Family still seeks justice for murdered Helen, after one year

Life has never been the same for the family of the late Mrs. Helen Ebere Peter, who was allegedly strangled to death on January 19, 2016, by a former security guard, with the help of six other suspects, who were never arrested. The family is seeking justice, which has been denied them after the release of suspected accomplices to the murder. According to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), they were not found culpable to the crime. DPP declared them innocent, describing them as victims of circumstance in the criminal act.

On a fateful day, Mrs. Peters had informed her husband she was going to Iyana Ipaja in Lagos to stand as a guarantor to enable the release of a wedding venue needed as part of his wedding preparations after impregnating a neighbour. She was, however, lured to the suspect’s house, who said he wanted to get the money to pay for the hall.

According to the confessional statement from the police, the main suspect had allegedly made arrangements with five other guys, including six other persons, to tie the deceased as she was mentally deranged and wanted help to be conveyed to the east. She was tied in both hands and legs backward, her mouth and nose covered, while the quack nurse was contracted to inject her to sleep, which was given in overdose.

However, the suspicion of the landlady’s son, who noticed funny movements around the suspect’s apartment, gave him up and Mrs. Peters was subsequently, taken to the hospital where she was declared dead, leading to the suspect’s arrest.

Narrating the incident to The Guardian, husband of the deceased, Mr. Emmanuel Onyekachi Peters, said: “I know the suspect, he was once a security guard at our central estate gate in Gowon Estate, working with a security company and sometimes he ran an errand for us. I didn’t know he had stopped working for the security company till my wife and sister-in-law told me he was planning for a wedding and needed help since he impregnated this bride-to-be.

“On the day of the unfortunate incident, my wife called me and said the suspect had gotten a venue for the wedding and they needed a guarantor so that the hall could be released to him. That morning, she dressed up and told me she was on her way to the hall and would return to her office afterward.

“I tried to reach my wife later in the afternoon and her phone was not reachable, I thought her battery was low. Around 4:00 p.m., I went to my children’s school and they were still there. I took them home and called my brother and sister-in-law, who stay close to my house to be with my children while I went in search of my wife.”

Peters said he went to the house of the lady the suspect impregnated, which was the next street to theirs and was told the lady had already relocated to the village and knew nothing about the wedding preparations. Even when the lady was contacted, she said the suspect was in Abuja, which aroused suspicion in the mind of Peters.

“While the conversation was going on, I got a call from my wife’s line, a man said the owner of this phone is dead and the body has been taken to the Yaba mortuary while the boy, who committed the crime is in police custody. Since then, we have been back and forth from the state CID in Panti. The case has since not been charged to1 court.

“All I want is justice. The main suspect and his accomplices all made confessional statements and for the DPP to say they didn’t have a case to answer hurts me so much. I want everyone that took part in this act to be brought to book. I am calling on the Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, to ensure that justice is achieved,” he said.