Row over murder of Abuja corps member

…As police arrest victim’s husband

Family members of the corps member who was murdered in Abuja, Stephanie Terungwa, have called on the Federal Government and authorities of the Nigeria Police Force not to cover up the case of their daughter’s killing.

It would be recalled that the deceased and her one-year-old son had earlier been missing on April 14 at Lokogoma area of FCT for some days before she was later found dead with her body dismembered and her faced mutilated with acid beyond recognition.

Although, the husband of the deceased, Edward Achado and two others who last called the phone number of the victim were said to have been arrested last week by the homicide detectives at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, the family members alleged cover up in the ongoing case.

But in a swift reaction, the police said investigation on the matter was still ongoing, insisting that divulging any information about the current case which is yet to be concluded, would jeopardize their efforts to unravel mystery behind her murder.

An uncle to the deceased, who spoke to Daily Trust during weekend, Dennis Dondo, said late Stephanie and her husband, Achado did quarrel often before her death, over issues that bordered on none payment of her dowry before impregnating her.

Dondo, who wondered how the baby was rescued while the mother was murdered in cold blood, added that Achado had always insisted that he only wanted the baby not the wife – the development he said had always led to their quarrel.

He said, ‘’When we were at the station Thursday morning, the policemen said they wanted to have a private discussion with the mother of the late Stephanie. They had discussions with her for about 30 minutes.

‘‘When she came out, she told us that they were asking her about a guy the victim was dating when she was alive, that they got an information that there was a particular person she dated but she told them that no, the person they (policemen) were talking about is a family member.

‘‘Although the husband is still under their custody but the way they (the police) were talking, they were trying to manoeuvre or manipulate the whole thing. Why I said so is that, if you listened to what really happened, you will realise that the guy (the husband) is also part of the whole thing.

‘‘When she came out, she told us that they were asking her about a guy the victim was dating when she was alive, that they got an information that there was a particular person she dated but she told them that no, the person they (policemen) were talking about is a family member.

‘‘Although the husband is still under their custody but the way they (the police) were talking, they were trying to manoeuvre or manipulate the whole thing. Why I said so is that, if you listened to what really happened, you will realise that the guy (the husband) is also part of the whole thing.

When contacted, the spokesperson of FCT Police command, Josephine Adeh, dismissed the allegations, vowing that the force would unravel mystery behind her murder.

She said, ‘’You should know that we don’t like talking about the investigations that are ongoing because releasing some pieces of information now, may jeopardise our efforts. So, that is why most times, we don’t talk about the updates until we crack the mysteries around whatever we are investigating.”