A woman, identified simply as Omotayo, has been accused of using chemicals to kill her 70-year-old neighbour, Emmanuel Agbeli, at their residence in Arepo, in the Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The septuagenarian was praying in his apartment on Havana Estate, Arepo, when Omotayo entered the apartment and splashed the chemicals on Agbeli’s body.
Agbeli, who reportedly started feeling strange reactions on his body due to the chemicals, reported Omotayo to a neighbour, one mama Hausa, and a security guard, identified simply as Fashola.
Speaking with our correspondent, a source said Agbeli, who is a Togolese, after reporting Omotayo’s action to his neighbour and Fashola, was said to be returning into his apartment when he suddenly slumped and died on Tuesday, November 22, 2022.
The source said, “As Agbeli was walking towards his house after narrating the incident to mama Hausa, he collapsed and died. He died on the road on Dare Ojo Close. I was about to drive out of my gate when my attention was drawn to Agbeli’s body.
“He wore only boxers and lay on the road; we first took him to the ROA Hospital and then to the Beachland Hospital where he was certified dead on arrival. We later took his corpse to the Sagamu General Hospital. I remembered that at each of the hospitals we visited, the doctors were asking why Agbeli’s body was hot.”
Agbeli’s wife, Abigail, said before her husband’s death, Omotayo had been frustrating her family, adding that she alongside her daughters left her husband in their apartment when Omotayo’s attitude became unbearable.
She said, “Sometimes ago when I returned from a trip, my husband told me that the woman used to chase her with a stick. At first, we didn’t take it seriously until I discovered that the woman usually does as my husband reported.
“Early this year, I moved out of the house because of the woman’s problem. But my husband said he cannot leave because of the woman. Recently, the woman’s husband claimed to be the owner of my plantain plantation.
“We had an argument about it and I just left them because they are troublesome people. On Tuesday, we met my husband in the middle of the road lying dead.
“The house was flooded with water and I don’t know how the water got there. It was later that one of our neighbours told me that my husband reported that the woman should be held responsible for his death.”
When the media visited the estate to speak with residents who witnessed Agbeli’s last moments, the residents declined to speak on the matter.
The chairman of the estate, who declined to metinon his name, when asked to give a comment on the events that led to Agbeli’s death, redirected our correspondent to the Warewa Police Station.
He said, “If you want to do your investigative journalism, go to the Warewa Police Station to get the whole story to you. The investigation is still ongoing; the autopsy, and everything on it. After they have concluded the investigation, whatever the story is, we will make it public; nobody is trying to hide anything.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, said Omotayo had been arrested, adding that investigation into the case was ongoing.
Oyeyemi said, “Yes, the woman has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department and investigation is ongoing. She was alleged to have poured chemicals on her neighbour and he died. At the conclusion of the investigation, the woman will be charged to court.”
Quadri Olaitan is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, public affairs, and human-interest stories.
