There was apprehension on Saturday on Ambrose Okereke Street, behind the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba, Delta State, following the death of a 24-year-old man, Mr Chukwuka Igbonekwu. He was alleged to have taken a local insecticide.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the traditional and church wedding of the victim was slated for Tuesday, April 19, and Wednesday, April 20, 2022, respectively.
Sources on the street told our correspondent on Sunday that Igbonekwu died after quarrelling with his girlfriend, identified simply as Adaeze.
“There was a fight between late Chukwuka (Igbonekwu) and his girlfriend on Thursday, March 10. After the quarrel, we decided to enter their room to see what the problem was.
“The lady, who had been living with him over the years, said the fight was because Chukwuka wanted to leave her for another lady.
“When we asked the deceased what the issue was, he said he and his girlfriend were related and both of them had the same AS genotype and therefore, they could not marry.
“After the fight, they reconciled and later, we saw both of them coming out of a shopping mall and going home on Friday.
“Towards evening, the girlfriend raised the alarm, calling people that Chukwuka drank a local insecticide. Immediately, he was rushed to a hospital in Okpanam. The lady called his wife-to-be and she met them at the hospital; unfortunately, he died on Saturday morning.
“They brought his corpse to the compound. After a while, the family came and took the body together with the wife-to-be and the so-called girlfriend to the village without reporting to the police,” the source said.
The wedding card seen by our correspondent indicated that the deceased hailed from Umuezeogwu village in Uzo-Uwani, Enugu State.
His wife-to-be, Blessing, also hailed from the same state.
The deceased was said to be a worker at a popular shopping plaza on Okpanam Road, Asaba, until his death.
Efforts to reach his family failed as calls put across to the phone numbers on the wedding card were not responded to.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bright Edafe, said the matter was not reported to the police.
He said, “Not to the knowledge of the command.”
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