The Lagos State Police Command says it has arrested a 21-year-old man who allegedly killed a lady, Feyitayo Obot, in her hotel room in Opebi, Ikeja.
According to a statement signed by the Command’s Spokesperson, CSP Chike Oti, the suspect, a chef in an hotel on Lagos Island, claimed he had sneaked into the deceased room to steal her money and not to kill her.
Obot, a lawyer, was said to be in Lagos for a business meeting from Abuja.
Oti said: “On January 26, 2019, the Lagos State Police Command received a report that one Feyitayo Obot, female, aged 34, was gruesomely murdered in her hotel room at Opebi, Ikeja, by one Joshua Usulor, male, 21 years old.
“Sequel to the report, the Command sent its homicide detectives to the scene of crime at Opebi, Ikeja, where they collected important exhibits for forensic analysis.
“The body, which had multiple stab wounds on the abdominal region and a throat slit open with a sharp object, was recovered for autopsy.
“Although the suspect absconded after committing the crime, the State Commissioner of Police, CP Zubairu Muazu, charged the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of (SCIID), Panti Yaba, DCP Yetunde Longe, to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the culprit is arrested and prosecuted.
“Painstaking investigation, however, led to the arrest of the suspect on February 28, at his hideout in Victoria Island Lagos.”
Oti said the suspect, during investigation, confessed to have committed the crime.
Usulor said he had never met Obot until the day he attacked her and he was motivated to rob the deceased to enable him offset his hotel bill having exceeded his stay at the hotel.
According to the statement, the suspect claimed to have sneaked into the deceased room to steal her money and her phones but the deceased struggled with him but she was overpowered.
Oti added: “He then stabbed her with a sharp knife on the stomach and used the same knife to slit her throat. Satisfied that the woman was dead, he made away with her phones and a cash sum of N26,000.
“Investigation revealed that the deceased was a lawyer who came to Lagos for a business meeting and lodged in a hotel at Opebi, Ikeja.
“The suspect will be charged to court for murder.
“Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police has directed that the case file be duplicated and forwarded to the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) for legal advice.”