Girl stabs man to death over attempted rape (Page 4)

A 23-year-old lady, Rachael Gbadamosi, is in police custody for allegedly stabbing a man, 30-year-old Christian Egwuchukwu, to death over the victim's alleged attempt to rape her.

The incident happened at No. 20, Kareem Babatunde Street, Papa Asafe, Agege, on July 11. While many Lagosians were watching the FIFA World Cup final match between Spain and Holland, the alleged suspect and the victim were fighting each other in their one-room apartment. In the process, Miss Gbadamosi allegedly stabbed Mr. Egwuchukwu in the neck.

According to the police, Mr. Egwuchukwu lost a lot of blood and was confirmed dead at a private hospital the following day.

Miss Gbadamosi and the late Mr. Egwuchukwu were living with Miss Gbadamosi's cousin in the one-room apartment. She said the victim had attempted to rape her on several occasions, but her stiff resistance made him even angrier. On that fateful day, he was determined to carry out his threat of molesting her, before he died from the stab wound on his neck. She said she acted in self defence.

Self defence

"I live with my cousin at Agege in a room and in May, my cousin brought his friend, Christian, to come and stay with us. My cousin, Abel, works at Victoria Island, and he is hardly around. Since Christian moved in, he had tried to sleep with me, but I always refused him. Last Saturday was the fourth time he attempted to do it, but I told him he will not succeed and he became very angry. There was a day I was sleeping but my brother (cousin) was not around, and Christians tried to rape me."

Miss Gbadamosi said she informed her cousin and her mother about the victim's threats, but he did not change. "When his pressure became too much, I told my mother, who live in Edo State, and also my cousin; my cousin even sent him away, but Christian begged him that he will not try me again. After a while, he stopped and I thought he had truly changed. But that Saturday, he came home and started making trouble. I just ignored him, but he was bent on quarrelling with me.

"He threw my clothes and my brother's clothes, which I kept on the bed, onto the floor, dragged me to the bed, and tore my night gown. He was holding tight to my neck, as if he wanted to strangle me. I tried to resist him, and quickly ran to the door, but there was no light. I thought of what to do to protect myself and that was how I took the table knife on the shelve and stabbed him on the hand. He took the knife, and stabbed me in the hand, but unknowingly I stabbed him on the neck. God knows, I did not intend to kill him," she narrated. The police spokesperson, Frank Mba, said Mr. Egwuchukwu bled to death as a result of the injury on his neck.

"He was rushed to the hospital, but he had already lost a lot of blood, because nobody was around to take him to the hospital. People should be careful how they expose their female children to strangers. If first aid was given to this victim, probably he would not have died. People should not take the laws into their hands, as they can report all cases of assault and harassment to the police, and the necessary action will be taken. The case has been transferred to the Homicide Department at Panti for a discreet investigation," Mr. Mba said.

A similar incident happened in May when a 26-year-old lady, Ifunnaya Marcus, allegedly stabbed her boy friend, Princewill, to death over a minor quarrel.

Miss Marcus, who also used a knife on her boyfriend, said the victim had battered and beaten her on several occasions. A group of female lawyers from Project Alert, a non-profit organisation in Lagos, rose in defence of Miss Marcus, saying that her action was triggered by the man she loved, who unfortunately turned her into a punching bag.