy and the Ibo culture is probably strange to him,” the source added.
According to the mother of the deceased, Mrs Lovelyn Nwamma, the parents of the boy, they learnt, live in Lagos, while the boy was until the incident lived with his uncle in Akure.
“We have asked them to bring money to perform the rites without them but they have not shown up, while the corpse of our daughter has been lying in the mortuary for eight months,” she said.
The case is pending in court and will come up on January 15, 2019.
