Love is beautiful and wicked; different strokes for
different folks. 26 year-old girl, Gift Sunday, left her abode in Ketu , Lagos,
to meet her boyfriend, Raphael Effiong, who had invited her over on phone on
Monday, July 28, 2014. Never, in her wildest imagination, did she envisage that
would be her last day on earth.
Time was 8.30pm, shortly after the Anietie family whom Gift
stayed with, had dinner. While other members of the family retired early, Gift
announced that she was going to meet her boyfriend, who was well known by the
family.
But apprehension reportedly set in when she did not return by
midnight. Tension, heightened after efforts to reach her on the phone proved
abortive as it was discovered to be switched off...
Next day, the family’s fear was confirmed following the
visit of a woman later discovered to be a management staff of Mayor Guest house
located at 10 Yusuf Eleran street, Ketu. The woman was said to have invited
Gift’s sister , Mrs Ume Anietie to Fine Day hospital at Elebiju street, where
she was informed that Gift had passed on!
Love gone sour
Gift, as gathered, was stabbed in the arm and breast by her
boyfriend, Raphael at the guest house.
A man who claimed to have witnessed it all told Crime Guard
that: “I was seeing a friend off, when I heard the shout of help from the
hotel. I sensed all was not well and went to the hotel to inform the staff.
They told me it was normal to hear lovers shout. But I insisted that the shout
was not that of pleasure but of panic and pain. It was at that point that we
all rushed to the room and forced the door open. To our disbelief, we saw a lady
on the floor with a deep cut in her hand from where blood was gushing out. The
man with her was holding a pair of scissors .
At first, nobody knew what to do. We told the man to take
her to the hospital but he could not carry her because she was big in size. We
all carried her outside with blood still gushing out from the deep cut in her
hand.
It took about 30 to 40 minutes before she was rushed to Fine
Day hospital. Even when she got there, the doctors did not attend to her on
time. It was not until the Police at Alapere division called and instructed
them to commence treatment on her that they started attending to her and we
left”, the eye witness narrated.
Her Last words
Doctors at Fine Day hospital were said to have managed to
revive Gift. In an inaudible tone, she was said to have told some of the
hospital staff that it was not the first time Raphael would beat her.
According to one of the hospital workers who spoke on
condition of anonymity: “She told us that was not the first time her boyfriend
would beat her. She said anytime he sees her with any man, he would beat her,
even in the open. She also said that was why she decided not marry him, so that
he would not kill her someday”.
At a point, Gift could not reportedly speak, as she
complained of weakness. Unfortunately, she could not owing to loss of blood.
Had blood been transfused into Gift, she would have probably lived to share her
ordeal, Crime Guard gathered.
Why I killed her
Raphael as gathered, attempted to escape, on noticing the
magnitude of his action. But he was apprehended by staff of the hotel who
handed him over to policemen at Alapere, from where he was transferred to the
State Criminal Investigation Department,SCID, Yaba, Thursday.
At the SCID, Raphael told operatives of the Homicide section
that he stabbed Gift because she refused to marry him.
According to the Akwa-Ibom State suspect: “I never knew she
would die. I never meant to kill her. I only wanted to threaten her with the
scissors. We have been going out for a year and I loved her so much... I
proposed to her but she turned down my proposal, saying she couldn’t marry me.
I have begged her several times to have a change of mind but she didn’t.
"I have invested so much on her with the hope of
marrying her some day. But I never knew she was only deceiving me, by playing
on my intelligence. I just could not stand her getting married to another
person. The mere thought of that sends me crazy”, he said, begging the
deceased’s family members to forgive him.
But members of the deceased’s family are of the opinion that
the act was preconceived, asking why the suspect took a scissors to the guest
house in the first place.
The late Gift, as gathered, was a fashion designer. She was
said to have been living with her sister since 2005, from where she went to
secondary school and thereafter, learnt fashion designing. Until her death, she
was said to have sewn wedding gowns for different would -be brides, including
those of their bridal trains,with the hope of sewing for herself someday.
She was said to have boasted to close friends that she would
make the best for herself when the time came, unaware that she would not live
to witness the day. She had reportedly told close friends that her choice of
husband was a God-fearing man, little wonder she accepted to go out with
Raphael in the first instance , as they met in the church. But along the line,
Raphael reportedly left the church, shortly after which he started
demonstrating his battering tendency.
The deceased’s elder sister , Mrs Anietie, who is yet to
come to terms with Gift’s demise, said amidst tears: “She was a very hard
working lady. She was cheerful and was like a daughter to me. I will forever
miss her”.
Spokes person for the Lagos State Police Command, Ngozi
Braide , said the suspect would be charged to court at the end of
investigation.
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