Nigerian man kills his girlfriend for allegedly refusing to quit prostitution

38-year-old grandmother, Chinyere Orji, was found last Monday, March 8, with a broken piece of mirror in the right side of her ribs at an apartment at 11, Abuja street, Alaba Rago, off Mile 2 Badagry expressway, Lagos.

She died before they could rush her to the hospital. Her boyfriend, Michael Ikechukwu, 27, was arrested and is currently at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, SCIID, Yaba, from where he would be charged to court.

Speaking to Vanguard, Ikechukwu, from Ebonyi state, claimed he met Chinyere as a commercial sex worker at Apapa and they’ve known each other for three years and four months.

He said her death was an accident following an argument about her quitting prostitution.

The man, who hawks electronics accessories, told the publication; “She told me she wanted to go out that day.  We went to TV line, stayed for about 10 minutes before she said she was going back home.

“By the time I went to meet her at home, I knocked but it took a long time for her to open the door.

“When she did, I asked if she was okay, she kept quiet. When I asked what the problem was,  she got angry and started packing her things, saying she was leaving the house.

“When I asked where she was going, she said I shouldn’t ask her. I locked the door, preventing her from leaving.

“She started shouting at the top of her voice that I should open the door and that I should not ask her where she was going, since  I knew she was a hustler.

“At that point, I started calming her down but she insisted on leaving. She said she was going to look for money.  She started scattering everywhere, insisting she must leave. Out of provocation  I slapped her and told her to re-arrange the room.

“In an attempt to scare her, I slammed the standing mirror on the ground and it shattered. Unfortunately, a piece pierced into her right rib and she started shouting that I had stabbed her.”

Ikechukwu said he loved Chinyere, who has two children, a 21-year-old and a 9-year-old. Her 21-year-old daughter is married and has a child of her own.

He explained that though he met her as a prostitute, he was willing to marry her but she was reluctant to give up sex work.

He told Vanguard: “I met her at a drinking joint in Apapa, after hawking. We got talking and I invited her to my house at Alaba Rago.

“She had been living with me for three years.  I knew she was a commercial sex worker but I accommodated her because I loved her.

“I never treated her like a prostitute by paying her anytime I had sex with her. But I gave her money for housekeeping.

“I bought her clothes, gave her money to make her hair, and also gave her pocket money. But she always complained it was not enough.

“I swear, I loved Chinyere. We had some things in common. For instance, she smoked as I do and she was into alcoholic drinks like me. Besides, she also satisfied me sexually, which is the main reason I loved her.

“While living with me, she usually went out at night to prostitute. I never met her at home when I came back from work. People taunted me about it but I still tolerated her because of the love I had for her.

“Last year, I told her to stop prostituting because I intended to marry her.  She had two children of ages 21 and 9.

“Her first child is married with a baby, while the younger one lives with her aunt. Yet I didn’t mind spending the rest of my life with her.

“I never meant to kill her, I only wanted to prevent her from going out that night.”

A spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said the suspect would be charged to court.