A 21 year old woman who got married the day after Valentine’s day was murdered in Ibadan. The woman, Mrs Busola Afolabi-Haruna who was eight months pregnant with her first baby was shot fatally in the head as her husband tried to avoid giving his car keys to armed robbers.
Mr Yemi Haruna, her husband, told police at Oluyole Division, Ibadan, that at about 10.30p.m, he drove his car towards their home at Elebu area of Ibadan, with his wife occupying the front passenger seat. As he stepped out to open his residence’s gate in order to drive in, three armed men appeared from the dark and struggled to get his car key from him.
Haruna stated that he quickly made for the car, and told his wife to lock her door, but one of the armed robbers shot and killed his wife.
The bullet reportedly penetrated the skull and left a gaping hole at the nape of her neck, with her brain tissues spattering all over the car seat she occupied.
The family of the victim suspects foul play.
Mrs Tosin Afolabi, elder sister of the deceased said, “My sister met her husband, Yemi Haruna, in 2013 and their relationship did not last more than three months when she got pregnant. She celebrated her 21st birthday in his house on July 4, 2013, after which she informed my mother that she was pregnant. Her husband, Yemi, was invited by my mother and she asked him of the kind of job he was doing. He replied that he was into petroleum business.
“He also told her that he had never been married but we later learnt that he had a wife who bore him a child but had packed out of his house. Mummy called him again to ask if it was true and he replied in the affirmative, saying that the relationship was not approved by her family because the lady was a Christian.
“The wedding ceremony between Yemi and my sister took place on Saturday, February 15, but on Monday, February 24, we got information that he was not into petroleum business as he claimed. I asked my sister and she became worried as she said it was a confirmation of what her sister-in-law told her on her wedding day.
“At 10.46p.m. on Wednesday, February 26, her husband flashed my number. I thought my sister was in labour and he didn’t have enough airtime to call me, so I called him back. He said when he got to the gate of his residence, he saw three young men emerge with gun. Yemi added that he instructed my sister to wind up the glass on her side and lock the door of the car. He said they shot my sister.
“I asked him where my sister was but he cut off the line. I called him back repeatedly but he didn’t pick my call until the third time. I repeated my question and he replied that he didn’t know the hospital because it was neighbours who took her to the hospital. He told me he was at police station to obtain report and he cut the line.
“I called him again and he said he was told that my sister was taken to Lad Hospital. Since the hospital is about five buildings away from my residence, I went there. The security officer there told me that she was dead and her body had been taken away. I screamed and pointed at the husband’s car parked within the premises, but they said he went away with the police.
“I left for my father’s place and we all returned to the hospital but were not allowed in. We started calling Yemi again but he did not pick our calls. My mother called Yemi’s mother to help us call him so that we would know Busola’s condition. Yemi later picked my father’s call at about 2:00a.m. and said he was at the police station and would get back to us when he was through.
When we didn’t hear from him, we started calling him, but again, he didn’t pick the calls. We gave his number to my elder brother and he called Yemi at about 3:00a.m. Since Yemi was not familiar with his number, he picked the call for two seconds and all my brother said he heard was a ringing laughter at the background before he cut the line.
“At about 6.30a.m., on Thursday, he picked our call and when we asked why he did not answer our previous calls, he said he forgot his phones in a car. We told him to show up at the hospital because the hospital staff said they would not release the corpse without the presence of the person who brought it. He told us he was still at the police station.
“Till my sister was taken from Lad Hospital to Teju Hospital, Ring Road, to remove the foetus inside her, Yemi did not show up. My mother and I decided to meet him at the police station and we were shocked when we saw how they brought a table before him to eat. In annoyance, I berated him for having the appetite to eat while my sister was yet to be buried.
“When we closely observed the corpse of my sister, we noticed that the bullets tore through the back of her head, believing that she was shot in the mouth. We saw the empty cartridge shell in Yemi’s car and part of Busola’s brain tissues on the seat where she sat.
“We also noticed her dress was torn but the police claimed they were the ones who tore the dress when they wanted to examine her. Yemi did not follow us to Teju Hospital where his wife was operated to remove the foetus before burial.”
The husband of the victim remains in custody at the State Criminal Investigation division, Ibadan.
The father of the victim has called on the police to help him unravel the mystery of his daughter’s death.
“Where I am confused is this: Busola and her husband came together in the car driven by him. He went to open the gate to go in when the armed robbers emerged as he claimed. He that drove the car and was at the gate was not shot; it was my daughter who sat in the car that was shot at close range. The car was not taken away; no item was picked from the car. That is why I am insisting that my daughter was not killed by armed robbers; she was murdered.”
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